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Living a Dream

Published Tuesday, June 17, 2008 on Modern Woodworking

Stephan Schwartz, president and founder of Dynamic Cabinet Designs in Chatsworth, Calif., has some advice for anyone interested in starting up a cabinetmaking shop. "Don’t be afraid. Get a place, power, an exhaust system and then a CNC machine along with software – nothing else," he says.

Schwartz comes by his advice honestly. Having started as an apprentice cabinetmaker in Eastern Europe in 1962, he learned the art of cabinetmaking from Hungarian and Ukrainian craftsmen. He also earned a BS degree in woodworking technology and engineering, while perfecting his cabinetmaking skills by working and designing in order to pay for his education and support his family.

Schwartz came to the U.S. in 1976, worked for a few companies, and in January of 1978 he fulfilled his dream and opened up a shop of his own. "I walked into a small woodworking equipment store with no money in my pocket and tried to buy a table saw," says Schwartz. "The owner had never met me before, but after we talked for 10 minutes and I explained what it was I wanted to do, he gave me the table saw with no money down and let me pay it off monthly. That’s how I got started. It was only my brother and I then, and we started out just getting leftover jobs."

Schwartz will always be grateful for that table saw, but it was a CNC router that changed everything for him. He decided to take the plunge and implement a CNC router as soon as he saw one in action at a woodworking show in 2004. "Due to my knowledge and experience with cabinet software, I realized how valuable it would be," says Schwartz. After his purchase of a CNC router from C.R. Onsrud, Schwartz’s business grew exponentially, and his reputation as a knowledgeable and skilled craftsman grew along with it. More than 30 craftsmen employed by Dynamic Cabinet Designs now manufacture fine architectural woodwork in a 12,000-sq.-ft. facility. The factory is self-sufficient and produces its own cabinet components in-house. Clients include Fortune 500 CEOs and Hollywood celebrities.

Today the CNC router runs eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. Schwartz says his only regret is that he only has one of them. He uses no engineers, designing all projects by himself. "After I get a call from the clients, I meet with them," he says. "We talk back and forth, and sometimes it’s a matter of 10 minutes and sometimes it’s a matter of two months." If his subsequent bid is accepted, he then goes to the job site and measures the floor plan. Clients then come to his office where he pulls up design options with Cabnetware software on a large computer screen, and they often remain while the actual drawings are done. All of the information is then transferred to Schwartz’s office computer and downloaded to the C.R. Onsrud router. "This computer knowledge, along with our Old World skills, enables us to create truly original architectural woodwork," says Schwartz.

A new division is launched

At the beginning of 2007, Dynamic Cabinet Designs launched a new division, CabPartsPro, which provides cabinetmakers with cabinet components assembled or knocked down. Being in the cabinetmaking business for more than 30 years and mastering the Cabnetware software program and CNC operation gives the company an advantage to fabricate cabinet parts promptly and without errors, says Schwartz. CabPartsPro customers are provided with perfect computerized drawings and error-free cabinet components within demanding time frames.

Schwartz believes that the old adage, "The customer is always right" is not one to be followed if you want to be successful. "If the customer is always right, then I must be wrong," he explains. "You have to be right. Then the customer will be happy. If the customer tells you that he or she wants something a certain way and you know it is wrong but do it anyway, you are going to pay the price for it. You need to tell the customer how to do it the right way."

Schwartz says he has the same concerns as most cabinetmaking businesses – keeping up with schedules and giving profitable estimates. Turnaround time can be five days to three months. But due to the CNC machine, someone can order an entire kitchen, and it is possible to have it fabricated in only one week. "Estimating is always very hard because you have to consider payroll, insurance and cash flow, and every day is a different situation," he says. He’s proud of his business, yet has great concerns for the future of woodworking. "We do not grow skilled woodworkers anymore," says Schwartz. "The trade schools are empty."

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