WoodDigest.com |

Gary Harcourt, owner of Against the Grain, Cabinetmakers Inc., could single handedly redefine the way small shops look at sustainable energy.

Harcourt’s story isn’t unlike many other woodworkers: He enjoyed woodshop in high school and spent a few summers working as carpenter. He learned the tricks of the trade from “some great old guys” and went on to study industrial arts education at Oswego State University in New York.

“After two years of Oswego, it was clear to me I didn’t want to be a teacher — at least not a school teacher — and I decided to take a year off to find another school,” Harcourt recalls. “Instead I found the school of hard knocks, and spent the next couple years working as a carpenter.”

In 1986, Harcourt moved to Martha’s Vineyard and set up shop with his brother Gregg, who had been living and working there.

“We worked together for a couple years, but it ended up being too close for comfort,” Harcourt recalls.

Harcourt “caught a lucky break” and set up a small wood shop of his own in Oak Bluffs, Mass.

“I don’t think I made any money at all those first few years, but I sure did work a lot,” Harcourt says. “In retrospect, I think those years were my marketing years. People got to know me and my work, and I gained a reputation as a good cabinetmaker. Having a brother as talented as mine helped a lot; in fact, people still call me thinking they are calling my brother.”

In 21 years, Against the Gain has grown from Harcourt’s small, one-man shop with a table saw and jointer to “the great work space and crew we have today.”

Against the Grain Cabinetry consists of three full-time and two part-time employees. Tyler Studds leads production and installations — and runs the shop while Harcourt is not around. Mike Emig, a “detail man” who now handles most of the finishing, joined the team three years ago with no woodworking experience after he answered a help-wanted ad in the paper.

“When I’m looking for employees, I’m not as interested in their abilities as I am our ability to get along,” Harcourt says. “You can teach anyone to build cabinetry, but personalities tend to stay the same — and in a shop our size, we all really have to get along.”

In addition, Paul Farrington works two days a week, primarily on installations, and Harcourt’s wife Kathryn handles the bookkeeping, accounting, payroll and insurance — a position she has manned since the beginning.

All of Against the Grains’ workload is generated by word-of-mouth referrals.

“We offer service with a smile,” Harcourt says.

“I like to remind the guys that our job isn’t to make what we think is best. Our job is to make the customer happy,” he says. “We take great pride in producing quality work with solid joinery built to last. If anything ever goes wrong, we get right on it and make sure it’s remedied as quickly as possible. Service is what it’s all about.”

ATG typically works for general contractors, but about a quarter of its work is made directly for homeowners.
The company offers design, fabrication, finishing and installation of custom woodwork. Most of its work is comprised of custom residential cabinetry, but the company does produce specialty products like libraries, bars and vanity wall units.

ATG installs all of the casework in each client’s home.

“Ninety-five percent of the time, we install; but if we are on a job that is big enough, and we trust the site crew, we are happy to let them do it,” Harcourt says.