Story
Sanders Cabinetry
From Local Craftsmanship to Digital-First Business
The Context
Danny Sanders had never needed the internet to build his business.
For years, Sanders Cabinetry grew the way many great trades businesses do. Word of mouth. Repeat customers. Referrals passed from neighbor to neighbor. The work spoke for itself.
Nearly all of that work lived in Lake County, Illinois. Homes in places like Libertyville, Lake Forest, Highland Park, and surrounding communities where craftsmanship mattered and reputations traveled fast.
At the time we were introduced, Danny was still working a full time job. Cabinet refinishing lived in the margins. Nights, weekends, and whenever time allowed. Volume was not the issue. Visibility was.
That introduction came through Corey Collins, a lifelong friend of mine, who recommended Creative Eye when he learned his father was preparing to take Sanders Cabinetry full time.
Danny always knew this next chapter would not stay in Illinois. The plan was to eventually expand the business to North Carolina, specifically the Charlotte area, to be closer to Corey and family. For that move to work, the business needed to exist beyond local familiarity.
Referrals do not cross state lines.
Reputations reset with new zip codes.
If Sanders Cabinetry was going to travel, it needed a digital foundation.
The Working Relationship
From the beginning, Danny was clear about one thing. He wanted to stay focused on the work.
Day to day collaboration ran through Danielle, Danny’s daughter, who became our primary partner on the project. She handled feedback, reviews, communication, and strategic decisions. More importantly, she learned quickly and asked the right questions.
Danielle became the bridge between vision and execution. She understood what her father needed, translated it into clear decisions, and took ownership of the digital side of the business.
Danny trusted that structure. Stacey, his wife and business partner, supported behind the scenes with billing and design input, but the build itself was intentionally streamlined.
This was not a committee.
It was a family business, supported by a system that worked.
The Real Problem
Sanders Cabinetry was not short on proof.
Danny had years of real client photos. Phone captured transformations. Before pictures marked with a thumbs down. After pictures marked with a thumbs up. Honest work documented naturally over time.
But none of it lived in a place where new customers could find it.
There was no website.
No brand system.
No social presence beyond a semi dormant personal Instagram account.
Every new customer required explanation. Every inquiry required time. The business depended entirely on Danny being available to tell the story himself.
That model worked locally.
It does not work across markets.
What Danny needed was not more leads.
He needed leverage.
A brand that could travel.
A website that explained the value without context.
A social media system Danielle could run confidently as the business entered new markets.
That became the assignment.
What We Built
Every decision was guided by a single question.
Can this business move without losing momentum?
Brand foundation
We started by defining what Sanders Cabinetry actually is online.
Not general remodeling.
Not a one off cabinet guy.
A factory finish cabinet transformation business built for homeowners who want results without full replacement.
That positioning shaped everything that followed. Messaging centered on speed, value, and trust. Roughly half the cost of replacement. Seven to ten day turnaround. Licensed, insured, family owned, backed by a two year warranty.
The Thumbs Up Guarantee became the brand’s anchor.
What had lived for years as a visual habit in Danny’s phone photos now became a formal promise. It showed up on the website, in social content, and as a consistent visual cue across the brand. Simple. Human. Instantly understandable.
Website built to explain, not impress
The website was designed to do the job Danny had always done in person.
Show the work.
Explain the process.
Build trust quickly.
Get out of the way.
The homepage opens with real before and after transformations, not stock imagery. Motion is subtle and intentional. The message lands in seconds. This is not replacement. This is transformation.
Project photos are treated like proof, not decoration. A dedicated gallery system allows visitors to toggle before and after views, explore projects by location, and understand the scope of work without reading walls of copy.
Every section was built with performance and clarity in mind. Mobile first. Fast loads. No plugin clutter. No duct tape solutions.
The site does not try to sell.
It lets the work speak.
Social media playbook built for reality
Danny already had the hardest part. Proof.
Years of transformation photos captured organically over time. We turned that archive into a system Danielle could actually run.
Clear posting formats.
Clear cadence.
Clear purpose.
Before and after stories. Process highlights. Finished reveals. Content designed to reinforce trust, not chase trends.
The playbook was built so Danielle could manage social confidently without guessing or overthinking. Same visual language. Same promise. Same rhythm.
The goal was never volume.
It was consistency.
Infrastructure that scales
Under the hood, everything was built for ownership and expansion.
A modern site architecture designed to support new markets without rebuilds. A shared media system to avoid asset chaos. Clean lead capture tied directly into a simple conversion pipeline. SEO structured to support local authority today and new regions tomorrow.
No shortcuts.
No future debt.
This was infrastructure built to travel.
Preparing the Business to Move
The goal was never to get louder.
It was to get ready.
As the systems came together, Sanders Cabinetry stopped depending on proximity to earn trust. The business could finally explain itself without Danny being in the room.
That readiness changed the timeline.
The original plan was to retire at the end of January. But once the foundation was in place and the business no longer felt fragile, Danny made the call to move sooner.
He officially retired on January 12. Stacey, who had already retired in 2025, was ready as well.
Instead of rushing, they chose intention.
They've packed up their RV and will begin the move from Illinois to North Carolina slowly, taking their time as new retirees, knowing the business is already established online and ready to be introduced to a new market.
That confidence does not come from hope.
It comes from preparation.
The Outcome
Once the foundation was in place, the results followed naturally.
- 130 percent increase in website traffic
- Over 5,000 views in the first 30 days
- Ongoing monthly partnership
- Business positioned for expansion into North Carolina
More importantly, Sanders Cabinetry gained portability.
The business no longer lives only in conversations and referrals. It exists online, ready to meet new customers without context, explanation, or proximity.
A Full Circle Moment
There was one final project before Danny officially closed the Illinois chapter.
My kitchen.
After years of refining cabinets across Lake County homes, the last job before relocation was personal. Familiar. Quietly symbolic.
Photos from that project sit alongside the rest of the work. Before. After. Thumbs down. Thumbs up.
Not as a victory lap.
As a reminder of how this whole thing came together.
Word of mouth led to trust.
Trust led to partnership.
Partnership led to a business ready to move.
That is not something you script.
It is something you earn.
Ashley Barnes with Danny Sanders of Sanders Cabinetry, celebrating the finished kitchen.
Why This Matters
This project reflects what Creative Eye Studios is built to do.
We do not chase growth for growth’s sake.
We build infrastructure that creates options.
For Danny and Stacey, that meant retiring on their terms.
For Danielle, it meant owning systems she could confidently run as the business entered its next chapter.
For the business, it meant the freedom to move, expand, and endure.
That is what digital first actually means.
Not louder.
Not flashier.
Just ready.