Carpenters saw a niche, filled it

Kevin Pecunia and Charles Colon grew up together in Norwalk, Conn., and now they own a wood-crafting business in Rehoboth and a shop in Pawtucket that thrives off the synergy and similar creative ideas that lifelong friends share.

Colon relocated to the area to expand his then-employer’s sales territory into Rhode Island eight years ago and he settled in Rehoboth. When his company was about to lay him off two years ago, it was the perfect opportunity to turn his carpentry hobby into a business, and who better to partner with than Pecunia.

Pecunia was a carpenter for 25 years in all areas of construction until he moved to Florida about four years ago to try his hand in the kitchen – not building them, but working in them as a chef.

For two years, he cooked up four-star restaurant cuisine and enjoyed it, but the opportunity to partner with his friend and use his construction skills – and his associate’s degree in construction engineering – was enticing enough for him to pack up and move back to New England.

“(Charles) called me and said, ‘I know I’m going to get laid off, let’s open up a business.’ That was it,” Pecunia said.

In December 2002, the two friends combined their tool collections and invested about $30,000 in starting their own trim carpentry business out of Colon’s basement – doing interior woodwork including door and window casings, baseboards, crown and ceiling moldings, wainscoting and other wooden-wall paneling, cabinets and built-in furniture.

Colon’s bachelor’s degree in business management gave him the know-how to get CP WoodCrafters name around town. The duo knocked on doors and networked with construction companies to get leads for work until the business starting taking off – and out of Colon’s basement.

In April, they opened a workshop on Harris Avenue in Pawtucket and plan to hire more carpenters to take on more jobs. With only one employee, they take on between two and four jobs at a time.

“We really started with nothing. We asked people to just give us a chance and started gaining traction with custom cabinetry,” Colon said. “After about eight or nine months we had no choice but to move out of the basement. The 10-foot tall armoires just weren’t fitting.”

The designs they create come from their customers’ vision combined with their own ideas and expertise. Each finished piece is an original.

The partners provide clients a scaled drawing and a detailed scope of work. Once the design is approved and the customer has chosen a wood finish, paint or stain, the building and installation begins.

CP WoodCrafters also has its own line of simple, practical furniture designed to be universal enough to match various settings, though they do not have stock.

Prices are based on the size of the piece, the materials used, and the type of finish. A custom clock tower costs about $250, a 10-foot tall stain-grade armoire may cost about $2,600, and a shelf and molding installation surrounding a fireplace could cost between $4,000 and $10,000.

“Where we are different from other businesses like this is the cost of designing the furniture, building it and installation are included in the prices,” Colon said.

In addition to original pieces, they can re-create just about any piece of furniture imaginable. If you have your eye on a desk you saw in a catalogue, Colon and Pecunia can likely replicate it from a photograph.

The pieces are often displayed at local furniture shows and events. CP WoodCrafters
will showcase its work Oct. 31 at the Rhodes on the Pawtuxet in Cranston. The
company will have on display and for sale unique wall hangings made from salvaged
wood from a 1700s gristmill located in their home state of Connecticut.