Meet James Snow | Furniture Maker & Master Carpenter

We had the good fortune of connecting with James Snow and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The thought process behind starting my own business didn’t really start as a thought of being an Entrepeneur. It really started as a passion to create – to be a woodworker as a passion project and a way to wind down from the stress and rigors of a career in law enforcement. Woodworking became my escaped from the job and a way to leave work at work. As I got better, I had a co-worker see some work and ask if I could build him some cabinets….I figured they were just boxes with doors, so I said sure – and it just took off from there. After finishing that job, word of mouth spread, and I found myself with a full-time cabinet business. I branched out into furniture and fell in love with the Arts and Crafts movement – especially the work of the Greene brothers, who were the architects of the Gamble house in Pasadena (which you see as “Doc’s” house in Back to the Future). I embraced this furniture and a few years ago, I became involved as a Master Carpenter for the TV show “Restored” on the DIY network / Magnolia network and a historic lighting company out of Orange County saw my work and asked if I would start building all of their historic Arts and Crafts and Greene and Greene fixtures, leading to an enduring partnership with the Old California Lighting Company.

As I retired from my law enforcement career in February of 2023, it made sense to continue the business into my “golden years.”

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business today is a full-service woodworking business. We build custom furniture, custom cabinetry and built-ins, trim work, and virtually anything out of wood. We create heirloom quality furniture and lighting in the Arts and Crafts and Greene and Greene styles and take a lot of pride in our dedication to the restoration of old homes. We have been featured on the TV Show “Restored” and do work for many different designers and contractors. We also have a YouTube channel we started this year that focuses on woodworking and tips and tricks for woodworkers.

I believe it is our attention to detail and uncompromising focus on quality that sets us apart from others. If I am not happy with the end product, it doesn’t leave the shop. I am most proud of our reputation with our clients – evidenced by the fact that all of our work is from referrals and word of mouth – we do not advertise. We have done work for different generations of the same family and consistently have repeat work from the same clients.

I got to where I am today business-wise from just good old fashioned hard work and grinding. There were a lot of nights when I came home from my LEO job and had to go out to the shop and work till midnight getting a project completed for a deadline – it was just a function of working hard and never quitting.

It was never “easy”…..Overcoming the challenges was again just a function of putting the work in – repeating the mantra from my dad of “hard work wins”. There were times when I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and in tears and I would call him and he would listen to me and say, ” ok, well what happens if you quit?” After a bit of going back and forth, it always came down to, let’s lace up the shoes and get back to work – and this same conversation was had many times with my wife Jaime as well. Failure and quitting were just never an option – if you take that out of your equation, you can do anything.

The lessons I have learned along the way are as follows:

1. Hard work wins.
2. Always do the right thing – it doesn’t matter who is watching – do the right things for the right reasons.
3. Always treat others the way you would want your mother treated.
4. The mistakes we make along the way and the regret we have for those are tempered with time – it is the things we do not do that are inconsolable – so DO THE THING.
5. Always remember that any toes you step on on your way up are attached to the legs of the butts you are going to have to kiss on your way back down, so be humble and always recognize that you didn’t get anywhere on your own.
6. Hard work wins.

What I would like people to know about our brand and story is that we appreciate all that we have – we know that we wouldn’t be where we are without the amazing client we have or the amazing relationships we have built. We will always try to do what is in the best interest of our clients, regardless of personal cost. If we tell you we are going to do something, we will do it. Integrity is everything – without it, there is nothing. Hopefully we are leaving a legacy of hard work, honor, and integrity in everything we do and showing an example that you can be successful doing things the right way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, living in the high desert area of California, we are in a prime location for pretty much everything. It would depend on the time of year of the visit. For argument’s sake, if it is winter, it is a 30 minute drive from our home to Big Bear for some skiing or snow-boarding. The next day would be an hour and half drive to the beach for a day in Huntington Beach, where I spent my formative years. Disneyland in a little over an hour if they have kids – as well as Knott’s Berry Farm, 2 hours to San Diego for the Zoo and Lego Land….There is a lot nearby.

Food wise, the high desert isn’t a culinary destination, however again, we are only hour+ from LA and some of the best restaurants in the world. Amazing BBQ joints – and maybe take in a Dodger game and get one of the best French Dip sandwiches in the world at Phillipe’s the Original.

There would also have to be at trip to Pasadena for a tour of the Gamble House and a neighborhood tour for the Greene and Greene homes in the Pasadena area, as well as a trip to the Huntington Library for the Greene and Greene exhibit of furniture and the Japanese gardens.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
While I have had many people support me and encourage me – I have been blessed with some amazing mentors, the two people who deserve the shoutout and recognition for the success in my life are my father and my wife.

My father raised me with a quote that I have spent my life trying to pass on to my kids, students, subordinates, and anyone who will listen – “HARD WORK WINS”. From the earliest age, he taught me that anything worth doing is worth doing right and that hard work and a little bit of skill (learning from mistakes and failing forward) will always beat event the best straight talent absent the hard work. I owe all of who I am as a man and father to him.

Secondly is my wife. She has had my back from day one and it doesn’t matter the crazy ideas I’ve had; she has always supported me in my dreams and vision. Be it in my law enforcement career or woodworking, when I have approached her with an idea, she has always supported and trusted my vision – even if there was some trepidation. At one point of my LEO career, I injured my back and decided I was done as a LEO and wanted to resign and make cabinet making a full-time career. Even in the middle of a major renovation of our home, and having 4 kids, she supported my decision. And when the housing market was tanking and I was missing my LEO career, she supported me going back into the career even though the job was becoming increasingly dangerous. She quit working as a dispatcher and raised our children and did the lion’s share of the parenting to enable me to chase dreams in order to try and give us a better future and I am forever indebted to her for that.

Without these two, I would not be the man I am today.

Website: https://www.snow-woodworks.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snow_woodworks/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/james.snow.wood.works/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@snowwoodworks

Image Credits
All were taken by me except for the one of me. Credit to Paul Pantani – Transition Drill Podcase