Nigel has bespoke recipe for custom-made kitchens

Nigel is one third of the trio behind McGowan Brooks, a bespoke, hand-made furniture retailer, which he now runs in conjunction with his son Philip and their business partner Chris Brooks.

Nigel set up the business originally as NP McGowan when he was just 22 years old and had just finished his training.

“I always had a passion for creating things from scratch and working with materials to create finished products.

“I originally started out with friends and contacts asking me to build houses for them but I soon realised I loved the creativity of the kitchen side of the business so that’s what I decided to concentrate on,” explains the County Down business man.

Orders started pouring in from far and wide for Nigel’s original hand-made kitchens and business was booming.

Already with a keen eye on the family business Philip began visiting the workshop when he was in primary school and later got a part time job helping out in the workshop during school holidays.

“Business came initially from word of mouth. I put in kitchens for friends and then their friends liked it and so on.”

The company expanded at a dramatic rate employing 14 men at one stage and supplying kitchens to Fulton’s showroom, amongst others.

In 2008 the recession hit local business hard and Nigel did not remain unscathed,

“People were just not spending money or investing in their homes. The property market had been shaken to its core and we were badly affected as so many businesses were.”

Nigel decided to wind up the business in 2010 and awhile later, son Philip headed out to Australia to work.

Miles from home, missing his family and home comforts, Philip had a revelation.

“He decided that we should have just pushed through the tough times, gone out after business and made it work,” explains Nigel.

“He phoned me and told me he was coming home and to start looking for jobs as we were back in business.” Nigel decided his son was right and hoped that if the two teamed up and joined forced they could find the work to survive the recession.

A few days after Philip returned from Australia he was back in the workshop and they were working on a deadline. “It just felt right,” explains Nigel, “and with Philip’s enthusiasm and belief in us I knew we could make it work.”

Chris Brooks had served his time with the company and been a crafts man all his working life. He too believed in the company and the new brand McGowan Brooks was born.

“Chris, without doubt is the best joiner I have ever worked with – and has a great business head on him – so for Philip and I, he was the natural choice.”

“Work came in, slowly at the start but then again through word of mouth our customers built up.

“We are three very passionate men about what we do. We love it and our goal is always to leave a customer with a room that they simply love spending time in. Then they will recommend us and the chain continues.”

Nigel says the key to his success has been investing in those coming up behind him and watching Philip and Chris develop and catch his contagious enthusiasm for what they do.

“I never want to lose that personal touch. We are only as good as our last kitchen. I strive to find out all I can about the person I am creating the furniture for and then I build the room or the pieces around them.”

He addresses the challenges that continue to face businesses,

“It’s all about economics. We want to provide good quality products that are the best they can be but at a price that the customer can afford and one which allows us to continue to make money to invest back into the business. It’s as simple as that.”

The company has invested heavily in the last year in their website and rebranding.

Nigel says the goal now is to get their name out there and let people know who they are and what they do.

“The market is opening up and we have been expanding into new areas such as Bristol where the property market is booming and people are spending on their homes.

“We are also putting the final plans in place to open a bespoke signature kitchen showroom in Holywood in the next few months within The Mews Interiors which will inevitably expand the team and our reach.”

Nigel concluded: “The last number of years have been an exciting journey – with many highs and some lows – but the three of us are a good team, our order book is filling up well into summer 2016 and we have our sights firmly set on a positive future”