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Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - North Shore News - A13
DIG DEEP Todd Major gets his roses ready for winter. page 18
YOUR NORTH SHORE GUIDE to HOME & GARDEN
Furniture dreams made real Home Ideas
Barb Lunter EVERY once in a while something special emerges on the North Shore. This may be of interest to you if you are in the redecorating mode or perhaps in search of that perfect piece of furniture to complete your room. Partners Pierre Renaud and Faramarz Farrokhi shared a common dream of one day opening their own woodworking shop. This dream was finally realized in 2006 when they opened their custom woodworking business here in North Vancouver on West 14th Street. “Listen, design and build” became the mission statement for their small business and today that remains the building block on which they base their business plan. The design duo came to realize that there were too many unsatisfied customers out in the field today that were frustrated with the process of custom woodworking. For Renaud and Farrokhi, the process should be as simple as designing exactly what the customer wants: transforming what is a dream in one’s mind into a concrete plan in hand. For Renaud, inspiration came early from many sources including science and technology and building model airplanes. After completing two years of graphic design at Cégep du
Vieux Montreal, Renaud went on to complete a three-year program in furniture making at l’Ecole du Meuble de Montreal. From there he honed his skills creating opera sets and museum displays. Farrokhi began his career early in life working with his father on their mutual woodworking hobbies and eventually starting his own company in Iran. Upon arriving in Canada he spent two years studying cabinetry and at Emery College. Farrokhi and Renaud knew they shared a common passion and made a commitment to build highquality, well-built furniture and millwork. All one has to see are a few examples of what this team has created for extremely satisfied clients to understand their passion for high-quality furniture. What sets Topnotch apart from other woodworking operations is their ability to really listen to the client’s needs. They specialize in giving life to everything from professionally drawn designs or just simple sketches and their shop hosts the latest in technological equipment, which allows them to build to the most precise specifications in the industry. Offering a one-stop shopping experience, the onsite, custom-built products built in the shop range widely in terms of style, material and price from concept to installation. Beautifully built bedside tables, kitchen cabinets and custom built-ins are just a few examples of past projects this duo has created. Their reputation is one of impeccable attention to detail and a high standard of business ethics. Topnotch Woodworking is located at 1143 West 14th St., North Vancouver. For more information check out www. topnotchwoodworking.ca. lunter@shaw.ca
NEWS photo Mike Wakefield
PIERRE Renaud and Faramarz Farrokhi have built their company on precisionbuilt custom furniture, like this old-growth hemlock and lacquered steel table.
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