About Us
Luxury cabinets & joinery, hand crafted in Somerset.
Dovetail Woodcraft have been providing high end fitted furniture and kitchens for clients in London and across the southern counties, for the last 25 years. Our workshop is based in Somerset, and our team of highly skilled craftsman have decades of experience producing exquisite bespoke work for top end clientele.
Over the years we have worked in partnership on a regular basis with prominent designers and architects to produce many highly acclaimed projects.
The founder and owner of the company, Nigel Sample, established the business in 1985 and since then has grown our reputation for fastidious quality and impeccable finishing through decades of strong client relations, built through word of mouth and the workshop partnering with award-winning designers and architects on projects across decades.
Awards
Nigel Sample, Owner
Nigel & The History of Dovetail Woodcraft
At the age of sixteen, Nigel began a journey that would lead him to the creation of his own company.
After leaving school, Nigel began work in a locally acclaimed antique restoration shop based in the City of Wells, which provided Nigel with a wealth of knowledge to develop and hone his cabinetry skills. By taking advantage of the decades of experience he was surrounded with, he learned the skill and detail behind the restoration and replication of beautiful, handcrafted antique furniture.
As any young, inquisitive mind does, Nigel began to look for new experiences and challenges, taking him into workshops to expand his knowledge further. He joined another restoration firm specialising in English, Irish and French provincial furniture, and gradually started taking on more of his own projects, eventually leading the creation of his solo endeavour – Dovetail Woodcraft.
In 1984, from a shed in his parent’s back garden, Nigel began designing and creating commissioned pieces from the surrounding villages in the Polden Hills. His reputation flourished in the local area and it became evident his operation would need to grow beyond the garden shed! As the clients increased, the company moved into more suitable premises which gave Nigel the opportunity to take on and develop his own team.
Now with a bigger premise and more staff, Nigel began producing furniture for clients across the country. After cultivating a trusted and respected presence in the local industry over many years, Dovetail was recommended to a high-end property developer in West London, who, after seeing the completed works, recommended Nigel to a friend. Through word of mouth, Nigel’s reputation for quality, reliability, skill and knowledge has allowed the company to generate, maintain and nurture many long term contacts in the design and architectural industries in London – Dovetail is now producing kitchens and cabinetry for children of clients we previously created playrooms and nurseries for!
After decades in the industry, Nigel can proudly stand by his reputation knowing that across the whole of the south of England the mark of quality that is Dovetail Woodcraft has been made, be it in family homes, high-end hotels, and manor houses.
The Dovetail Woodcraft Team
Say hello to the rest of the team.
Paul Holmes
Paul moved on to higher education in 1996 where he spent two years achieving a City & Guilds qualification in furniture making. He continued to further his education and knowledge in the industry by completing a further two years in college to gain his qualification in H.N.D furniture design.
After ending his four years at college he began working for Nigel and the already well established, Dovetail Woodcraft. After a year working for the company, Paul as a young man took time in Australia for a year, where he also furthered his woodworking skillset spending 3 years as a luthier.
After the sabbatical Paul returned to Dovetail Woodcraft and has worked for the company for the last 17 years, meaning he has had a total of 25 years in the industry. Paul is now the company operational logistics Manager.
Paul Lester
Paul has been in the woodworking industry for nearly 30 years. He left school and went into higher education completing a City & Guilds in carpentry, then proceeding to furniture making and finally an H.N.D in furniture design, spending a grand total of 6 years studying the craft. After finishing his higher education he cut his teeth in the industry by beginning work at a kitchen manufacturers company however after a year moved to a well respected high-end joinery firm in the town.
Paul worked in the joinery shop for a year before deciding to put the 6 years of college to use and began working for Nigel and Dovetail Woodcraft, where he has now been with the company for 20 years.
Russ Oliver
Russ has worked for dovetail woodcraft for the last 7 years as the company’s finisher. This role is the final process and as such one of the most crucial elements of our companies operation. The accurate nature of the preparation, finishing and spraying that Russ brings to our furniture is a large part of the final quality of the work our company produces.
Jon Bedford
Jon has spent the past 6 years at Dovetail, having previously worked in the leisure industry. After 7 years working for an activity holiday company, he then moved into a managerial role with a well-known leisure company in the UK.
Moving back to Somerset, and wanting a change in career, he enrolled on the City & Guilds carpentry qualification and began an apprenticeship at Dovetail. Completing this, he now continues to develop his skills and knowledge, learning from the masses of experience around him.
Jon also oversees the marketing for Dovetail, creating social media content and attracting new business.
