Andover Cabinetry Company Begins After-School Program | Andover, MA Patch

Andover, MA—When the pandemic first triggered a nationwide lockdown in March 2020, Landmark Finish, a cabinet company based in Andover, grew rapidly and faced the challenge of doing business in a social environment Sexual restriction.

Within a few weeks of the lockdown, Landmark Finish began selling "security guards," a transparent plastic barrier that has played a role in the safety and partial opening of businesses and schools across the country.

Deanna Junge said: "In the fall, we have made great developments to help all schools open again." "We are still making them, we are still selling them; it slowed down a bit."

But the owners Stewart and Deanna Junge, their story of survival in an epidemic

In October, not only new safeguards were established, but also various businesses triggered by the pandemic were deeply studied.

Deanna Junge said: "We are doing something different now." "Obviously, we still have the original core business of cabinets, and now we will focus more on the home office cabinets, because everyone wants to provide their own house Equipped with home office space, so we are still focusing on cabinet production. In the home office, we are taking safety measures. In fact, we are also now prototyping our home office furniture series. We hope to launch this product in March ."

These new branches and business lines show a company's state of continuous development and adaptation, so it is also undergoing a comprehensive redesign of the brand. The launch date is early March, which is almost a year. The day Landmark Finished was forced to close due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Deanna Junge said: "In fact, we are also trying to reshape the company's brand." "We want to grow our business nationwide; we want to use a stronger name that can be registered to achieve this goal-we have decided to Rebrand and update it, and give it a new look to better work with all these product lines."

Among these new projects, Landmark Finish is collaborating with North Andover Youth Center to create an after-school program for local middle school students. The program is designed for and designed by children to impart value and skills. Woodworking.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order requiring masks to be used on all public transportation, with some exceptions.

"We have two sons, and they have grown up in the store with us," Dianna Jung said. "They have been working in that shop and learned to use tools safely at a very young age."

The result of this kind of shop setting is that there are many fixed household projects – the Junge family has been working on household woodworking projects and shared as "Junge Makers" via YouTube and Instagram, with more than 250 subscribers.

Deanna Junge added: “For us, it’s just second nature to build things around these things on a regular basis.”

The concept of the Youth Extracurricular Activity Program was first proposed more than a year ago before the pandemic, so it took several months of careful planning to establish it.

Deanna Junge said: "More than a year ago, we contacted Rick Gorman, the executive director of the North Andover Youth Center; he was always looking for new shows." "They didn't have enough space or staff. Professional knowledge to run this program-he first recommended it to us, and then Covid hit it, everything was closed, and many programs were suspended."

As Covid relaxed slightly in the summer, the youth program was restored-through a well-designed system to prevent the spread of the disease, Gorman and the Youth Center were able to avoid any infections in their program during the summer. Now is a good time to start despite the nationwide The number of cases continues to increase, but this pilot program is still in progress.

Stewart Junge said: "They came up with a system to stop Covid very early, and now they feel very comfortable." "For us, six people brought their partners in. When they entered the youth center, they were Everyone took a thermometer test. They took all appropriate precautions."

With funding from Joseph N. Hermann Youth Center Corporation, the Youth Center can fully fund the program so that all interested students can use the program immediately.

Deanna Junge said: "The children who participate in our pilot program are free." "The real magic is that when we started talking to Rick and carefully studying the details, he was very interested in our son. We worked together and thought 'Peer-to-peer teaching will not take this program to the next level.'"

Due to Covid restrictions, the class size of the pilot program has been reduced to 6 students, but this has not caused problems in any way.

Deanna Junge said: "In fact, it works well for many reasons." "First of all, our tutor and tutor to student ratio is very high. We have six students, our sons Brody and Ke Alby is a mentor, and then Stewart and I have been here to supervise, as well as from the youth center. We also have an employee who has been shooting and videotaping here. This is almost a 1:1 ratio-starting from a small group of people to boys It’s a good habit for them, because it’s not too difficult for them."

Although the name of the program is just an introduction to woodworking, its complexity is not what it seems. The difference between this program and the traditional shop class is that safety focuses on hand-made, while also allowing the use of modern woodworking methods for teaching.

Deanna Junge said: "We have done our best to ensure that the programs we publish here are very safe." "When students come in, the first thing we do is review the safety checklist. We make sure that the children have what we want them to get Hands-on experience, but they didn’t use tools that could be dangerous."

Rather than including the use of saws and other cutting tools in the curriculum, let students learn how to use Avid CNC, which allows them to design and program machines to create these designs.

Stewart Jung said: "A large part of the plan is to teach current woodworking methods." "Current woodworking methods include operating CNC, computer numerical control. Children learn how to program designs in software, and then program them on CNC. Tool path."

Although this is only a pilot program, it has already caused quite a bit of excitement.

Deanna Junge said: "We have received such positive feedback that we really think this is likely to happen." "We welcome other youth centers and other organizations to cooperate with us so that we can carry out more projects."

As already interested in potential parent-child woodworking courses, Junge's is exploring the future of woodworking education as another branch of its existing cabinet company.

Stewart Junge (Stewart Junge) said: "I want to be a conduit for those who want to learn to trade." "Use your hands and mind to do some creative things. I see parents need to do more with their children Things, especially in terms of Covid and lock-in."

And in all respects, Junge has been working hard to find a glimmer of hope in the dark situation.

Deanna Junge said: "We just need to maintain a positive attitude and keep the children positive. This is our mantra throughout the whole thing." "We must work hard every day, innovate constantly, and strive to make each other a stronger family. s company."