Walking into Superior Woodwork is like coming home to my dad’s shop where he spent years and years designing, building and installing cabinets that last a lifetime. In the production area of Superior, I am hit with scents of my childhood, of sawdust and the faint smell of lacquer emanating from a separate room off to the side of the massive building. As I see people in each section of the production cycle, I realize while my dad works alone, they are working together to create something beautiful for someone, whether it be newlyweds moving into their first new home, a couple who has dreamt of a new kitchen for years or a business that is striving to make a good impression on the community. No matter what, the work each and every person at Superior does is important and each piece of wood is regarded as a piece of art – being shipped, cut, sanded, stained, lacquered and glued together to create a masterpiece.
The owner William Russell, along with his wife, Sylvia, argue that what they do is not necessarily considered “art,” but “craftsmanship.” With 23 years under his belt, Russell has seen his business venture from being a shop to a major manufacturer, without losing sight of the goal to interject the homeowners’ own style into the designs of their kitchens.
Russell says the artistry in cabinetry is in the details. Kitchens, baths, home entertainment centers and home office designs should incorporate function and form together in such a way that they are pleasing to the eye and integral parts of the home. With this, Superior Woodwork is about more than just the finished product, but about the process each order goes through before it leaves the production site.
Russell emphasizes, “We approach each order from a team perspective. This company is not just about me. In fact, it could survive without me. It is about the staff and personnel, from design to production. It takes all of us to accomplish each set of cabinets. We could not function without every part of this team…the people are the most important asset this company has.”
Part of the “team” he is referring to is the staff, along with dealers from California to Louisiana and as far north as Montana, who install Superior Woodwork cabinets across the Southwest. One thing that has brought the company into such high demand is its evolution into new and unique products, such as their work with new species of wood like Lyptus Hardwood, a product from Brazil that is sustainable, renewable and is being requested more and more as an “environment-friendly” wood product. Russell said being able to keep up with industry changes and advances not only allows his company to continually move forward, but also encourages “thinking outside the box,” which allows his designers to design each set of cabinets in a creative and innovative way.
Superior has 580 configurations of cabinets that are customizable for each client with a choice of 14 different species of wood, more than 40 door styles and over 35 color variations. Each customer is given the opportunity to sit with a designer to create a kitchen, bath or other specialty area reflecting the personality and taste of each individual customer.
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