About
My name is Aidan Gilbert, and I'm a second-generation cabinet maker.
I grew up around the trade and I've been working with my hands for as long as I can remember.
Before I started Heartwood Cabinets, I spent nearly six years at Price and Visser Millwork here in Bellingham. I started as a cleaner, worked my way up to millworker, and spent the last year and a half as shop foreman.
I ran every machine on the floor: straight-line ripsaws, shapers, router tables, doweling machines, and wide-belt sanders. I assembled countertops, mantles, floating shelves, lock-miter beams, custom doors, shadowboxes, and window relites by the hundreds. I learned how a shop actually runs, how to keep work moving, and what the customer notices.
Being a foreman and working on a fire department both taught me the same things: show up when you say you will, stay calm, work hard, and take care of people. That's how I run jobs too.
When I'm not in the shop, I'm a volunteer firefighter and EMT with South Whatcom Fire Authority. I climb mountains in Patagonia when I can get away, mountain bike every chance I get, and spent two months in 2021 teaching kids in Tanzania.
I make every decision in my work and in my life based on three tenets I've carried since I was young: work hard, be kind, choose honor.
Send a few photos of your space and anything you are using for inspiration. I'll write back within 24 hours to schedule a call or come measure the room.
How I work
Custom cabinets hand-made by one person, start to finish.
I'm Aidan, and I build every cabinet myself, from the first sketch to the final installation. No crew, no subcontractors, and no hand-offs.
When you work with me, you're talking directly to the person who will cut every joint, fit every door, and install every drawer. That keeps the design, the build, and the installation connected all the way through.
I build with solid wood construction, hand-cut dovetail drawer boxes, traditional milk paint by hand instead of sprayed lacquer when painted work calls for it, and Blum hardware throughout.
Why I started Heartwood
I wanted to build cabinets the way they should be built.
I started Heartwood Cabinets because I wanted to build cabinets the way they should be built: solid hardwoods, traditional joinery, hand-cut dovetails, real milk paint, and hardware that still works thirty years from now. No shortcuts, no outsourced finishing, and one person responsible for every cut, every joint, and every installation.
Start the conversation
If you're thinking about a kitchen, a vanity, built-ins, or a piece of furniture you want to still have in your family fifty years from now, I'd love to hear about your project.
Some jobs start with plans and elevations. Some start with a few phone photos and a rough idea. Either way, if you send me photos of the space and any inspiration images you have, that's enough to start the conversation.