We are all in.

2020 will go down as an infamous year, and it looks like 2021 will also be one to remember. The time we all spent locked down at home seemed to serve as a catalyst for many folks to start those home improvement projects that they had been putting off. There has been a massive boom for contractors and carpenters, paired with a massive labor shortage and delays in materials. A difficult combination for sure.

Our cabinetshop has felt the affects of all of these things. We are busy designing and building some incredible projects, clients are excited and bursting with new ideas having found all the faults with their current kitchens during the pandemic enforced home time. It’s been a joy to have such fun creative endeavors.

But, we too are feeling the pinch. Our team are working extra hours and we are actively looking for new employees (know someone? message me!). We’ve been on an endless game of catch up when team members need to take unplanned time off due to potential covid exposure, and as we wait on back ordered materials.

So, this summer we decided to do something different. Company founder and owner Matthew Lord realized that in order to continue meeting deadlines and produce work of an extremely high quality we needed to be innovative. He called the JF troops to action and twice a week our entire York, Maine office team headed downstairs to work on the floor of the cabinet shop.

Some of our office team started at JF working in the shop, they shook off the rust and remembered their skills. But some of the office folks had no experience in a cabinet shop, so they started where all our new employees start – sweeping and sanding!

We have always been proud of our JF team, they work hard with an intense focus on quality. This summer made us even more proud of every employee. There was never a grumble about leaving the air conditioned comfort of an office chair and our cabinet makers in the shop proved themselves to be patient and thorough teachers.

There’s something to be said for knowing a business inside and out, it’s how Matthew and Mike started Jewett Farms + Co. by doing every task themselves. Our office team now have a better understanding of the intricacies of making our products and the cabinet makers got to see first hand how hard-working our office folks are.

We ended up putting all hands on deck due to necessity but the benefits of this company wide effort have had a wider impact than we realized. There’s a sense of camaraderie that comes with the knowledge that every member of the company is willing to do what it takes to get things done. Beautiful work is being produced, relationships are deeper and our team is stronger than ever.