June 11, 2007
Shaker maker | A chat with Mark McKelvey, founder of Cork Cove Furniture in Chelsea.
Founded: February 2006
Employees: McKelvey, one full-time worker and one part-time worker
Startup costs: $150,000
Revenue, year one: $50,000
Projected revenue, year two: $150,000
Contact: 582-4518
672 River Rd., Chelsea 04330
www.corkcovefurniture.com
What kind of furniture do you make?
We have a line of Shaker-inspired furniture. I'm trying to market that online and in small specialty interior design shops. I'm also trying to sell the custom services, and we'll do anything from fine custom furniture to fine kitchens.
What does your line of furniture include?
We have the Pownalborough Courthouse Chest, which we offer in four-, five- and seven-drawer [models]. It comes in tiger maple, cherry or painted any color that the customer would like. Then we have three beds ˆ a camp bed, a cottage bed and a pencil-post bed. We have two different nightstands, and close to 10 different styles of mirrors.
How much do your pieces cost?
The lowest is the mirrors and they start at about $150. The highest would be the seven-drawer chest in cherry with solid panels, and that's about $2,000.
Why did you decide on the Shaker style?
I've always loved Shaker furniture. I've worked with the [Thomas] Moser family on and off for the past 10 years and I just love the simplicity and the joinery ˆ the way the pieces are put together. It's done in the same way now with machines as they did 100 years ago with hand tools.
Why did you open your own shop?
Well, I've been working as an independent contractor [for furniture makers] for so long, and to make money in Maine as an independent contractor you're always driving and I wanted to have a shop based close to home. My son is 10, and I'd like to be involved with his day-to-day activities.
How did you start the business?
My father came up one weekend ˆ he lives in Massachusetts ˆ and I took him to see a room I was building in a house in Georgetown. He was nearing retirement, and he's always had a love of woodworking and has more of a business sense. I've always been more creative. We just got talking.
What was the first step?
Coming up with the designs was the first thing. From being in wood shops since high school, I knew what machines I would need, so I started researching all machines and finding a shop big enough to hold them. My dad is like a walking business plan. He knows exactly what's needed, where to go to get your business incorporated.
How does your father help you these days?
If I have a question, like, I get calls from magazines looking for advertising and it's very tempting. He felt, in his experience, that advertising can be a waste of money, and he suggested we go to the Residential Design and Construction show in Boston where people can actually put their hands on the furniture. And lo and behold, he was right. I have plenty of work. So in that capacity, he helps out.
How did you get start-up funding?
That was through his means. He secured the financing, taking out a loan, and the company is going to pay it back. He may or may not stay in the company.
Would you have felt comfortable taking out a loan yourself?
No, I wouldn't have done it without him. I thought about it before but it was just too far out of reach for me to do it alone.
Do you use your own furniture?
Actually I can't afford it. I'm just trying to count every penny and I can't justify buying my own furniture at this point. I do have some prototype pieces that didn't make the final cut. I have two nightstands and a four-drawer chest. And a kitchen table. I needed a kitchen table so I took a couple afternoons and put one together.
What are your plans for the business?
I would love to have a bigger shop, like, say, a 3,000-square-foot shop with six to eight people working on the line of furniture and the custom work and keeping everyone gainfully employed with health insurance, which I just recently got, and haven't had before. I'm thinking if things keep going the way they are now, that could happen within three years.
New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to kelson@mainebiz.biz.
Employees: McKelvey, one full-time worker and one part-time worker
Startup costs: $150,000
Revenue, year one: $50,000
Projected revenue, year two: $150,000
Contact: 582-4518
672 River Rd., Chelsea 04330
www.corkcovefurniture.com
What kind of furniture do you make?
We have a line of Shaker-inspired furniture. I'm trying to market that online and in small specialty interior design shops. I'm also trying to sell the custom services, and we'll do anything from fine custom furniture to fine kitchens.
What does your line of furniture include?
We have the Pownalborough Courthouse Chest, which we offer in four-, five- and seven-drawer [models]. It comes in tiger maple, cherry or painted any color that the customer would like. Then we have three beds ˆ a camp bed, a cottage bed and a pencil-post bed. We have two different nightstands, and close to 10 different styles of mirrors.
How much do your pieces cost?
The lowest is the mirrors and they start at about $150. The highest would be the seven-drawer chest in cherry with solid panels, and that's about $2,000.
Why did you decide on the Shaker style?
I've always loved Shaker furniture. I've worked with the [Thomas] Moser family on and off for the past 10 years and I just love the simplicity and the joinery ˆ the way the pieces are put together. It's done in the same way now with machines as they did 100 years ago with hand tools.
Why did you open your own shop?
Well, I've been working as an independent contractor [for furniture makers] for so long, and to make money in Maine as an independent contractor you're always driving and I wanted to have a shop based close to home. My son is 10, and I'd like to be involved with his day-to-day activities.
How did you start the business?
My father came up one weekend ˆ he lives in Massachusetts ˆ and I took him to see a room I was building in a house in Georgetown. He was nearing retirement, and he's always had a love of woodworking and has more of a business sense. I've always been more creative. We just got talking.
What was the first step?
Coming up with the designs was the first thing. From being in wood shops since high school, I knew what machines I would need, so I started researching all machines and finding a shop big enough to hold them. My dad is like a walking business plan. He knows exactly what's needed, where to go to get your business incorporated.
How does your father help you these days?
If I have a question, like, I get calls from magazines looking for advertising and it's very tempting. He felt, in his experience, that advertising can be a waste of money, and he suggested we go to the Residential Design and Construction show in Boston where people can actually put their hands on the furniture. And lo and behold, he was right. I have plenty of work. So in that capacity, he helps out.
How did you get start-up funding?
That was through his means. He secured the financing, taking out a loan, and the company is going to pay it back. He may or may not stay in the company.
Would you have felt comfortable taking out a loan yourself?
No, I wouldn't have done it without him. I thought about it before but it was just too far out of reach for me to do it alone.
Do you use your own furniture?
Actually I can't afford it. I'm just trying to count every penny and I can't justify buying my own furniture at this point. I do have some prototype pieces that didn't make the final cut. I have two nightstands and a four-drawer chest. And a kitchen table. I needed a kitchen table so I took a couple afternoons and put one together.
What are your plans for the business?
I would love to have a bigger shop, like, say, a 3,000-square-foot shop with six to eight people working on the line of furniture and the custom work and keeping everyone gainfully employed with health insurance, which I just recently got, and haven't had before. I'm thinking if things keep going the way they are now, that could happen within three years.
Interview by Kerry Elson
New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to kelson@mainebiz.biz.
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