Dean W Richards Custom Woodworking Inc

Dean W. Richards has been building cabinets in the same Essex shop since 1988 — long enough to train his own sons into the trade. The company says Dean is a third-generation woodworker who learned from his father, Alfred "Mickey" Richards, has been at it 38 years, and works alongside his brother Dana and sons Nathan and Joshua. The work itself is bench work: cabinetry, millwork and furniture for homeowners and architects around the North Shore. Its Houzz profile fills in the range — custom cabinets, built-ins, bookcases, pantries, entertainment centers, closet and pantry design — and posts four projects in Gloucester, Wellesley, Boxford and Wenham. North Shore Magazine listed the shop as a woodworking contractor back in 2017. The written history here runs to a single April 2020 Google review, and it is a well-informed one: the customer called the craftsmanship and design "top notch" whether the piece was cabinetry or freestanding, singled out his reproductions for historic buildings, and described his command of different woods as extraordinary. Set that against the Google page as a whole, which averages 3 stars across 4 ratings — the star average and that one detailed write-up point in different directions. For a run of cabinets, a built-in wall, or a period reproduction, this is the kind of shop that work goes to. Because the detailed account of it is six years old, ask for recent North Shore references and photos of finished installs, and pin down lead time before you commit.