By David MacDonald
Rines Creek, a small rural community in Hants County, Nova Scotia, is one of the bases of Abe Wall’s custom solid wood cabinetry business, Walls Cabinetry Plus. That’s where his wife, Raylene Wall, coordinates marketing. Twenty kilometres north on Nova Scotia Route 354 in Noel is Abe’s second base, his manufacturing facility. I use the word ‘base’ because Abe is mobile. He takes on projects in Kings, Lunenburg, Halifax, Colchester, and Pictou counties. “If it’s within two hours, I’ll be there,” he told me. Abe builds the solid wood cabinets in his 3,500 square feet shop and then oversees the delivery and installation. And according to his customers, he doesn’t waste any time. Amongst the testimonials found at wallscabinetryplus.com, Deanna W’s captures the collective experience best: “Walls Cabinetry Plus delivered everything we dreamed our kitchen would be. They offer nothing but superior quality and fast installation. We were very happy with the outcome. If you are looking for a superior custom made kitchen then you have found the right place. We highly recommend Walls Cabinetry Plus and will for years to come.” Abe, who spoke with Spotlight on Business in late February, is modest about his success, but also adamant about two things: “First of all, custom solid wood cabinets don’t come with the price tag most people assume. The price is quite low considering the quality of the product. Second, solid wood cabinets are up-to five times stronger than manufactured cabinets made from faux wood, which most companies use. ” Apparently Nova Scotians are getting the message. Abe is currently booked for jobs four months in advance and his appointment calendar is getting busier by the day.
Work with what you’ve got
For Abe, quality control comes down to one thing, and it happens to be the thing he’s best at. “I keep every element of production under one roof. There’s no detail that I don’t personally attend to and I’ve got to say, it’s a bonus that I get paid to do this,” Abe laughed. “Working with my hands, working with wood has never really been work to me. I tell people it’s part of my DNA and honestly, that’s what it feels like.”
Maybe it is in his DNA
“I grew up a Mennonite, so you can imagine that I’ve been around woodworking since before I can remember,” Abe explained. “When I was young, I couldn’t stay away from my Uncle Henry’s solid wood furniture business. The time I spent there really had an impact on me. I kind of took after him – and other people I knew – and started taking on small projects for friends and people in my family. I was one of those kids running up the driveway after school, but I wasn’t grabbing my hockey stick or getting on my bike. I was grabbing the sandpaper and getting back to work on a night stand or an end table.”
Living the dream
By the time he was 14-years old, Abe was an apprentice, working part-time for a kitchen cabinet manufacturing company owned by a Mennonite friend. “I spent the next 10 years honing my skills with several Mennonite kitchen companies,” he said. “At first, I was strictly assembly and installation but it wasn’t long until I was taking on more responsibilities, like spray finishing, design, foreman, and eventually subcontractor. I put everything into my pursuit of this trade and eventually I came to realize that what I really wanted was a business of my own, something that I could shape. And here we are.”
Spread the word
Abe explained that after more than a decade of building custom, solid wood cabinets as a family-owned business, his work and reputation speaks for itself. “Up to now, our customers have done most of our advertising for us. We believe word-of- mouth marketing suits our needs quite nicely considering our range is within six Nova Scotia counties, but we’re happy to be reaching out to more people. We want people to know that our primary focus is making your vision a reality.”
Speaking of spreading the word
Not only does Walls Cabinetry Plus come with the best price tag in the market, they also work closely with their clients every step of the way. “We’ve done details on things like kitchens, bathrooms, walk-in pantries, walk-in closets, laundry rooms, mud rooms, and mini bars that we would have never thought of,” Abe said. “Listening to our customers not only strengthens our brand, it turns us onto trends and adds something else to our repertoire. It’s a win-win.”
Denice C-F agrees. Her review on the Walls Cabinetry Plus Facebook page says it all:
“Abe worked with us when we built our new home. I showed him numerous pictures of what we wanted for our kitchen and he came up with the perfect design and layout. I also showed him bathroom vanities online and he built them perfectly for us. We couldn’t have been happier with the final product. Start to finish, Abe was reliable, on time, trustworthy and completely professional. I highly recommend Abe to design and build your dream kitchen.”
Making sense of your dream
Because there’s a vernacular to Abe’s work, he’s thought ahead to make the process of articulating just what you want a littler easier. “Working with solid wood requires a level of expertise. There’s a feel, a texture, a smell that defines every grain. The Samples tab on the website has a nice array of painted samples, stained samples, and natural wood samples so that when perspective customers book an appointment, they have a general idea of what they’re looking for. It’s great when a customer is able to get out their phone and show me exactly what stained wood, or whatever it is, they’re looking for.”
Abe can be reached at 902-305- 4128 or abe@wallscabinetryplus.com.