HomeCraft Cabinetry in Forestville, MD I'm in Virginia, and they've done kitchens all over our neighborhood. Our contractor usually used another custom company out of the area, and even he was blown away by the quality of our cabinets. Plus the owners could not be nicer, more helpful, or more responsible. Sorry, gushing. But I am really, really happy. http://www.homecraftcabinetry.com/kitchens.html

The KD we had at EXPO in Columbia, MD, has become an independent KD. However, I do not have her contact information right now. As far as design is concerned, she is very good...just don't let her do the final measurements! I would definitely use her again as long as someone else did the measurements. She does her best to do what the customer wants but is not afraid to tell you why she thinks something may not work. If you want it anyway, she'll do it. When we began planning, I had insisted I had to have an island. She pointed out to me that I didn't really have the room, but I insisted. So, she drew it up for me and pointed out the 22" aisles I had b/w the corner of the islands & the window area. I realized she was right with that design so posted here asking if anyone could me come up w/a design w/an island. Everyone here worked very hard to come up with an island plan (and there were some very creative ideas!) but in the end they made me realize an island just wouldn't work... So, I asked both my KD and the folks here to start from scratch and redesign...both my KD and all of us here came up with very similar designs in the end. The main differences were (1) she had put in cabinet pantry cabinets but we had a corner pantry (which is what I stayed with) and (2) I added a "mini peninsula" that my KD didn't have and wasn't totally happy with...but she told me to mock it up and if I was OK with it she would go ahead with it in the design...I was OK with it (I loved it!) so she put it in. The problems I had with her later had more to do with EXPO policies that she had to follow and, of course, the measuring mistakes. (It took an anonymous GWer's intervention on my behalf at Home Depot Corporate to get our local EXPO to make good on the measuring mistakes without charging me.) [I just asked my DH and he agrees with me on all points!]

We had TCS Woodworking make a wall mounted table and a tall panel for the kitchen. We also needed a very wide piece of house trim and they glued it up for us.

I think Jacob is actually in Oxford, PA. But I think it is still just a couple hours from her, so it really isn't htat big of a deal. I know lots of people who would drive a couple hours to get what they wanted for their kitchen cabinets. It is not like it is something you would do everyday, afterall. Jumpilotmdm, I believe the OP said she was comparing American Woodmark to Jacob, not Woodmode. American Woodmark is a HD line that I would expect would be cheaper than Jacob's cabs. Although, I am not sure if these were really comparable as it appears that Jacob might have been including things that were not in the American Woodmark quote. In all fairness, quality can come from many sources, as does junk. I am sure their are people (Amish or English) who produce both. In my experience, I love dealing with the craftsman himself thoughout my process. That was something that a manufactured cab company couldn't give me.