Bill Esler

Cabinets & Closets 2013, Feb. 27-Mar 1 at the New Jersey Convention Center, will open just as billions of dollars in Federal hurricane recovery aid arrives in the Northeast. It's the place to be for new business and new ideas.

A favorite woodworking tool showed up in my kitchen this season, and my wife says it effortlessly produces the lightest, most wonderful orange zest.

School and government furniture buying standards that favor wood over plastic and metal make economic and environmental sense. The Public Wooden Furniture Research Project due out in January 2013 will see if it's practical.

Refinishing oak pews of a century-old New York City church, an immigrant construction carpenter gives and receives, while the story of a pipe organ restoration continues.

Custom woodworkers are like any other small business - working at their day job, while negotiating uncertain regulatory and financial landscape.

As woodshops expand and furniture and cabinet factories reactivate, pressure to find qualified workers rises. The shortage may arise from non-competitive pay scales, suggests one analyst.

La-Z-Boy furniture sales are benefiting from the improved economy, cell-based manufacturing and optimized furniture production. But the fiscal cliff threat is impacting their strategy.

What is it about smelling like wood that smells good to people? Another wood aroma hits the streets.