“The Work” is the phrase used at Acorn Woodworks not only to describe the jobs at hand, but more so, the process – the path that a job takes thru the woodworker, to the drawing board, to the shop and finally to installation.
That process is carefully watched and maintained, so we can then reliably build what is needed, at the price agreed upon, with no complaints, concerns or problems of any kind. This process – The Work – has served us well. Acorn Woodworks has produced more than $18M in Architectural Woodwork over the last 30 years, with hundreds of satisfied customers all over the US. The Process has helped make Acorn grow and supply some of the finest woodwork available.
Anticipating the bumps in the road is always an important part of any business. At Acorn, we have developed tools for the customer to help their end of the Work, and to anticipate and eliminate any bumps the might encounter. We have seen it all, and it has all helped us improve. The Brick Mold Template, clear and concise communications, cross trade communication and cooperation, shop drawings that present solutions instead of raising problems, and a general sprit of us all being on the same 'side.
This spirit of cooperation and communication means we can be flexible enough to accommodate change and to adjust to changes in a fluid jobsite. Researching and finding solutions, designing and drawing to fit the changes into the project are all part of our Work.
The work itself is often difficult and challenging. Designs must be worked out on paper to an agreeable point. The woods and joinery, the look and feel of the project, have to meet with approval, so must be drawn. We specify the details of our work in the Proposal so there can be fair comparison and to illustrate the higher quality of our work. We are not afraid of changes, in fact we welcome them as that is good indicator that someone has looked at the drawings and found something off. The exact purpose of the drawings.
The intensive level of craft is important to the Work at Acorn. Most of what we produce has solid roots in American Architecture, and can be traced back hundreds of years. We also see a fair amount of modern work, old enough now to also have its own standards. And then we are just as often called upon to design something completely new – 12' Tall Cedar doors with matching grain inside and out, or reproduce 120yr old church doors and integrate modern hardware, weatherstrip, finishes and other details that gracefully bring them into the 21st Century.
This Work is what feeds and satisfies our passion. The subject is large enough to hold our interest, while at the same time allowing us the free exercise of our main and various side passions. Satisfaction is off the charts. Every day are small victories – the sliding fit of that tenon, the look of that panel, the matching of some veneers. And then there are the completed projects that really give us satisfaction. When we get pleasure from the fit of a single tenon, then the 30' diameter circular rooms, with a dome ceiling, really ramp up the satisfaction level. I often think that if the General public somehow learned of the pleasure derived from making such things, they would abandon the desk/counter/car for any bench in Acorn's shop. Indeed, I have had customers place orders under one condition – they get to spend a day working on their order.
The purity of purpose shows in the finished products. Delivered with pride, the culmination of all the efforts, the project not only fills the bill on site, but also gives meaning and depth to those of us that build the project. Granted, it is a private satisfaction, but the purity of purpose shows and causes others to notice.