Many things change over the years when it comes to home designs, but one thing that stays consistent is people’s desire for beautiful wooden cabinetry, doors and furniture that last.
Since 2003, Ingrained Wood Studios has been doing just that by taking rough hardwoods and turning them into works of art designed by architects and constructed by experienced artisans.
“We have people at our shops who really understand color selection and grain, so as they're selecting boards, they already know roughly how it's going to be used,” says Don Forsman, the president and former owner of the company. (Brian Ludvigson is the new owner.)
Don became involved in the construction industry in the late 70s, and early 80s as a carpenter and general contractor. “After being a general contractor for 20 years, I opened up a cabinetry shop that was mostly doing a lot of historical renovations and restorations. We outgrew that space, moved into another building and kept the old space. We've just collected space and people over the years, and we have some great talent.”
Throughout his career, he has enjoyed working with wood, a team that understands the finer points of woodworking, and his clients. “These days we're working for some fantastic design and architecture people that both challenge us and have high expectations, which we meet quite well,” says Don.
He explains there are a lot of characteristics to wood that many people don't understand. “We're in a very challenging climate here with the heat and humidity, so when it comes to anything made out of wood, our job is to create items and spaces that can actually breathe, move around and stay beautiful.”
Ingrained Wood Studios builds a lot of doors and because the outside may be exposed to the elements while the inside is not, his team has to choose the right types of wood. “We recently used white oak on the inside while having copper covering on the outside. It's a beautiful, beautiful door.”
White oak, says Don, has been in demand for almost a decade because it’s easily available in this part of the country and can have that aged or gray color that has been the trend for many years. “It's a very hard material that stands the test of time.”
Another recent project of Ingrained Wood was on Cedar Lake. “We made custom-recessed pulls in a lot of the cabinetry so that there was no hardware involved. We also developed this integral system in the pocket doors where you just stick your finger into the door and are able to open or close it.”
Besides White Oak, the team has also been using a lot of walnut recently. “We just completed a project on a new house that had a three-story staircase with walnut paneling on all the walls and the ceiling,” he says. Walnut has some unique color characteristics that are perfect for designs that require a very rich and dark wood.
No matter the project, all of these custom-made items are created in one of two production facilities located in Minneapolis and Bloomington. Along with doors, cabinetry and staircases, the team is often asked to build furniture, tabletops, fireplace surrounds and just about anything that people can dream up to make out of wood.
A big request right now are dog doors. “We have to build a disappearing door with no visible means of support that can be pulled closed to keep the dog out, but it can only be as tall as the dog. There's a lot of fun stuff happening out there.”
Since Don has been in the business for a long time, he loves visiting homes that he worked in 10 or 20 years ago. “People tell me how much they still absolutely love their spaces, and those spaces look the same as when I left.”
While he doesn’t do the actual woodworking any longer, he’s still very much involved in the day-to-day operations. “I’m engaged in every project and still oversee quality control to maintain consistency,” he says.
Chad Johnson, with whom Don has worked for over 40 years, is the current overseer of the entire operation. “He’s a vital part of the organization and an incredibly skilled craftsman who has an eye for detail like few people that I've ever known.”
Adds Don, “We have a great team here and I feel that a good architect coupled with our craftsmanship creates high quality pieces, and that's very satisfying to me.”