Alan Kaniarz commits to impeccable craftsmanship

(This article, by Karen Vazquez, was featured in a recent issue of Ambassador Magazine. Click on thumbnail below to see larger version of the image)

Alan Kaniarz is something of a mad scientist. Upon entering his massive 6000-square-foot workshop, you are greeted by the woody smell of saw-dust and the heady scents of stain and varnish. With twinkling eyes and a bevy of antiques and wood planks behind him, the moment you step into his shop, the madness is apparent – in a very good way.

Kaniarz is the mastermind behind AK Services Inc., a woodworking shop located in the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit. From there, the company offers design services, custom doors, stained glass, antiques and custom cabinetry that would put almost any modern cabinet to shame.

Kaniarz sets himself apart from other woodworking shops in the area by specializing in inset door and drawer cabinetry and stained glass fabrication and repair.

By way of dedication to his art, Kaniarz has come across a few once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, most recently the chance to re-create furniture for the Turkel-Benbow House, a Frank Lloyd Wright creation on 7 Mile in Detroit.

He’s even found Maranti wood and re-created the exact color of the stain used throughout the rest of the house.

Of course, he had to obtain original blueprints from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and only received permission to produce a limited number for the home, but all of that is just a glorious detail for this man on a mission.

“It’s kind of a sickness,” Kaniarz says, glancing up at the cluster of vintage lamps overhead. All o the lights, some Tiffany, are in various stages of repair, all to be painstakingly restored to their original splendor. “But that’s what this is really about – attention to detail.”

He isn’t kidding. In the recent creation of a Miter Mullion bookcase for a client, Kaniarz used antique hinges, screws and even glass to highlight true Arts and Crafts period details.

Yes, it may have taken between 15 and 20 hours for him and his employees to make three, but who’s counting when it comes to craftsmanship?

AK Services Inc. does not mass produce anything. Kaniarz, an adjunct faculty member at the College for Creative Studies Foundations Department, can’t produce cabinets at the speed of light, but he finds great pleasure in taking his time. “I like the freedom to pursue what I want to do,” he says.

That kind of meticulous commitment to craftsmanship is what makes his 24-year-old company one of Detroit’s premier woodworking shops.