High-Caliber Cabinetry

Jaxon Ching of Willow Creek Woodworks offers full-service design assistance and builds custom cabinetry with fine details.

What started as a passion project for a crafty chinese-Ecuadorian immigrant 21 years ago has evolved into a homegrown custom cabinetry operation in Idaho Falls that is quickly becoming the local place to go for high-end cabinets. Jaxon Ching, a self-taught woodworker, founded Willow Creek Woodworks shortly after he moved with his wife and three kids from Napa, California, to Idaho in the 1990s to enjoy a quieter lifestyle. Today, he employs 35 people and his modular designs are making their way into Jackson Hole designer showrooms.

Ching learned the business working long hours under a furniture maker in California and found his niche in jobs on the side. Now he has time to fish more and go back to Ecuador, where he is building a house, thanks to his children, who are his succession plan. His son Nikki works in engineering and design; his other son, Tony, works in preassembly; and his son-in-law, Manny Geyer, works at the mill shop. His wife, Dawn, and sister, Denysse, balance the books. Kylee, his daughter, has also worked in the family business.

“It’s great that they each have their own craft,” Ching says. “I expect a lot from them and treat them like everyone else in the company. But it’s up to them where they want to take it.”

While the retirement plans are set, the Chings’ sunset years are still a ways off. In fact, the expansion of Willow Creek is just beginning. This spring, they are adding 20,000 square feet to their shop in Idaho Falls, with new equipment to offer a wider range of finishes, like glossy, matte or even suede laminate, and uncompromised edge banding. The new equipment will refine options for everything from kitchen cabinets to built-in media centers, benches, desks, bathrooms and closets.

Custom-made white oak veneer panels with matching grain give this built-in dresser a solid-oak feel.

Ching prides himself on offering the community European-caliber cabinets at a better price. “I like the local aspect of it,” he says. Clients compare his work to that of some of the most expensive European cabinetmakers. Tom Stoner, of Tom Stoner Construction Craftsman Inc., says Ching is even more creative. “Jaxon does incredible work and he is very accountable,” he says.

After decades of perfecting his craft, Ching appreciates the recognition his work quality has received from clients. He says, “The growth is exciting because now we are being given the opportunity to do a whole house. My goal is to provide the highest-quality product to the client.”