For more information about Kitchen Krafters, visit www.kitchenkraftersinc.com, call 540-891-7678, or email Info@kitchenkraftersinc.com. Public business address: 4134 Lafayette Boulevard, Fredericksburg, VA 22408. Service area: Fredericksburg
Business & Innovation · Business feature
Kitchen Krafters keeps design and installation under one roof in Fredericksburg
The woman-led cabinetry business pairs an experienced design staff with its own installation crew, continuing a local story that began in 1991.
A kitchen plan becomes much more tangible when the people drawing it work alongside the people who will install it. That is the arrangement at Kitchen Krafters in Fredericksburg, where designers and an in-house installation crew share responsibility for turning a household's ideas into cabinetry that fits its daily life.
The company began in 1991 and now works with homeowners and builders across Fredericksburg and surrounding communities. Its scope extends beyond kitchens to bathroom cabinetry, built-ins, pantries, closets and outdoor kitchens. A single vanity and a full kitchen involve different budgets, but both move through the company's design and installation operation.
Owner and president Wendy Shiflett joined Kitchen Krafters in 2011, bringing a background in sales and marketing. Today she leads a team whose work is divided among design, scheduling, installation and the administrative details that keep a project moving.
The designers include Betsy Peterson, the firm's longest-tenured designer, along with Mary Sauer and Tina Moore. Sauer helps clients work through layouts, cabinetry and finishes. Moore's training includes a bachelor's degree in fine arts and interior design from Chaminade University in Honolulu. Those conversations give a renovation its direction before materials arrive at the house.
Then comes the practical coordination. Scheduler Laura Green organizes delivery and installation dates. Heather Mastin, the receptionist and design assistant, gathers project details, connects customers with designers and helps with follow-up work. Manager Stacey Thomas oversees daily functions including billing and marketing.
Kitchen Krafters says its installers are employees rather than subcontractors and that most have been with the company for more than a decade. That continuity is a substantial part of its approach: the design team and installation crew operate within the same business, with an established line of communication between them.
The Lafayette Boulevard showroom offers a place to begin with materials, layouts and questions. Thirty-five years after the company started, its work still centers on a personal space—one that has to accommodate cooking, storage, conversation and the routines of the people who use it.
