November 13, 2017

Meet Brandon Gatti of Grain Wood Shop in East Boston, Jeffries Point

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Gatti.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Brandon. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Growing up in Connecticut, I found out that I enjoyed working with my hands – building things. I was always building something in my dad’s workshop, whether it be shelving or a longboard skateboard.
In my senior year of high school, I didn’t feel ready for college; so, I found an alternative that allowed me to use my hands and build. I enrolled in a two-year program at the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS). During the first year the students do a complete restoration (rebuild) of a Beatle Cat which is a small classic sail boat. In the second year, students do custom interior cabin and finish work. In addition to using power tools, there is a strong emphasis on using hand tools – planes, chisels, etc. This program really developed my woodworking skills.
This led me to the University of Colorado, where I studied architecture and design. This was a great progression for me because I was able to build my understanding of how things go together while learning how to design and the process of creating.
After several years of rebuilding wooden boats, I wanted to work for myself and start a business.

I remember a meeting with my dad in the Summer of 2013 where we developed the concept of a woodworking shop and began flushing out the business plan. I started Grain to have the best of both worlds—to design and fabricate high quality woodwork.

Today the business is 4 years old and focused on providing architectural millwork and cabinetry to businesses.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Short answer is No. Being a small business owner is hard work. There is a lot that has to come together to be successful. You have to be truly dedicated and have a passion for the work you do. Some days you are on top of the world – landing jobs, completing projects on time and everything comes together; on other days, you are on a job site refinishing a cabinet, customers and suppliers are calling, there are rush jobs in backlog while still having to manage the business.

Long Answer – Finding your niche takes time. I started Grain while working full time on the South Shore. There were many long nights and weekends in starting a new business and getting the shop setup. I left my full time job in March of 2014 to focus 100% on Grain. I don’t think I was ready for that. In the beginning, we started with building furniture and smaller projects. We were just staring out and we not known yet; therefore, the our work was difficult to market.

Then we moved into building cabinets and case work, built-ins and some kitchens on the residential side. While the projects were larger and more satisfying to see come together, we were spending a lot of time with residential customers. We learned that the kitchen cabinet industry has larger manufacturing facilities that can deliver great products at a great price. It is tough to compete in this market with the big guys.

Now we are mostly in the commercial sector. We focus on working with architects and contractors to help them with their millwork needs. I am much more comfortable with where my business is today than where it was a year ago as our mission is now more focused.

Grain Wood Shop – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Grain provides architectural millwork to the commercial sector – restaurants and bars, retail shops and offices. We provide store fixtures, including point of sale counters, displays, modular wall systems and entry desk just to name a few.

What sets us apart? Our business is unique because we have both hardwood and panel processing capabilities, we do all our finish work in house, and we are located in East Boston, providing easy access for jobs located downtown.

We have two core principals we try to execute on every day. First, we are committed to providing high quality work. In the shop we strive for zero defects. This is ultimately imposible but its our goal in everything we do. Second, we are committed to being responsive to our customers and meeting their needs. Because we are not a big shop, we generally provide a quicker turnaround on projects.

I am most proud of taking a project from start to finish and seeing it all come together. Working as a team with other professionals is really great. This requires a team effort, working with other contractors and architects.
It is a team effort and we all want to see our projects shine.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success means being respected by other professionals for the work we do, meeting and seeing the satisfied customers, and our projects around. Providing a living for not only myself but the people I employ is very important to me as well.

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