About Us
Home made furniture
In a quaint, rustic retail store at
833 Fort Street is The English Cabinet Maker, a haven
of handmade wooden furniture. At
the helm is Martha Fisher who manages
the store, and furniture-maker Paul
Fisher. Daughter Alison helps with sales
in the store in her spare time around
college studies.
Whether glass-front cabinets, robust
bookshelves or full kitchen production
(cabinet, drawers, countertop frame
and woodworking around the fridge),
The English Cabinet Maker provides the intimacy
of one-of-a-kind furniture creations
with a European flair. Paul Fisher
exudes the creative character of an oldworld
cabinet maker. no surprise, as
he apprenticed in London, England as a
teenager. In Buisness he has welcomed
country-style seekers at his store for over
16 years since 1995 (at the current 833
Fort Street location, Between Blanchard and Quadra).
there is an English style to these
pieces, says Paul. Some people do their
entire home decor in this style but that
rarely happens all at once. Usually they
come in over a period of 
two to five
years to buy more pieces that transform
their home, he says. However, Paul is
quick to add that many buyers Skillfully
merge modern pieces with country-style
treasures, for a pleasing ambience in living
room, dining room, entry-way, bedroom
or kitchen.
Full kitchen installations by The English Cabinet Maker include Paul's general contracting
services to organize the countertop
orders, electrical and plumbing. From
start to finish the project takes about two
months. The customer selects their wood
preference primarily pine or Douglas
fir, much of it from BCs Okanagan
region. Some people come in with a
hand-drawing or sketch and a few dimensions
and we will build what they are
looking for, says Fisher. Otherwise, Paul
can visit the customers home and measure
for a whole kitchen renovation.
On the englishcabinetmaker.ca website
the styles of various furniture pieces
including rustic pine, Devonshire and
Hampshire denote furniture styles of
both basic and elegant appeal.
When people have older pieces
of furniture in need of repair, The English
Cabinet Maker is often where they come
with wood items, usually smaller pieces
such as tables and chairs. If people cannot
bring items to the store (the woodworking
studio is in Sooke), a delivery
service is available with an old-style
1955 panel van.
We make healthy furniture out
of real wood. There is no off-gassing as
occurs with chipboard-pressed and other
manufactured pieces, Fisher explained.
Most pieces are custom-ordered.
The landscape of this spacious
store changes almost daily, filled as it is
with a cluttered array of items including
mirrors, hinged-lid boxes and shoe
shelves in addition to the main household
furniture, items repaired for customers,
and the kitchen display in one
corner. The feel is old-world but one gets
the impression that modern shoppers like
the "no two pieces are identical" phenomenon
as well as the personal service
which is right up to date with the
times.