Staff Writer
NEW LIMERICK — Kevin Carpenter credits a building trades class at Hodgdon High School with helping start his cabinet-making career.
Pioneer Times Photo/Sarah Berthiaume
EXPERIENCE AND QUALITY — For 20 years, Kevin Carpenter has offered quality cabinet work at his Jeffrey Road shop. Today, he completes a variety of work, custom-made or after-market, commercial and private.
“That sort of got my interest going,” he said. “I always liked doing the finish work.”
His first job was at Hagan Cabinets, a former business on North Street (where Unicel and Goodrich’s are now). A few years later, he was starting his own business — the shop that turned 20 years old this year.
“In 1987, I moved out here to the Jeffrey Road and built a garage-style shop,” he said.
Starting out with mostly all kitchen and bath type cabinets, Carpenter’s Custom Cabinets expanded in the 1990s, completing work at schools as far away as Bangor and Princeton and as close to home as Houlton Southside School.
The business took another turn in the mid 1990s when Carpenter met the owner of Village Candle.
“That got me into the wholesale market, doing display fixtures for the Village Candle products,” he explained. “It started out with three to five hutches a week, but as they expanded, it grew into more.”
The expanding needs of Village Candle led to more expansion for Carpenter, as well.
“It grew to a 5- to 7-man shop and we were working day and night to keep up with the demand,” says Carpenter.
The New Limerick-made cabinets were shipped all over the U.S. and overseas.
“There’s even one at the gift shop at Dollywood,” says Carpenter with a grin.
Eventually that Village Candle worked leveled off, but along the way, Carpenter had continued building kitchen cabinets and completed various commercial jobs — work which he continues with today.
WELL-KNOWN CABINETS — Village Candle cabinets like this one, part of store displays around the country, were made by Carpenter’s Custom Cabinets in New Limerick. In addition to these store display cabinets, owner Kevin Carpenter makes other pieces for private and commercial use.
“I design pretty much whatever people need for their space,” he said.
Cabinets constructed in his Jeffrey Road shop are made-to-order and made to last.
“As far as the cabinets, everything is hand made,” he said. “Sometimes the word custom scares people. But all it really means is that you have the ability to add more variety and make exactly what people need.”
Carpenter has also added another option to his cabinet offerings.
“I’ve also started offering an after-market cabinet to give customers a lower-priced option,” he said.
The average kitchen takes between four to six weeks from start to finish.
After two decades in the business, Carpenter said experience and quality have made the difference.
“I’ve seen a lot of different situations and that helps me foresee what a customer will need to have done,” he said. “And, of course, the quality of the product is a big part of the business, too. The cabinets are built to last.”
Carpenter’s Custom Cabinets, located at 34 Jeffrey Road in New Limerick, can be reached by calling 532-6915 or via e-mail at kevin@pwless.net.
