The cherry lumber is carefully covered, ready for custom cabinets. Within feet, finished cherry cabinets show matching grain beneath clear lacquer. For Freeport Woodworking’s production manager, Dave Adams and master builder Jared Prentiss, the perfect finish and exacting construction reflect the quality they’ve produced for seven years now. Their custom woodworking graces kitchens, restoration sites, churches and homes throughout New England.
Adams looks like the craftsman he is, a third generation master builder with a degree in graphic design from Portland School of Art (now Maine College of Art) and 12 years of graphic design experience under his belt. That attention to detail and ability to see in dimension are skills he uses now in his drafting process. He comes to Freeport Woodworking via furniture making. “I found that I got much more enjoyment out of working with my hands than working at a desk, and got back into furniture making with my own shop,” he explained, “and that evolved into fine cabinetry.”
Prentiss worked as a sign maker for a dozen years, hand carving, gold leaf, painting....using skills gathered in boat restoration and honed during school at Cortland State, where he earned a BFA in sculpture. Prentiss left sign work to become the furniture prototype builder for McKenzie Child Ltd. in New York. Fate intervened, in the form of the boat building show in Portland and an interesting woman, and Jared moved to Maine where he now lives with his wife and daughter.
Adams and Prentiss form the core of Freeport Woodworking, providing most of the custom woodworking done in the fine homes built by Taggart Construction, plus custom cabinetry and woodworking in homes constructed by other design/build firms. They bring a similar aesthetic judgment to the table, but complement it with different problem-solving skills.
“Most of our work comes from decorators, architects and kitchen designers who have a vision and need skilled hands to interpret their ideas. The development process takes a lot of time to get right. Our clients, both the professionals and the people they’re building for, have a genuine interest in quality craftsmanship, nice wood, and beautiful, functional design,” says Prentiss. “The architect knows what he or she wants it to look like,” Adams notes, “and we develop the structure that happens behind the façade. To guarantee functionality, all our work goes through a shop drawing procedure which allows us to work out problems on paper before they reach the build stage. As part of our construction process, each piece, from individual cabinet to full kitchen, is assembled and disassembled before it goes to the job site. This allows us to confirm dimensions and adjustments, keeping installation time to a minimum."
Both Adams and Prentiss attend their share of installations, because their job is to oversee any issues resulting from site conditions. They enjoy a certain comfort level, based on experience. “We do feel like we’re well prepared when we start the installation. Our quality level is superior: you won’t find a better custom woodworking shop. And since we’re focused on showing off the unique signature of the home owner and designer or architect, it’s always a pleasure to provide a really high level of customer service as well.”
Adams and Prentiss agree: bringing an attractive design to life satisfies parts of their inner artists.
Freeport Woodworking’s custom kitchen cabinetry lit up the cover of Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen and Bath Ideas magazine in April. The same sunny gold kitchen appeared in the