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Gardner-based Wood You Build It began in 2012 in a basement workshop
Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to reflect the correct business name throughout. The company’s name is Wood You Build It.
A lot has changed since Justin Robichaud started his woodworking business more than a decade ago.
Wood You Build It began as a one-person part-time effort in a makeshift basement workshop in 2012, but has turned into a full-time business with more than 10 employees in a 25,000-square-foot facility in Gardner. I did. .
Robichaud, who is dedicated to bringing woodworking consciousness back to a community once known as the furniture capital of the world, is the founder of Wood You Build It, now the largest furniture account on Etsy, based in the Chair City. I pointed out that there is. He attributed the success of the business to the growing trend of customers seeking high-quality wood products.
“I think people are starting to get fed up with inferior products from overseas that arrive in boxes with assembly instructions. They are now at the point where they are willing to pay a few extra dollars to buy them. “It’s something that’s passed down from generation to generation, knowing that it’s made by skilled craftsmen and built to last,” he explained.
“Whether we’re trendsetters or not, we’re following the trend and it seems to be working,” he added.
We take pride in our customer service and delivery
Wood You Build It specializes in kitchen islands, but their product gallery also includes trash cans, storage benches, pet furniture, chairs, and more. All products are custom built, polished, painted, packaged, and personally delivered by Wood You Build It staff to nearly anywhere in the country.
“That’s a trait you don’t see these days,” he says, adding that he often compares his business model to that of milkmen from decades ago. “Milkmen were milking cows, bottling milk, and delivering it. We’re essentially doing the same thing, reinventing the wheel or innovating in some way. Rather, we are reinnovators who simply restore it to what it was before.”
Once it arrives, a driver will take the product to the customer’s home and install it.
Wood You Build It made news four years ago when Justin and his wife, Kate, became the first candidates in the Wachusett Business Incubator’s Leadership Candidate Program. He said he appreciates WBI’s efforts to help local woodworking businesses succeed.
more: Local industry thrives with business incubators
“Being able to connect those dots with the city of Gardner and its history of furniture manufacturing goes hand in hand (with our success),” he said.
Ms Robichaud, 40, who lives in Phillipston, said she was glad to be able to play at least a small role in creating sustainable job growth in the community, and said she was happy to play at least a small role in creating sustainable job growth in the community, adding that after Wood You Build It He added that there was an influx of people asking for it. It was featured in the Chronicle a few years ago.
“We had a lot of inquiries about work,” he says.
The business was recently featured on a segment on WCVB-TV, and Robichaud said several people have reached out to him about his company’s products as a result.
“The inquiries are through the roof,” he said, adding that he understands that kitchen islands aren’t usually something you can just go online and buy with the click of a mouse. “There were some impulse purchases, but we understand this is a big investment.”
more: From barware to cribbage boards: The Templetons create buzz with their woodworking business
Several viewers contacted us to say they were happy to see someone bringing manufacturing back to their community.
“People who were born and raised in Gardner, people who aren’t customers, took the time out of their day to tell us they love what we do,” he said. “I’ve never been one to ask for a pat on the back, but sometimes getting a pat on the back proves that your efforts are being noticed.”
humble beginnings
According to Justin, the company’s origins began with a simple conversation between a husband and wife in 2011. Instead of using actual trash cans in the kitchen, they were using plastic bags hanging from doorknobs. Kate suggested her husband build something to hide the trash, and Justin, who had little woodworking experience, built a trash can out of old floorboards salvaged from the attic. A month later, Justin heard an interview in which his Etsy CEO said the website was geared toward handmade items, so he decided to take photos of his handmade items and post them online. .The bin sold within two hours, but Justin said the incident brought him a “moment of clarity”
“I said to myself, ‘Either I keep doing this or I close my shop and keep working a 9-to-5 job,'” he said, adding that he worked as a delivery boy. The driver at the time added. “I’m glad we took the plunge because we knew if we didn’t take the plunge, we’d leave a lot unfinished. As long as we keep going, the sky is the limit.”
Looking to the future, Robichaud hinted that the company is looking at ways to expand Wood You Build It’s product line beyond kitchenware.
“Currently, we believe we are a leading manufacturer of handcrafted kitchen islands, but we don’t just have to be a kitchen island manufacturer, we like to think that we have the opportunity to literally furnish entire homes. ” he said.
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