Some Secrets Shared

Formed in September 1998, the Secret Drawer has burgeoned from one man’s cabinet-making dream into a fully fledged interiors company with 15 employees working from three Yorkshire sites.

Owner Richard Mason made his first work bench – still in use today - at the age of 14. Built in his parents’ garage in 1984 it was made with wood from John Boddy who continue to supply timber for the Secret Drawer today. 

As his talent grew, Richard entered UK Skill Build, a competition for cabinetmakers under 21. Entrants are given 4 days, a plan and a pile of wood to work with, and Richard won the contest in both 1988 and 1989.  This remarkable success qualified him to take part in the Skill Olympics where he took on cabinetmakers from all over the world and won an Award of Excellence in 1990.

Nowadays, Richard still remains creatively ‘hands-on’ at The Secret Drawer, designing furniture at the hub of the company, our workshop premises in Skipton, North Yorkshire.  Some of his recent designs are displayed at The Secret Drawer kitchen, bedroom and bathroom showroom in nearby Cononley.

In 2006 the Secret Drawer took over a Farrow & Ball paint showroom in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. After adding a kitchen display we now also offer a full interior design service from there. With our in-house interior designer on the team, we are able to deliver complete turnkey projects for the whole house.

Each design for a Secret Drawer project is truly unique and Richard prides himself on doing all his drawings by hand in pencil in preference to CAD.  “It’s very rare these days,” he explains “and yet our customers really appreciate it.  It reflects the individuality of both the customer’s project and our business”.

That’s not to say that we are Luddites however, for although much of the finer detailed work is done by hand, we have invested in state of the art machinery for sawing, planing and precision cutting work. There is no sense of a production line here in our 12, 000sq ft light and airy, environmentally friendly workplace though - in fact that would be completely alien to our company ethos.

Unusually for the furniture trade, rather than one man building the cabinets, another producing doors and so forth, each craftsman at the Secret Drawer looks after every aspect of his own project. It means they develop a genuine feel for their work and - like any artist - take a huge personal pride in perfection. 

Not exactly a well kept secret itself, our company reputation has spread much further afield than the north of England.  With 90% of our work coming from recommendation, we have customers all over the UK and Europe.

Read more about the team at The Secret Drawer.

More secrets from The Secret Drawer can be found by talking to us direct on 01535 630072.

Call 01535 630072 to discuss your plans or visit our showroom displays in Cononley or Ilkley.