From Corporate to Cabinet

Seven years ago Jason Frantz sat in his office at a downtown Dallas advertising firm wishing he was fulfilling his creative intrigue.
"I was on the account services side [of the advertising firm]," Jason said. "I sat in a high rise for two years and watched those guys building another high rise out my window, and I thought, 'I'd rather be one of those guys walking on those beams building something than doing the paperwork in front of me.' I've always had a creative side. I just never dreamed it was something I could be making money at."

Now, four and a half years after starting WoodShop Artisans in Rogersville, Jason and his wife, Angela, are just breaking even, but their fledgling company that specializes in building customized furniture and cabinetry seems to be on its way up.

Angela, a software consultant, was constantly traveling to and from Dallas, so the couple hardly ever saw each other.  "We were both working these pretty hairy jobs, and it wasn't working for us," Angela said.

They decided to move to Washington D.C. where Angela, then 27, took a stationary job. Jason, then 30, began building furniture they needed around the house and realized (after some encouragement from a friend) that his creations could be sold. A woodworker in D.C. agreed to teach Jason everything he knew under the condition that he'd leave the area once his apprenticeship over. The business-savvy woodworker didn't want his student to become his competition. Jason's family lives in Rogersville, which is how the woodworking duo ended up building their custom pieces in 417-land. They began generating business by cold-calling designers. Jobs have come in from St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas and Miami, but their services have been increasingly local. They say 75 percent of this past year's business was in the Springfield area.

Jason specializes in the design and the crafting of the piece, and Angela has a knack for matching custom colors and other detail work. The duo only builds with hardwood as opposed to the particleboard that is used in the construction of many commercial products. Their material both lasts longer and is lighter. In an effort to be environmentally friendly, the Frantzes use water-based stains and finishes and try to use lumber from controlled-growth forests where the trees grow fast and are more of a renewable resource.

When he says he builds from scratch, Jason doesn't mean that he orders cabinet doors from a supplier and attaches them. He means that he begins with a 4-by-8 stretch of plywood and molds it into whatever is requested. The Frantzes have duplicated 80-year-old crown molding, built chairs to match 50-year-old couches and created lamps to mimic pieces collected from foreign travels. The duo can build around existing items in the house or account for space to hold  that huge serving tray that doesn't fit in any existing cabinet. They've also made a name for themselves in the Murphy bed production world.

Jason and Angela charge based on time and materials, which makes it hard to definitively price broad ideas. Many details will determine the time it takes to complete the piece such as type of finish, number of cabinets and so on.

They estimate the cost to be approximately $400 to $600 per linear foot on standard pieces. Jason says he hates wasted space, and his drive for efficiency can be seen in many of his projects. "That's what I like the most," Jason says, "the blending of function and style."