North County Standout: Vistan fashions business out of wood

By: JESSICA MUSICAR - For the North County Times | Friday, July 29, 2005 11:03 PM PDT ∞

VISTA ---- Like many workers turned entrepreneur, Foothill CabinetWorks owner Brendan Mathews spent many years working for others before he realized that he could make a living doing something he enjoyed.

After 20 years in the grocery industry, including a stint as a store manager, Mathews needed a change, he said, and began taking woodworking and fire science classes at Palomar College in hopes of finding a new career.

"I realized that I didn't want to be in (the grocery business) for another 20," Mathews said. "I felt like I needed to be in control of my own life." Ý

After some time, he learned that woodworking could be his bread and butter and, in 1996, started Foothill CabinetWorks, a home-based business that creates custom built-in furniture, as well as kitchen and bath refacing.

Out of his Vista home, Mathews ---- now a licensed contractor ---- and his one employee and woodworking student, Chris Alcorn, build and install or reface cabinets, re-create kitchens and construct other built-in furniture for residential customers. He said he likes to focus on residential projects, although he occasionally works on commercial projects, because he can interact directly with his customers.

Foothill caters primarily to North County customers from Rancho Bernardo to Bonsall.

When potential clients call for his services, Mathews said he goes to their homes to check out the space in question and takes detailed notes on what they are hoping to accomplish. Then he plugs the information into KCDw Software, a kitchen cabinet design program that allows him to make changes with a few clicks of a button. The preliminary design is shown to the client and changed to their specifications.

He said the initial consultation and preliminary design are free, so his clients can decide if they want to use him without losing any money. An average kitchen renovation that he does costs about $15,000, but can range from $10,000 to $30,000, depending on its features.

In addition to his business, Mathews is also an adjunct woodworking instructor at Palomar College, which he has been doing since 1999. He is also president of the Professional Cabinet and Furniture Makers Guild of Southern California.

"If people understand that I'm an instructor at Palomar College, it is a huge credibility factor for them," Mathews said. "Teachers also enjoy a level of respect and trust in the community." Ý

Client Bob Zink, a Vista resident who hired Mathews to re-create his kitchen, said Mathews' "workmanship was fantastic, the attention to detail was fantastic." Zink said, "It's just a beautiful job."

Mathews said he believes opening Foothill CabinetWorks was one of the best decisions he made in his life and is pleased with where it is going. "I'm not a rich person, but I enjoy what I do for a living." Ý

The business grossed $150,000 for 2004.



Standout Facts

Name: Foothill CabinetWorks

Address: 2520 Foothill Drive, Vista

Phone: (760) 941-7139

Web site: www.foothillcabinetworks.com (under construction)

Year established: 1996

Products and services: Custom built-in furniture, kitchen and bath refacing

Number of employees: Two

Size: 1,500-square-foot workshop and 200-square-foot home officeÝ

Gross sales: About $150,000 for 2004

Contact freelance writer Jessica Musicar at Gwyllion@aol.com.