Life On Mars Propagation Vase

This is a difficult review. I contacted several people thru CustomMade regarding building a cabinet for under our TV that would hold all the related electronic equipment. I chose Richard Louis with Dovetail and Stiches. The good: Richard was easy to work with, helped with the design, and was quick to answer any questions. The finished product was beautifully crafted and well made. The bad: The stained finish is not quite what I wanted and does not match the example photos I sent to Richard. The colors in the photos he sent me of the finished product before shipping don’t really match the unit in person. This is not necessarily Richard’s fault, just disappointing. Chaulk it up to the camera or the computer monitor. This is the problem with having something built where you can’t check on the product as it is being made. I will probably try to sand the unit down and re-stain or paint it. The ugly: After it was complete, Richard sent photos of the finished product. Two sections of the wood framing the doors were significantly darker than all other parts of the doors and of the main cabinet, which looked terrible. Richard said that was just the nature of wood, but for an additional $330, he could change it! His claim of 100% customer satisfaction came at a cost. Additionally, when it arrived there was a small stain on the top that did not seem to come from the crate the unit was shipped in and was not shown in any photos. Bottom line, I could have bought a similar piece in a retail store for half the cost, and considering the extra charge to address what should have been done right to begin with, I would not recommend Dovetail and Stiches.

Richard (and his wife) were amazing with this project. The product he created is true craftsmanship, which is hard to find these days. He was wonderful about communicating and providing pictures every step of the way, asking for my feedback, making sure things were going the way I'd hoped, etc., etc. This is truly a beautiful table, incredibly well-made, and a piece of art in addition to function. And it was shipped so securely it could have been run over and still been fine! It was a true pleasure to work with him, and his ability to create beauty is astounding. I'm so grateful to have connected with him on this project and cannot recommend him more highly!

Richard was extremely professional. You could tell he wanted to make exactly what we wished and he had so many suggestions that made us feel so confident in his skill. His experienced craftsmanship was quite evident in the finished product. it was such a pleasure to work with him.

Richard is probably one of the best communicators and flexible project managers I have ever worked with. He seems to truly enjoy his work and is passionate about providing the best outcome. Dynamic in approach. Highly recommend

Richard was great to work with and the quality of his work is top-notch. I have no hesitation in recommending him.