Gypsum couple’s firm, DKL Custom Furniture, provides custom pieces for anyone’s style
DKL Custom Furniture combines traditional, high-tech techniques
Courtesy photo
Business name: DKL Custom Furniture LLC
Location: 285 Spring Creek Circle, Gypsum
Date opened: Jan. 15.
Owners: Don and Kathy Luttmer
Contact information: Don Luttmer, 425-941-3976, don@dklcustomfurniture.com; Kathy Luttmer, 206-200-0295 kathy@dklcustomfurniture.com; Sales channels: http://www.dklcustomfurniture.com; Etsy: DKLCustomWoodworking
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What goods or services do you provide?
We are a fully custom, small family-owned furniture manufacturer. We have a growing portfolio of furniture designs reflecting mid-century modern style. These can be customized or purchased on a made-to-order basis. In addition, we enjoy collaborating with clients and the interior design community on new designs to fit individual needs and space considerations.
We primarily utilize hard woods including walnut, cherry, mahogany and white oak. We accentuate our furniture with handmade handles, dovetail drawers and quality hardware throughout.
If you can dream it, we can build it!
What’s new or exciting at your place?
This year, we invested in a five-axis CNC machine to help drive the efficiency of our production. This machine has significant capabilities to perform on both the furniture and construction side of the business. It offers critical precision and maneuverability, providing capabilities that will be distinctive within the Vail Valley region.
What strategy do you use to differentiate your business from your competition?
We utilize age-old joinery techniques, source sustainable wood and finish our furniture with environmentally and customer-friendly oil-based clear coat products. Our furniture is solid wood, finished on all sides, so customers have no restriction on the placement of their furniture within a room. Our clear coat lets the natural beauty of the wood shine through and allows customers an ease of repair that cannot be found in mass-manufactured furniture.
Our biggest differentiator is that we have control of the process from start to finish. We source high-quality wood from a local Colorado distributor. We take great care during layout to choose and combine boards for the greatest artistic effect. We hand-finish each piece and make sure that it meets our highest standards. Your furniture is made with love.
What philosophy do you follow in dealing with your customers? What can your customers expect from you?
We appreciate our customers and are honored they have chosen to work with us on designing their dream piece. We actively listen to the clients, gathering their requirements, determining their style and pulling those things together into a beautiful design.
We strive to communicate about the production schedule as things change over time. We also work with customers to coordinate the delivery of the furniture to meet their schedules.
We will be scheduling some Meet the Maker Open Houses throughout 2025. These will appear within the calendar of the Vail Daily. Please keep your eye out for these informative sessions.
Tell us a little about your background, education and experience:
Don: I began my career in the tech industry where I found success, but also found I was never really going to be great. I have always been interested in woodworking, and it was a hobby of mine since my early 20s. It is something I love to do and, more importantly, something I love to learn more about. It is something that feels and comes naturally to me. I get asked by a lot of people: How do you know how to do that? Well, some of it is a lot of reading, videos and some classes, but I believe a good part of it is just natural aptitude. So why not stop trying to fight it, take this ability and make it my career.
Kathy: I am a surety bond professional who never dreamed I’d be helping to make furniture. It’s been exciting to learn how to use all the machinery, understand the process and contribute to our business. Every piece of furniture that leaves the shop is finished by me. I get to know each piece and appreciate its uniqueness. I have a great passion for this business and the quality of our products. I’ve also put my business background to work in marketing and customer relations. Small business means all hands-on deck!
What is the most humorous thing that has happened at your business since you opened?
We strive to have nothing humorous happen within our facility, which contains many large blades!
