For 20 years Danny Orr has taken a passion for creating with wood, and made it his career as the owner of Columbia Valley Cabinets.
“I took my cabinet making course in Red Deer around 1982 and never looked back,”he said.
Orr went on to explain that there has always been something about wood that intrigued him.
“I just liked working with wood and it went from there. Any kind of wood is great to work with. It used to be everything was made out of oak, but now I am working with cherry, maple, hickory and other types.”
This move to using many different types of wood has presented challenges, but it is a part of the work that Orr also enjoys.
“I have to carry a lot more species of wood. All woods work different, and you have to learn how to work with them,” he said. “You always have to be fine tuning yourself. Every time you do a job it is different.”
Orr added that learning the differences in the grain and levels of softness to the wood has also been something he has studied on the job since beginning 20 years ago.
“Some wood is harder or softer and you have to work them differently. The end result however is still there,” he said. “I mainly do work on kitchen cabinets but over the years I have also done work on vanities or china cabinets. Basically I can do whatever a customer wants,” he said.
Orr owns a shop in Nicholson, which has been there since he started the business, and this gives him the space and freedom to take ideas and turn them into reality.
“Mainly I can do anything you want to do with a house that is made out of wood. I am now working on walk-in closets, stereo cabinets and book cases as part of a project,” he said. “If I can get it out of your head and into my head, then I can create it,” he said. “I don’t do things on computers. If you want something drawn I can do that for you.”
Twenty years later he explained the passion for his work has not diminished.
“I still have the same passion. Kitchens at times can be a little difficult, but having so many more things in houses to work on really keeps the job fresh,” he said.
Over the years Orr has developed many customers who have come back repeatedly to have him work on their houses.
“I have built kitchens for them and when they got a new house they bring me in again. It is nice to have that and in a small town you make friends. Plus if you do not do a good job the first time then they won’t give you one a second time,” he said.
Customers can call Orr at 250-344-5692 to book a time to talk with him.
