Page 13 - CMA PROfiles Summer 2015

by Jessica Sinnott
ary Ciuffo is not exaggerating
when he says that his cabinetry
G is made with Old World crafts-
manship. Using skills that have been
passed down through four generations
of Ciuffos, Gary continues to grow
his unique, family-owned business
through the most traditional method:
A Family Tradition high-quality work.

The Ciuffo family patriarch was
Gaspare Ciuffo, Gary’s great-grand-
father, who was a wood carver from
Palermo, Italy. In 1911, Gaspare im-
migrated to New York with his wife
and children and opened a furniture-
making shop in Manhattan. A talented
craftsman, Gaspare’s shop produced
ecclesiastical wood sculptures for
the Catholic Church, as well as hand
carved furniture for the general
public. Many of his sculptures can
still be seen in New York City today,
including Virgin Mary and Child with
St. Joseph at Manhattan City Col-
lege along with the 14 Stations of the
Cross on Mulberry Street at the shrine
to St. Elois.

Gaspare’s sons, Salvatore, Alfonso,
and Angelo, all followed in their
father’s footsteps, training in the
arts of woodworking, cabinetry, and
furniture making. Salvatore started
Ciuffo Cabinetry as it is known today,
and his son Gaspar initiated the com-
pany’s adjustment to the new century.
With the help of his sons, Gary and
Michael, Gaspar led the way to
combining Old World quality with
modern production techniques, which
Gary says is the key to their success
as a business today.

Dramatic growth is the theme of
Ciuffo Cabinetry under Gary’s owner-
ship. “When I first started helping
in the shop at the age of twelve,” he
remembered, “we were much smaller
scale, with no electronics. It was a lot
tougher to produce products.” With
Gary at the helm, the focus of the
business shifted to custom kitchen
cabinetry, and new software technol-
ogy, such as Inventor, AutoCAD,
SigmaNEST, KCDW, and EnRoute,
allowed production to become more
efficient and profitable while ensur-
ing quality did not slip. “My brother
Mike has helped to develop CNC
Technology that enables us to create
the best custom millwork there is to
offer,” Gary says proudly.
continued on page 14

PROFILES • Volume 15 • Issue 3, 2015 • www.cabinetmakers.org 13