Rowan Woodwork is a professional woodworking shop and minority and women owned business (MWBE) in Kingston, New York.
Queer and women-owned, Rowan is a certified green business that designs, builds, and installs handcrafted high-quality custom cabinetry & furniture.
Rowan Woodwork has partnered with clients to envision and execute their custom woodworking dreams for over ten years in New York’s mid-Hudson Valley. A green-certified business and a dis-advantaged business enterprise, we’re not your average woodworkers. At Rowan Woodwork, we transcend tradition and do things differently.
Your Local Woodworking Shop & Certified Women Owned Business
From how we source our materials to the way we treat our team to the way we install your project, our passion for our work is clear. A certified women owned business in a historically male and ego-dominated industry, we have proven over the last ten years that connection and support can build amazing things. At Rowan we believe in transparency, balance, and breaking down (metaphorical) walls. Over half of our ten-person team identifies as female, and we train apprentices to learn the craft – while paying them a living wage. At Rowan, we live our values.
The result is something more magical that we could have predicted ten years ago when we started this. Almost every client we’ve had has become a close friend. Our team has designed and installed a wide array of large-scale projects, professional to the last detail. Sleek, contemporary, and compelling, our work is a conversation starter built to last a lifetime. We apply a unique combination of traditional and modern woodworking techniques to our work , we just do it in a pretty non-traditional way.
Rowan Woodwork has partnered with clients to envision and execute their custom woodworking dreams for over ten years in New York’s mid-Hudson Valley. A green-certified business and a dis-advantaged business enterprise, we’re not your average woodworkers. At Rowan Woodwork, we transcend tradition and do things differently.
An Ambitious Creative Launches A Certified Women Owned Business
Rowan Woodwork was founded in 2014 by Suzanne Walton, who hails from the North of England. As Walton said in HV Mag, “Woodworking is in my blood; my grandfather was a master joiner in the UK.” Suzanne studied Furniture Restoration and Conservation at Manchester College of Arts and Technology in England. In 2014, she opened the doors to a different kind of woodworking shop in Kingston, NY.
Over a decade later, Rowan Woodwork has grown into an award-winning business. We operate with the highest quality of standards in our craft and materials, and employ a team of innovative and accomplished craftspeople. More than half of our ten-person team is female-identified, and we are queer and female led.
From custom cabinetry to custom furniture, our customers leave pleased and coming back for more. In fact, every single customer has become a close friend. Because at Rowan, we don’t just build cabinets. We also build relationships.
Kelly Nyks, Rowan Woodwork Client
“It isn't simply the commitment to unparalleled quality of workmanship—which is unequivocally second to none—it is the Rowan team's commitment to a holistic philosophy across the board that sees them give, support and invest in their community, especially the younger generations. They’re grounded in idealism, rooted in a deep and resounding appreciation for expertise coupled with artistry, is a wonderful example of a different approach to business; one which I sincerely hope becomes contagious. The team at Rowan is taking the road less traveled by, and that makes all the difference.”
Rowan Woodwork is a queer, woman-owned, equal-opportunity employer that is a certified women owned business. As an official New York State Women Business Enterprise (WBE), Rowan Woodwork is a compliant business pursuant to Article 15-A of the New York State Executive Law. We value a diverse working environment and believe in design-led work that's modern, precise, and collaborative.
And it doesn’t stop inside the walls of our shop. As the Chronogram noted in 2020, “Walton and the team of…designers and cabinet makers are looking to expand their impact outside the walls of their Midtown workshop. ‘We have grand visions of making Rowan an example of what a utopian business might look like,’ says Brady Jennings, Rowan's CTO. ‘We hope to foster a coalition of Hudson Valley craftspeople from all the trades, who make it their goal to pump resources directly into the community in the form of money, education, and support.’”
A Certified Green Business Focused on Sustainable Beauty
Rowan Woodwork offers personalized and specialized service to each customer – and we consider our environment as a key player in the project. We take pride in our humanity and in contributing beauty to the world. That’s why we’re a certified green business, as well as a certified women owned business. We focus on sustainability, thoughtfully producing crafts that protect the safety of your family, our team, and the environment.
When it comes to materials – hardwoods, plywoods, composites, metals, eco-friendly — we do our very best to source it all locally here in New York’s Hudson Valley. A certified green business, our local shop and staging area is a nearly 10,000 sq. foot former auto body shop that has been retrofitted to be an eco-friendly shop. We take extra steps to protect people and our planet – by choosing waterborne finishes – to ensure the reduction of off-gassing from our products. From discovery to design to building to installation, we make every effort to reduce waste, conserve resources, and use renewable energy sources at all steps of our process.
Woodworking Design, Functionality, and Expression
At Rowan Woodwork, detail and personality is key. Each project is filled with unique possibilities of expression and functionality, and we strive to push outside boxes (even though we build them), to transcend tradition. Our team of caring, professional, and honest woodworkers will work closely with you, your architects, and your contractors, to craft your ideas and bring your dreams to life.
If you’re looking for a hard-working kitchen or some serious space-saving organization, Rowan Woodwork is here to design and build your solution. As a local New York State Certified Women Owned Business and Certified Green Business, we live our values. We’d love to work hard to bring your custom woodworking dreams to life.
Looking for a local certified women owned business to create custom cabinetry or furniture? Rowan Woodwork is for you. Learn more about how Rowan works here. Sound like a match? Reach out to learn more here.