Our Shop Foreman, Kelly, is famous at The Joinery for his saying “Finishing is only the beginning.”
This statement is particularly appropriate now as we plan how to safely return to work after shutting our operation down due to safety concerns with the coronavirus. We have taken physical distancing requirements to the extreme with Kelly working alone in our Shop over the last month since we shut down.
The finishing process is critical to making Joinery furniture a total sensory experience – the Joinery oil that brings out the richness of the grain line, the hint of citrus smell from the orange oil component, and the hand sanding process that gives our furniture a silky-smooth texture. The finishing process also involves the final assembly and quality check to make sure each piece meets our exacting standards.
Kelly is the ideal person to take this on. A twelve-year veteran with the company, Kelly was promoted to Foreman in 2017 from his role leading the Finish Team. He was significantly responsible for developing our current processes and the team to implement them.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced many companies, including ours, into changes that are necessary, but not always fun. This certainly falls into that category. It was a way for us to continue to move product forward in a safe manner, so that when we reopen we will have some customer orders ready to go. We recognize that the shutdown is frustrating for our customers and we are doing our best to minimize delays. This solitary work isn’t easy for anyone, especially during these uncertain times, and that is especially true for a gregarious personality like Kelly’s. But his willingness to step into this work speaks volumes about him, and his commitment to our core values of Customer First and We Care.
Thanks to Kelly’s efforts over the last month, we are moving customer orders forward in a way that optimizes safety. Please stay tuned for our next steps.