OUR STORY

Handmade Kitchens Direct is an independent, family-owned firm that was established in response to a growing demand for affordable, truly bespoke handmade cabinetry for the home, where attention to detail and superb British craftsmanship comes as standard with every commission we undertake.

Our founder, Troy Ellis, began his career in design in 1985 as an engineering design technician within the heavy metal industry before deciding to switch to his original passion of working with wood due to its beauty, tactility and warmth.

With his natural design ability and a deep passion for the cabinet making industry, Troy opened his first showroom in 1996 in a small town called Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire. His business model was simple – The Best For Less. He strived to provide the best available product at a price lower than what competitors offered, accomplished by small margins and low overheads but being kept extremely busy. A move to a larger showroom necessitated in 1999 due to customer demand.

Wanting to expand his horizons and progress even more within the industry, Troy became associated with the famous British designer Clive Christian and subsequently opened up his own Clive Christian design studio in the USA in 2003. As a dealer for Clive Christian, he undertook projects throughout the USA, Canada and Caribbean for many years, sometimes working for famous celebrities who appreciated his design acumen. Troy was also a dealer for Wolf, Subzero, Miele and La Cornue, so has an abundant knowledge of incorporating these top line appliances into a handmade inframe kitchen.

Due to a need to help care for aging parents, a planned return to the UK ensued. After studying the availability options for handmade inframe kitchens within the UK, Troy found there was a huge disparity between the high end cabinet names such as Clive Christian and Smallbone and the lower end manufacturers of inframe kitchens that dealt direct. The high end manufacturers offered the quality, design skill and multiple beautiful wood species but at a considerable cost. The budget manufacturers offered good pricing but with a compromised offering of Tulipwood fronts ready for painting or even sourcing their products from the Far East. If you wanted another wood species such as American White Oak, Maple or Walnut, these were usually not available or if they were, the pricing was extortionate at 150% increase in cost just for White Oak! For Walnut, the expression “if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it” springs to mind.

After 2 years in the making, Troy has now successfully been able to meld the qualities of the high end manufacturers with a price point at least equal to or better than the budget manufacturers, which has been no mean feat we can tell you! Handmade Kitchens Direct offers cabinetry supplied direct from our factory showroom in Lancashire, delivered anywhere in the UK by our own delivery teams ready to be installed and then hand finished on site if not already prefinished, exactly the same process that Troy had successfully executed with Clive Christian for over 15 years.