Cape Island Woodworks is a go-to shop for remodeling and restoration work on historic properties in Cape May, N.J., the hometown of owner and principal John Hassay.
The small shop, which inhabits the first floor of his home, focuses on what Hassay calls the ‘odd millwork category’.
“Reproduction moldings, corbels, scroll work, decorative posts, porch wraps and doors are a big thing. I’d say just the really odd things,” says Hassay.
“We take care of everybody. We think of it as a service to the community. We’ll fix a chair for an old lady. That’s how we got started. And it’s all word of mouth. If you don’t advertise, word of mouth is everything.”
Business has been brisk since the pandemic, particularly for some of the older hotels of this seaside community, including the Inn of Cape May.
“We worked with Cape May contractors on that job doing their exterior millwork, the interior lobby, front desk, doors, and windows. We took the original curved front desk and repurposed it for a new coffee bar. We also built a 24’ laminated curved beam to hold up the porch roof,” says Hassay.
“And the Chalfonte Hotel is an ongoing project. Once a year, we do a number of reproduction items for it. It has an aged, paint-layered feel, and is the most original hotel in Cape May. Some owners would probably gut it and start from scratch, but these owners keep its charm.”
A Short Commute
Hassay grew up in the heart of Cape May’s historic district and after graduating from Cape May County Technical High School in 1985, went to work in construction and gravitated to interior and exterior millwork.
“There weren’t a whole lot of shops around here at the time. It was more on-site construction. I started working for other people to learn,” says Hassay.
He started his own business in 1994, taking any millwork jobs he could get, many of them being on-site. But he couldn’t find a sutable shop and was constantly moving equipment from one space to another. At one point, out of frustration, he bought a Conex box and put it on a rented property.
“It was terrible. I had a woodstove in there and left for lunch one day and came back to all these fire trucks,” says Hassay.
In 2001, he bought a gutted two-story house and started remodeling. He and his wife Beth live upstairs, and the entire downstairs is dedicated to the business. The 1,800-sq.-ft. shop is broken up into rooms with an entryway that serves as a showroom, a corridor with a few machines, and the main shop area that features a Felder combination machine, Laguna Swift CNC and 20” planer, and Powermatic molder.
“People find [the shop] quirky,” says Hassay. “I used to be discouraged because I thought I’d never be able to get into this business [without] a giant space, but you really don’t need one. You can make do with what you have.”
And he does. There’s a large storage barn behind the house/shop that Hassay built around a 40’ schooner from Nova Scotia, a restoration project that eventually took a back seat to growing abusiness. It now provides much needed storage space for materials and a Lucas sawmill.
Hassay shares the shop with Brian Lee, a full-time employee of eight years.
Material Matters
Hassay purchased the Laguna Swift router about nine years ago, which he says has eliminated challenges with cutting repetitive parts such as balustrades and for machining the area’s go-to exterior material, Accoya.
“Things machine differently on the CNC, and [Accoya] happens to be flawless. Cypress comes out a little fuzzy,” says Hassay.
Buildings in this coastal region are vulnerable to heavy winds, rain and salty mist. Builders have switched to Accoya for its ability to withstand these harsh weather conditions. Accoya is a sustainable, dimensional wood product made from radiata pine that goes through an acetylation process. It satisfies the area’s Historic Preservation Commission, which approves construction projects within the historic district.
“Cape May has a lot of porches and they always go bad, until Accoya,” says Hassay.
“I had been searching for a weatherproof material. Accoya’s expensive but we tell the customer, anything with so much labor involved, that’s the best choice. They are usually receptive. We call it the ‘smart choice’. We tried so many things to keep pricing down, but we got away from all the cheaper woods and that’s what we offer now. If they want something else, certainly we’ll do that, but we don’t even really price jobs out of anything but Accoya.”
Doing His Part
Hassay, 53, isn’t sure of what the future holds, but hopes the hard work he put into building the business will live on. His son Collin is studying business in college and doing some marketing for the shop.
“I’m hoping Collin gets involved. I just recently started profit sharing with Brian. I’m thinking towards my twilight years,” he says.
Hassay has seen Cape May transition from a single season to a year-round resort town. He wants to do his part keeping the original look and feel of the area he grew up in and will continue working for as long as he can.
“This place is a godsend. I like the architecture, of course, but also the fact that you don’t go through anything to get here. It’s remote. You only come here if you’re coming here. It’s gorgeous in season and in the winter.
“The season grows longer and longer. When I was a kid, the stores were covered in plywood by Labor Day. It shut down when summer was over.”
He reminds emerging woodworkers not to get discouraged by financial limitations and proceed one step at a time.
“For anybody young starting out, you don’t need to go into copious amounts of debt. You can start small and carve out a nice life.”
To see more of the shop’s work, visit cape-island-woodworks.business.site.
This article was originally published in the January 2024 issue.
