Our Story

Our company is rooted in a sincere respect for the natural world and a sensitivity to man’s relationship with that world.

As a result our production and design philosophy pays homage to the natural world that gives us our materials and our inspiration. We create kitchens and living spaces with a view to longevity, for each piece to last generations.

Why we started the company

Cabinetworks came about out of a need to bridge the divide between sophisticated modular European cabinet systems and the highly skilled craft of handmade cabinetry. By combining the best of both approaches, we are able to offer the refinement that comes with an integrated system together with the craft of custom design, fabrication, and individual flexibility.

Craftsmanship

We believe the human touch and a hand crafted approach allows us to create things that even the most sophisticated technology cannot. Wherever possible we stick to time honored joinery techniques and minimise our dependency on hardware, always allowing the natural authenticity of the materials to shine through.

We like to think that the pieces we create pay tribute to the majestic trees that yield their timber to our cause.

How we work

We provide an expert, tightly focused design service to suit the unique needs of each client whether an architect, interior designer or home owner.

We deal with a limited number of select projects each year that involve extensive client liaison and intense attention to detail.

We produce all the elements of your project in our fully-equipped woodworking facility, deliver them with care, oversee the installation process if necessary, and provide all-inclusive aftersales support.

The Team

Andy de Klerk

Founder and Director

Founder and director/partner of Cabinetworks. Andy started woodworking in 1989 in the USA and established the company in 1994. Andy’s primary role is sales, conceptual design, and business strategy and development. His extensive technical knowledge is tapped into across all aspects of the companys operations.

Coster “Dixon” Distone

Dixon was the fourth employee at Cabinetworks in 2005 and he comes from a family of carpenters. Dixons primary role is manufacturing and he has become an indispensable woodworker, able to make just about anything. He is the lead Shoji screen maker at cabinetworks.

Billy Nell

Senior Cabinetmaker

Billy comes from an aluminium manufacturing background but prefers woodworking. Billy is responsible for procurement and stock control at the factory and he manages the dispatch of our work to all corners of the globe. He can be found at the back bench which is reserved for the senior cabinetmaker.

Warren Franken

Warren is our head designer and he has all the current trends at his fingertips. His design ideas are edgy, contemporary, and sublimely beautiful. He comes from a background in the furniture industry and as a result his technical skills add a vital dimension to his designs. Warren has worked full time at Cabinetworks since 2009 and has just recently decided to start his own company called Elementree - www.elementree.co.za - an online kids furniture platform with an independent sales and design service, which Cabinetworks utilizes

Company history

Andy de Klerk is one of the most respected all-round mountaineers in the world today. Climbing has defined his life. It has taken him to places where he has encountered elements that are hard to find in the modern, urban world – order, simplicity and peace.

When he founded Cabinetworks in 1994, Andy set out with the same passion and respect for the natural world that drove him into the mountains to bring this sense of harmony, this calm and balanced beauty, into his client’s homes.

Today the company is recognised as the premier cabinetmaking company in South Africa. Our work is also internationally sought after and half of what we make is shipped internationally.

We employ 27 people and operate out of a 700m2 workshop in Kommetjie in the south peninsula of Cape Town. We have a showroom and design studio in central Cape Town and have created an agency for our Japanese Sliding Shoji Screens in Johannesburg.

We believe that with careful planning, patience, and dedication, beautiful things can be created from nothing more than an idea and a passionate desire to create the exceptional

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