Autumn Woods Offers Locally-Manufactured Custom Cabinetry Directly to the Public

The Dedick family has revamped or built kitchens for 35 years, manufacturing custom cabinetry and other features locally. Now, to stay viable in this economy, the family is revamping its business.

Until the late 1990s, Autumn Woods President Garry Dedick, Sr. said the majority of his company's business focused on new subdivisions and builders. “Since the recession, though, builders have been purchasing less and less from us,” he said.

So because business with builders has declined, Autumn Woods will now connect with individual homeowners at its first satellite store in downtown Wheaton.

Autumn Woods, 112 Main St., will host the grand opening of its first store and celebrate its 35th year in business on Saturday, Oct. 8. The store has three kitchens on display and an offering of tile and granite selections designed and handcrafted by local artisans.

“We’re in a market where either you change and try to accommodate where the business is, or you fail,” said Cory Dedick, vice president of marketing operations at Autumn Woods. “We chose option A.”

The cabinetry business is no longer a builder market, where builders are the "key" buyers, he said. “It’s individuals.

“People are trying to get their homes back up to par to match up with the value of their lien on the property … so there are a lot of opportunities … in this atmosphere.”

Autumn Woods manufactures a European system of custom cabinets in its Carol Stream location. “Instead of importing cabinetry years ago, we imported the equipment,” Dedick said. “It’s very specialized equipment, but it gave us the capacity to do the production schedules we’re able to do.”

That schedule allows them to fulfill orders in four to six weeks.