Master cabinetmaker looks to pass on skills

Paul Shim-hue has been doing cabinet-making for more than three decades in Clarendon. He lives and runs his business on Lawson's Boulevard in Four Paths.

"I've been living here long time, ova 50 years now. I started doing this from the last 30-odd years. This is cabinetmaking. Some people call it carpentry but it different from carpentry because carpentry is mostly a roof thing. This is refined work. So like dresser, chest of drawers, bedhead, doors, household things," he said.

Like many others, Shim-hue discovered his talent and started honing it at an early stage.

"I went to Denbigh in 1978. I learnt this in (the then named) Denbigh Secondary School, so that's where I get the skill from, and I worked at two woodwork places since I leave school. Then in 1989, I created this place," he said.

The 55-year-old told CENTRAL STAR that he profits mainly from outsiders.

"People pass and stop. Several people ... by seeing the furniture dem, stop and ask and interested. Very rare you find people right here in the community. Mostly outsiders, Kingston, Portmore, Mandeville, yea man, nuff outsiders," he said.

He says his prices vary, based on what customers want.

"A bed is for $10,000, so me maybe a go get $2,500 profit or suh. The rest ($7,500) go to buying materials. For dresser, I have five drawers, seven drawers, nine drawers, 12 drawers," he said. "For $60,000, you can get a nice seven-drawer set. To make the seven-drawer dresser, that would cost $30,000, so that's $30,000 profit."

Shim-hue noted that this is not a mere hobby for him, as this is the only thing he does.

"It provide for me and my family right through the year. It's a good business," he said, lamenting that young people are not too interested to learn the craft.

"What I'm saying is you don't have no young man weh can help," he said while holding his bandaged finger. "Dem no interested. When I started out I usually have nuff young men but dem gone now. If you have a young man here now, him can mek a bed, several bed within two weeks and sell and him get him money. And this is a good trade and this is a good investment."