Our Staff of Designers
A degreed furniture designer in Fine and Applied Arts from Appalachian State University, Joe is uniquely qualified as a master designer. Having spent fourteen years in case goods manufacturing, four years as a commercial cabinetry shop manager and over three years as a cabinetry designer at 1 st Choice, Joe brings enormous practical design experience to the team. Influenced heavily by his experiential background, Joe believes that good design doesn’t require high cost to make clients happy.
With over thirteen years of cabinet industry experience of which eleven has been as a designer, Mark brings tremendous technical design knowledge to the team. Prior to joining the cabinetry business, Mark was a contractor with licenses in plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems. Mark takes great pride in designing efficient, workable space, focusing primarily on the contractor market. Mark serves as Chairman of both our Design Review Committee and our Appliance Installation Review Committee in his dual role as Senior Designer and Sales Manager and is an expert in Green design.
A 1998 graduate of Meredith College with a BS in Interior Design and a minor in Art, Jenny has worked in kitchen and bath design since the day she graduated. Spending time at three cabinet companies during her career and working as a tile consultant and designer has provided significant design experience. Growing up in the kitchen with her mother and grandmothers has influenced her design appointments to recognize that the kitchen is a meeting place for family and friends and needs to reflect that in design. Her simple and effective design philosophy is to always try to meet all of the customer’s needs with a pleasing design that makes their kitchen as unique as they are!
Shane attended the University of Alabama and is a graduate of the Art Institute of Atlanta where he majored in Culinary Arts. Cheffing at some of Atlanta’s more notable restaurants including the Peachtree Café and Nikimotos, Shane became Head Chef at the Atlanta History Center before moving into institutional food service where he designed and planned commercial kitchens. His love of the culinary arts lead him to residential kitchen design. Shane brings a unique design vision to his clients as he is adept at incorporating working-kitchen practicality with beautiful solutions. Shane is one of 1 st Choice’s experts in Green design and a Wood-Mode design specialist.
The daughter of a Master Carpenter, Debra spent the first half of her career as a Human Resource Officer before turning to her creative side and following her father into homebuilding. Growing up around wood engendered an appreciation for the many different wood species she designs with. In kitchen and bath design, Debra is able to take her collective knowledge and experience to provide homeowners with their specific cabinetry requirements. Her approach to design consultations draws on her years as an expert listener in Human Resources which has trained her to extract subtle details necessary to create the desired design for her clients. Debra takes particular pride in balancing design, function and budget to provide optimal design solutions.
An Appalachian State University graduate, Larry has been in the home building industry his entire career. Larry began his career in the kitchen appliance business, serving a number of his current contractor clientele. Before becoming a designer, Larry honed his eye for detail as an interior trim specialist in housing. Larry’s clients universally appreciate his design abilities and his easy, collaborative style. Larry is a member of the Appliance Installation Review Committee.
After graduating from Peace College with a degree in technology and management, Catherine has turned her skills in technology toward automated design applications with 1st Choice. As one of our WoodMode design specialists, Catherine focuses her design practice on assisting homeowners create living areas that integrate personal lifestyle with the interior environment. Catherine also assists 1st Choice with its commercial practice serving both commercial developers and architectural firms.
Amber received her technical degree in Interior Design in 1998 and immediately joined the cabinetry industry as a designer with a cabinetry design firm in Tacoma, Washington. Exposed to a number of different West Coast design styles throughout her career, Amber has been able to create interesting twists on the more traditional design associated with Southeast motifs during the past six years in the Sandhills. Her appreciation for good design is evident in all of her work. In her newly adopted home state, Amber continues to welcome the challenges of creating beautiful timeless design. Amber is a Wood-Mode design specialist.
Kristin graduated Cum Laude in 2006 from East Carolina University with a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design. While at ECU she was an active member of the student NKBA and the treasurer of the student ASID clubs. Joining 1 st Choice Cabinetry in January of 2007, she has apprenticed under the firm’s senior designers and now applies her skills in both commercial and residential design, providing her clients beautiful, functional, and overall amazing spaces. Kristin is an expert in Green design and a Wood-Mode design specialist.
Associated with the industry for over eighteen years, Graham managed his own appliance installation company for fifteen years. Since becoming a kitchen and bath designer in 2003, Graham has developed a large contractor clientele. Always a stickler for detail, Graham believes each design assignment is his most important one. A great listener to the client, Graham enjoys designing their kitchens, one dream at a time. Graham is a member of the Appliance Installation Review Committee.
Bob has spent over six years in the industry, his first two with another custom cabinet company in the area. Philosophically, Bob tries to achieve a proper balance between practicality and aesthetics. An amateur chef married to a professional pastry chef, Bob is always trying to improve how and where he arranges and stores things in his own kitchen. Stylistically, he seeks a pleasing balance in design without being overly predictable. He loves to design his kitchens with a “wow” factor while simultaneously providing an enjoyable and practical cooking environment. Paying attention to the small details is his trademark. Bob is a member of 1 st Choice’s Design Review Committee.
A native Southern Californian, Brian spent 15 years in the building industry working with interior designers, builders and home owners before becoming a designer. His passion for inventive spaces stems from his love of architectural and interior design. He has a particular eye for contemporary details but works equally as well with transitional and traditional styles. An avid amateur chef, Brian takes great pleasure in creating the right space for each client to help them enjoy their cooking experiences as much as he does. An active participant of the NKBA, he continually is updating his skills set and staying in tune with today’s trends in the kitchen and bath industry. Brian is one of 1 st Choice’s experts in Green design and a Wood-Mode design specialist.
A North Carolina native, Jim brings over fifteen years of industry experience to the team including over twelve years as a designer and three years as a master cabinet installer. Jim has significant experience in designing large scale and sophisticated projects. His contractor clients include some of the area’s most noted high-end builders. Jim is equally adept at designing budget-priced projects and regularly creates designs for his builder clients in the $1.5 to $3 million home price range. Innately creative in design, Jim doubles as a musician drummer for the Home Builders Association of Wake and Orange County’s band, Behind Schedule. Jim is a Wood-Mode design specialist.
Born in Pennsylvania, Doug became a Raleighite at a young age after his family’s relocation to the area. A graduate of Millbrook High School, he attended East Carolina University. Doug has been associated with the kitchen and bath industry for over fifteen years. Before becoming a master designer, he owned and managed a successful local appliance and plumbing business in Wake Forest. His relationships in that segment of the industry lead him ultimately into kitchen and bath design. Many of his former clients are now loyal design customers. Doug is particularly proud of the number of parade Home Awards he has shared with his builder-clients, numbering in excess of 50! Doug is a member of the company’s Design Review Committee.
Don became a student of fine carpentry at a young watching, working with and learning from his grandfather. Possessing a keen interest in painting, he studied Art and Mural restoration at Southern Illinois University while working as a chef in local restaurants a night. Don designed his first kitchen in 1986 for a friend, then remodeled the kitchen and installed the cabinets. This lead to more referred pro bono work until Don found a new passion in kitchen and bath design. He has been redefining the kitchen space hundreds of times ever since. Don believes that one’s kitchen should be both beautiful and comfortable, providing highly personalized functionality to the client.
John’s low country Southern roots speak volumes about his approach to accessorizing the kitchen. For over twenty years, he has worked in the gourmet housewares and appliance industry, developing a love for great food and an even greater love for well appointed kitchens. Quality kitchen design is best complemented by quality appointments in appliances and accessories. John heads up 1 st Choice’s appliance and accessory group where he can assist the homeowner in selecting industrial and gourmet appliances to complement the discriminating kitchen. John also assists with counter-top selection and our pre-assembled, high fashion vanities.
A graduate of N.C. State University, Whitney spent a number of years in retail fashion where she managed a store before turning her talents to the cabinetry industry. She possesses a practical sense of style and enjoys mixing wood species to create sophisticated looks. Whitney takes great pride in her ability to complement her cabinetry design with the perfect counter top whether granite, wood, metal, concrete or one of our unique surfaces like paper. Serving contractors, interior designers/decorators and homeowners alike, Whitney is a Wood-Mode design specialist.
|
