Demand for stylish looking, yet fully functional, kitchens has seen plenty of companies emerge to deliver these property ‘must haves’, Suffolk Handmade Kitchens among them.
Set up by Stuart Grainger and Jamie Hudson, ex-employees of the now defunct Smith and Wareham Kitchens Ltd, they decided it made sense to pool their knowledge and skills and become a two-man firm specialising in cabinet making. They are based in a barn at Higham, just a few minutes from the A14.
While a nice rural setting, if rather chilly in the winter, there are benefits for customers.
“By not having a showroom in a town centre we can keep our costs down and we’ve found people quite like coming to us with a picture of what type of kitchen they are after and picking our brains. We are not salesmen but craftsmen so can directly answer any questions . . . there are no middlemen when you come to us. We will then visit a prospective customer’s home, make drawings and suggestions, and take it from there,” explains Jamie.
“We buy the best possible wood we can (from Ardleigh in Essex) and produce kitchens of the highest quality. I believe we can match the quality of the more well known names in our business at maybe half the cost,” adds Stuart.
‘We create from scratch to make bespoke designs,” explains Stuart. “It means we can adapt to most rooms and situations, something that can be more difficult when fitting ‘off the shelf’ kitchens.
They agree that while there are challenges, and their working days tend to be 7am-5pm with few holidays, what they do can be very rewarding. “It’s when a client can’t perhaps visualise how a kitchen will all come together and when it does they are delighted . . . that’s a great feeling.”
Customers come from Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Essex. ‘Word of mouth’ recommendations keep their order books ticking over.
And it doesn’t stop with kitchens; Jamie and Stuart can build wardrobes, bookshelves and TV units.
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