by William Sampson wsampson@wattnet.net
When Steve Prescott of Fiddlehead Designs in Brunswick, Me., builds a kitchen, no matter what color the finish, it’s always “green.” He has carved out a niche building environ-
Shop Snapshot Company: Fiddlehead Designs Location: Brunswick, Me. Founded: 2002 Proprietor: Steve Prescott Primary products:
Custom residential cabinetry Annual sales: $125,000 Employees: 1
Shop size: 1,300 square feet Key equipment:
➤ Delta Unisaw
➤ Jet 18-inch bandsaw
➤ Timesavers SpeedSander 36-inch widebelt sander
➤ Felder F700 shaper
➤ Hammer jointer-planer ➤ Oneida Air dust collector
mentally responsible kitchens.
Green is no gimmick to Prescott. His commitment to environmentally sound practices permeates everything he does, from the materials he uses, to the location of his home and business, and even how he markets what he does.
“The health of our environment is critically important to me,” he says. “I undertake a number of precautions to ensure the business of Fiddlehead Designs is as environmentally responsible as possible.”
What’s a “green” kitchen?
Prescott is convinced that considering environmental factors in the construction of his cabinets is just another way of adding quality. His work doesn’t look dramatically different from conventional cabinetry. “I encourage traditional classic styles,” he says. A quality-built kitchen with timeless design is inherently environmentally more responsible, he says, than typical manufactured kitchens. He expects his cabinets will last much longer, rather than winding up in a landfill after the owners tire of the
Useful and beautiful — Steve Prescott of Fiddlehead Designs in Brunswick, Me., likes to quote William Morris’s statement, “Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” His work like this oak kitchen lives up to that while being environmentally sensitive at the same time.
style and remodel in a few years.
Beyond a quality design, the cabinets feature sustainable wood products. Sheet goods are formaldehyde-free. He even uses an eco-friendly countertop material. Finishes are all water-based. He recycles as much as possible; sawdust from the shop is either composted or sent to a horse yard, and hardwood scraps wind up in his wood stove.
Eco-friendly sourcing
It’s not always easy or cheap to keep environmental issues in mind while sourcing his supplies, but Prescott thinks it is crucial to the way he works.
He uses only lumber from certified sustainably grown forests and whenever possible he sources from local New England sawyers, often from Rex Lumber in Acton, Mass. He avoids environmentally threatened exotic species. He uses PureBond formaldehyde-free plywood from Columbia Forest Prod-
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