Art from the Artisans
DRAPER♦DBS will provide an experience, through the finest cabinetmaking and finishing, to forever thrill and surprise the most discriminating customer. We create this experience through the utmost concern for meticulous detail and the highest standards of quality, courtesy, and service.
The Story of Our Cabinet Maker
From Bill Draper’s first shop in his basement to our 23,000 square-foot operations today.
- In 1981, Bill’s fledgling company is born deep in the creative heartlands of Bucks County, PA. While experimenting with finishes in his basement furniture shop, cabinet maker Bill Draper invents a way to make a paint finish look old, by layering and chipping coats of paint.
- The desire for antique furniture reproductions sweeps the industry that year, with Bill at the forefront. Bill partners with local kitchen designer Bob Schultz to expand offerings from custom furniture to whole custom kitchens. Christened “DBS Cabinetry,” Bill and Bob’s business booms with kitchen designs in distressed Pine and chipped paint.
- In 1982, Bill moves his operations from his basement shop to a local chicken coop, where he’s able to take on a small staff of cabinet makers and have a small space to hand-finish each piece of custom cabinetry.
- The fast-expanding DBS Cabinetry moves again in 1983 to the historic 1899 cigar factory in nearby Perkasie, PA. “No smoking” signs go up as sawdust piles up from filling orders for the growing distribution network in the Northeast.
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- Demand grows for Bill’s custom cabinets, along with his dealer distribution network, which expands in all directions across the United States.
- In 1993, Julia Child cooks lobster soufflé in a DBS kitchen! She joins master chef Jacques Pépin for an episodeof her PBS series Cooking with Master Chefs, which takes place in Pépin’s DBS kitchen.
- DBS custom kitchens and furniture (and their designers!) also begin appearing in national home design publications like Traditional Home, Better Homes & Gardens, and Colonial Homes.
- “DBS Custom Cabinetry” is incorporated in 1995. In the late 90s, the cigar factory woodshop is bursting at the seams. Bill leads a massive exodus of craftsmen, benches, and paint chips to a 23,000-square-foot shop nearby.
- A DBS custom kitchen earns the cover of Kitchen & Bath Business’s Who’s Who in Kitchen Cabinets issue two years in a row, 1998 and 1999.
- Bill also receives Kitchen & Bath Business’s Product Innovator Award for his “Cornerstone” design—a unique custom cabinet style simulating the masonry of old world villa exteriors.
- In 1998, DBS Custom Cabinetry officially becomes DRAPER??DBS, the brand synonymous with custom cabinet craftsmanship of the highest quality.
- Industry leader Sub-Zero and Wolf takes notice and invites Bill to design a display for the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS). One display turns into many over the years: KBIS ’01, ’03, ’05, ’06, ’08, and showrooms in New York City, Chicago, and Costa Mesa, CA!
- Sub-Zero and Wolf also invite Bill to design large portions of their company headquarters and training center in Madison, WI. Industry mogul Mick De Giulio also enlisted DRAPER♦DBS to build his La Grande room design, one of De Giulio’s live kitchen designs in Sub-Zero and Wolf’s training center.
- DRAPER♦DBS now partners with more than 40 dealers across the United States. Our talented designer partners are the recipients of countless industry awards and accolades, and their beautiful DRAPER♦DBS designs have been featured in numerous home design publications. We are honored to work with these exceptionally talented designers and project managers every day!
- Still designing and still creating new custom styles and finishes, Bill remains closely involved in production and the management of some 25 artisans. We take pride in our small woodshop and Bill still believes in keeping the focus of our business on a meticulous attention to detail, as he has since the beginning.
- “Since the early years in the basement shop,” says Bill, “the work I have done is my way of speaking to the world. The basement was long ago, and now there are many in my shop to share the tasks.”
- “However, our goal remains to say something with our work, to spark a special appreciation in you. We take care to return that appreciation through our fine craftsmanship, with the hope that you will enjoy our work for a long time to come.”
