Willow Creek Woodworks of Idaho Falls, Idaho, has been gracing homes in the West with custom cabinetry and millwork for the last 15 years. Since Day One, owner Jaxon Ching has served clients well and marketed effectively, helping his company grow from a two-man operation to about 20 employees.
Playing the roles of outside salesman and project manager, Ching’s dedication has been critical to the company’s success.
“I think we stayed in business all of these years because of the quality of work we produce. When we leave a job, we want to make sure it’s 100 percent perfect. I think everyone knows us because everything is about quality. Even if we’re losing money, that’s important in business. That’s how you’re going to grow,” says Ching.
Product offerings include a vast range of functional and decorative cabinetry, doors and other architectural woodwork. Talented and imaginative in-house designers and craftsmen incorporate unique flairs into each cabinet, whether they are contemporary, traditional or Western in style. State-of-the-art machinery also helps with the mass-production requirements, including millwork and staircase applications.
Jaxon Ching Owner of: Willow Creek Woodworks Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho Shop size: 15,000 sq. ft. Employees: 20 Specializes in: Kitchen and bath cabinets, passage doors, architectural woodwork and custom projects.
Ching started building cabinets in Napa Valley, Calif., after he got out of the Navy in 1989.
By the early 1990s, he was married with his first child and yearned to live in a more relaxed location so he moved to Idaho Falls. There he secured a job at Falls Cabinet and Millwork, where he started running jobs after a couple of years.
Ching’s former business partner, Doug Harmer, who had also been at Falls Cabinet and Millwork for several years, had a similar goal.
In January 1997, the pair hung a shingle on their new 4,000-sq.-ft. shop reading Willow Creek Woodworks. The two started with a little advertising and a few phone calls and flyers, but mainly relied on Harmer’s contacts in Jackson.
Several years later, Ching bought out Harmer and became sole owner.
About 90 percent of the commissions are done for a high-end residential market, mainly in Jackson and Sun Valley, Idaho. Most of this work comes by way of contractor, but some homeowners do contact them directly.
Some commercial projects, to name a few, include John Paul Lodge in Snow Basin, Utah; Dollar Lodge and Sun Valley Club House in Sun Valley and Colonial Arts Theater in Idaho Falls, Idaho; Gutterball Office Building, Four Season Condominiums, Trapper Inn in Jackson Hole and Little America Remodel in Cheyenne, Wyo.; and Napa Valley Kitchen Galley in Napa Valley, Calif.
Style preferences are all over the place, but generally lean towards contemporary with lots of exotic veneers.
Top material preferences are cherry, alder and walnut.
The shop typically works on about three jobs at a time and there is a backlog of about two to three months for a simple kitchen or room package and about four to five months for a whole home package. Last year the company bit off a little more than it could chew by taking on too much work. But, as any cabinetmaker might agree, it’s a good problem to have.
As far as dealing with the competition, Ching says the secret is to offer the best customer service possible.
Ching says he would like to grow the company if possible, but would need to convince a neighbor to sell land in order to expand the facility. He also might take on a little more commercial work this year as well to boost revenue.
Steve Hanson, owner of Hanson Woodturning in the village of Cape Porpoise in Kennebunkport, Maine, does anything but mundane lathe work.