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Allan Rosenthal of Linear Fine Woodworking in Scottsdale, Arizona

Episode Summary

Today Ted speaks with Allan Rosenthal of Linear Fine Woodworking, which offers high-end custom cabinetry, millwork and furniture to clients around Arizona.

Episode Notes

The third-generation woodworker has spent the last 32 years building on the foundation his grandfather, a master woodworker from Europe, began prior to World War II.

Allan’s family business is a legacy defined by faith, gumption, and relentless perseverance: The elder Rosenthal, a tie salesman, was dragged into woodworking by Allan’s grandfather. Not long after, he became a Holocaust survivor who lost his entire family. Eventually, he immigrated to New York where Allan was raised until making the move to Arizona in 1990.

Allan says that if it weren’t for his father getting into the business, “he would have died working in the fields like everyone else.”

Today, Allan leads a team of 35 at Linear Fine Woodworking and is a Phoenix Home & Garden Master of the Southwest.

Topics Discussed: 

• [06:16] Allan’s background
• [11:38] How Allan finds his ultra-high-net-worth clients
• [15:28] Investing half-a-million dollars in equipment and hiring the best
• [22:23] Training his builders and architects
• [28:47] Allan’s thoughts on the supply chain issue
• [37:54] The importance of working with the right people on your team
• [40:51] How Allan’s family history shaped him and the legacy he wants to leave
• [51:58] Allan’s role as a mentor to his kids
• [58:42] How Allan stays focused on his projects and his standout jobs
• [1:07:38] How the next five years look for Allan

Connect with Guest:

• Website: https://www.linearfinewoodworking.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/linearfinewoodworking/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linearfinewoodworking/
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/linearfww/_created/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/linear-fine-woodworking-llc
• Houzz: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/cabinets-and-cabinetry/linear-fine-woodworking-pfvwus-pf~721591618?

Connect with Build Magazine:

• Website - https://www.buildmagazine.com/
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/buildmags/?hl=en
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BuildMags/

Key Quotes by Allan:

• This has been a passion for perfection, and that has always been my goal.
• I think we always need to stay ahead. And the desire to stay ahead means to take risk that some people may not necessarily take.
• The clients that are hiring us are hiring us because they don’t want to know about the supply chain issue. They just want what they want.
• I watch what people do and not what they say. That’s the easiest way for me to see character in someone.