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Michel Richard and his son Gabe own and operate The Woodshop in Los Lunas, New Mexico and have been designing + building custom cabinets and furniture for 30 years. Michel built the cabinets for the first home Jon built when he went into business over 25 years ago. Gabe joined him in business after he finished college and they have been building their business together ever since. They also built much of the furniture in our home. Their work is exquisite and their craftsmanship top notch. They design and build in many different styles and woods and can ship free-standing pieces nation-wide. Click on their logo (above) to visit their web site.

A couple weeks ago, Michel came to our new little house to measure for our kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities. He drew the outlines on the floor and we discussed options for placement of drawers and cabinets. We discussed options for wood and settled on alder; a wood we've used for several of our pieces of furniture over the years. It's a rich, warm wood with a light, golden color. The inside of the cabinets will have a laminate coating for ease of cleaning and the shelves will be adjustable. Michel + Gabe also design pull out shelves and drawers, lazy susans and other special features that make good use of space; important in our small kitchen.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, we took a trip down to The Woodshop to visit our old friend, Michel and our cabinets in production. Michel served us home made apple pie and we toured his shop. Their equipment is sophisticated and they have an exhaust system for the sawdust which makes their working conditions much more pleasant and healthy.

They build the cabinet bases first and here they are! Alder turns darker and more golden with age. These bases are built in sections so they can deliver them, then reassemble onsite. We have ordered the upper cabinets to be taller than conventional cabinets for a little extra storage. They will also be building a center island with a maple, butcher block top. There will be storage underneath and places for a few stools.

Here Michel and Grit, Steven's fiancee, discuss the intricacies of cabinetmaking. Grit is from Germany and Michel from France, so they had plenty to talk about. Grit says that the Woodshop and their home and surrounding gardens remind her of Europe.

Michel + Gabe keep their shop organized. Here is their wall of clamps and they have clamps of every size and shape. Above the clamps are examples of door styles. They invite their new customers to their shop to see the different styles and wood options to make their decision making easier.

Another view of the Woodshop, our cabinets and Jon. Years ago, Jon requested a rocking chair built by Michel for a graduation gift from his parents. Michel + Jon have been close friends ever since and Michel has built many sets of cabinets and furniture for our customers over the years.

The cabinet bases are set in place in the kitchen.They are alder and custom made for our little kitchen. A temporary piece of cardboard rests on the island to get a feeling for the size of the maple top that will follow. The upper cabinets, doors and drawers will follow. Now we can get the cabinets measured for countertops. We are going with regular laminate, which I've always liked. With a kitchen this size, we won't have any seams, which is the only downside I have found for laminate. Michel + Gabe will add alder edging to the front of the laminate and the tops of the backsplashes.