Wood Touch Company Profile

onoma resident Robert Castillo, owner of Wood Touch Cabinets, is your go-to man for cabinets. After all, Robert, his father, grandfather and uncles have been working in this business for decades.

The Family Business
The family Castillo has several generations of experience in building, and the dynasty shows no signs of stopping; Robert's kids are still young, but they too might step into the business one day. Robert's grandfather was a machinist who built many beautiful things for his family in his spare time. His work attracted the attention of family and friends, who soon requested cabinets built by the senior Castillo. Following in granddad's footsteps, Robert's father originally worked for UnitBuild, one of the first companies to design modular cabinetry for large-scale commercial projects. (The company dissolved long ago, but modular systems are standard in the industry now). Robert Castillo and his father at Wood Touch use modular systems when customers request them, but they also design, build, and install custom cabinets for individuals and small businesses.

Robert Castillo was born in the Mission District in San Francisco, but moved to San Bruno as a boy. His father and uncle started a cabinet making business in 1977, and Robert spent several years watching them run their business, helping out when he was old enough. Although his father and uncle dissolved the partnership in 1982, Wood Touch opened that same year, with Robert at the helm.

In 2005, Wood Touch moved its workshop to Sonoma from San Bruno. Robert Castillo brought his new family to the Sonoma area from the burgeoning urbanization in San Bruno, much as his father moved the family from the Mission to San Bruno back in the seventies.

The Most Important Thing
Talking about the most important thing he learned from his father or grandfather about the work, Robert recalled "I remember my grandfather saying that ‘You should only make something you'd feel good about having in your own home,' and that's true. If it's not something I'd be proud to have in my home or my family's, I won't do it." The elder Castillos still help out at Wood Touch, offering the wisdom of their experience, and their know-how with the tools of the trade.

In fact, although Robert Castillo uses all modern equipment and materials in his projects for Wood Touch clients, including Blum slides and Salice hinges, his father's Delta table saw is still in use, and his grandfather's homemade table saw occupies pride of place in the shop.

Local Business, Nationwide Service
Believe it or not, Wood Touch has grown from a bay area family business to reach clients in such far flung locales as New York and Honolulu! "It depends on many things, but we can do projects anywhere," said Robert. This does not mean that Wood Touch has gotten too big for its regular clients, many of whom are customers from Robert's father's days as a cabinet maker.

A typical customer is on either end of a spectrum: they want nothing to do with the process of designing, building and installing the cabinets, or they are intensely involved with every detail. Robert Castillo is equally comfortable with these extremes. Similarly, Robert moves easily between English and Spanish. While talking with him recently, he got a call on his business line. His perfect English switched immediately into fluid Spanish. He apologized for the interruption, "Sorry. It was my mom." You guessed it, she helps with the family business too. "I dream in English and Spanish," said Robert. No doubt his dreams are full of woodworking, too.


---Genevieve Albers
Staff Writer
The Prime Buyer's Report