What: McIntosh & Tuttle Cabinetmakers

Where: 41 Chestnut St., Lewiston

Contact: 777-1395; www.mcintoshandtuttle.com

Pull quote:
“Frankly, a lot of people said we were crazy to have a Lewiston address and do what we do,” said McIntosh. “That actually fueled me even more to do it.”
A perfect fit
McIntosh & Tuttle high-end cabinetmakers find success – and in Lewiston’s Hill Mill no less.
LEWISTON – Woodworkers Todd McIntosh and Jon Tuttle wish they could afford their own creations.
The specialty cabinetmakers make such high-end pieces that they can only admire their work before shipping it off to clients in Manhattan and Boston. But that’s OK with them.

“We decided if we go down that road, it’ll be much more enjoyable,” said McIntosh of their pursuit of a pricey niche market. “It’s more of challenge because fewer people are doing it and there’s immense self-satisfaction in knowing you can do something not very many other people or shops can do.”

How high-end are they? Kitchen work starts at $18,000 and runs upwards of $100,000 – and that’s just for the cabinetry.

The price tag reflects the custom work each job entails. Every project starts from scratch, first with the design, then the materials and finally the actual assembly and finish work. It seems the 2-year-old company has found its market – it has a backlog of six months’ worth of work.

McIntosh said it’s a nice problem to have. Since moving into the Hill Mill in 2002 and setting up shop (proudly proclaimed by a sign designating the shop as “world headquarters” of McIntosh & Tuttle Cabinetmakers), the company has grown from two employees to eight. Sales are expected to register somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million over the next year.

Business has been so good, the company moved from its initial space at the mill to a space more than twice as big at 8,000 square feet. The high ceilings, plentiful windows and wooden floors of the old textile mill make it ideal for woodworking.

“Wooden floors are much easier on your back,” said McIntosh. “And they’re more forgiving if you drop a tool. We both really like the character of the building.”

In the main work area, rows of work benches are positioned right under a bank of windows. Sunlight streams through them, illuminating the work surfaces of the three craftsmen who are shaping various pieces of wood. Free-standing wide-belt sanders and other woodworking equipment is nearby. Across from the work area is a storage area where planks of plantation mahogany, poplar and cherry await their transformations.

An adjacent 700-square-foot finishing room allows components to be painted, stained or otherwise finished. The shop floor is buttressed by loading docks: one to bring materials in and one to send finished goods out.

The pair came across the space two years ago when they were searching for a location to set up their own shop. They had worked together at another Maine woodworking shop and were eager to set out on their own. Although Tuttle grew up in Auburn, they were searching for space in the Portland area where McIntosh, a former golf pro, was settled. But then they saw the Hill Mill.

“Basically it was Economics 101,” said McIntosh. The space was suited to woodworking, pr e was affordable and the landlords were easy to work with.

The only concern was whether Lewiston’s blue-collar reputation would somehow sully their image among their well-heeled clientele. So they checked with some designers and architects.

“Frankly, a lot of people said we were crazy to have a Lewiston address and do what we do,” said McIntosh. “That actually fueled me even more to do it.”

They haven’t looked back. One advantage the mill space offers is the opportunity to expand, which the company did by investing $150,000 to move from its original mill location to its current one.

While most of the business is concentrated on cabinetry, the pair have made one-of-a-kind furniture.

“Both of us love the furniture. We joke that we make money on the kitchens and lose money on the furniture,” said McIntosh.

He describes his style of furniture as contemporary-Japanese-Shaker.

“They have very simple lines, beautiful woods and subtle curves,” he said.

Tuttle said he prefers working with “more traditional designs and updating them a bit.”

One of his designs begins with the frame of an old Morris chair that Tuttle personalizes by pegging with aluminum dowels through which panels of cherry are woven. The weave is echoed in the pattern of an accompanying screen.

Because each piece is one-of-a-kind, there is a tremendous amount of time involved in its design and production – hence the cost. For some pieces, the woodworkers will go to New Hampshire for rough lumber that they mill and finish in Lewiston.

McIntosh, who handles most of the marketing and administrative work, rarely finds time to actually work with wood these days. In fact, his colleagues refer to his workbench as “the museum.” Each hand tool hangs from its appointed spot on a wall and there’s not a speck of sawdust on the workbench itself.

But McIntosh has plans. Over in the storage area is a shelf with planks of wood salvaged from old hangars at Brunswick Naval Air Station. The aged Douglas fir is pocked with nail holes.

McIntosh sees it as the perfect wood for cabinets in his own home. He loves that the wood has a history and is now being recycled for another use.

Plus it means he can finally afford to display his own McIntosh & Tuttle cabinetry.

“Of course it might take five years to finish …” he notes.
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