New member, cabinet maker from Somerset

[KOVKID]

I use a local cab maker who delivers straight to site
If storage is tight on site they will deliver in stages at no extra cost which works very well.
I used to use a large national company that only delivered on a weds or friday which i found hard to work around as i usually start fitting on a monday.

[Davidpidge]

Just taken the 7 months to get back to this!! Here's a link to the website which is a work in (very slow) progress!
https://www.createmeakitchen.com/
We have most of the basic units listed with options and prices. Any and all feedback would be very much appreciated at this point.


Most important is the expected lead time and price point for units like this. I'm hoping that because we can offer fully bespoke units/panels and whatever else designers/Clints might need along side the off-the-shelf stuff we will find a market. And you can feel all warm and fuzzy supporting a small business that uses only FSC certified and sustainably sourced materials!

Cheers,
David

[stejoke]

Hi David

My thoughts for you

I like the website - nicely designed, clear and easy to use. 

I can see homeowners living nearish you looking at this site, and if you tweaked it a little, giving you a
call to design them and sell them a kitchen.

I can also see designers / kitchen suppliers giving you a call if they saw the site, to supply them too.

So definitely a good site for generating leads for you. 

The cabinets I supply with my kitchens are made from Egger boards, so the prices are a lot lower than your cabinets. So I may not be the best person to comment, but I would imagine that most homeowners who would be spending this much would want a kitchen designed and supplied for them. What do you think? Have you had much interest over the last months?

Regardless, I wish you all the best with this and your business and hope it really delivers for you.

Cheers

Steve

[Davidpidge]

Thanks for the feedback Steve. We haven't tried to promote the website to public/trade until it's up and running and complete. I currently design and make kitchens/built ins on a job by job basis. Each project is totally bespoke and designed and built from scratch but it's a lot of work with far too much room for error! Hence the move into a standard range. I also hate leaving my workshop so the idea of supply only is very attractive! 

I suppose I'm aiming them at my current market who I know want this type of kitchen but don't want to go to DeVol, Plain English, Harvey Jones etc because they don't have money to burn. Buying from this new site will work out far cheaper for the client than coming to us for a one off bespoke kitchen. The Birch ply carcasses adds a premium but I think it's worth it for the look and durability. Even a bad leak wouldn't touch them! I haven't bothered with oak for the door and face frames as the added cost seems pointless when it's painted. 

I'm hoping that the ease of installation will make them attractive to fitters.

[wjskitchens]

HI David

What would be your lead time be on a kitchen with 20 painted.
Ref the website is it a WordPress site I would go for a open cart Type of shopping cart myself it will be much easier to build as you grow the business.

[Davidpidge]

Our lead time right now would be around 10 weeks. If we were concentrating solely on the kitchen units it would probably still be around that same lead time. 
We use a company called ekm for our website. The template was easy to edit and seemed quite slick.

[wjskitchens]

Ha  I used them over ten years ago found the software wright pain to work with I've moved on from them now I would say get yourself a merchant account for credit card processing on and off line. And ditch PayPal there robbing shods.

Good luck I my be in touch.

[stejoke]

Thanks for the feedback Steve. We haven't tried to promote the website to public/trade until it's up and running and complete. I currently design and make kitchens/built ins on a job by job basis. Each project is totally bespoke and designed and built from scratch but it's a lot of work with far too much room for error! Hence the move into a standard range. I also hate leaving my workshop so the idea of supply only is very attractive! 

I suppose I'm aiming them at my current market who I know want this type of kitchen but don't want to go to DeVol, Plain English, Harvey Jones etc because they don't have money to burn. Buying from this new site will work out far cheaper for the client than coming to us for a one off bespoke kitchen. The Birch ply carcasses adds a premium but I think it's worth it for the look and durability. Even a bad leak wouldn't touch them! I haven't bothered with oak for the door and face frames as the added cost seems pointless when it's painted. 

I'm hoping that the ease of installation will make them attractive to fitters.

I like your thinking David

Let us know when it's up and running.

Good luck 

Steve

[Garry Moore]

Looks brilliant, great work David