POTW: Aaron Mauk - Art with Function

Work hard, work long, strive for success, learn from mistakes, seize opportunities, admit your weaknesses, leverage your strengths, and sometimes, get lucky. That’s what Aaron Mauk did and what still drives his success at Mauk Cabinets By Design in downtown Tipp City.

Aaron grew up in Vandalia loving art and comic books, and graduated from Vandalia High School. He credits his mom and two Vandalia art teachers, Mr. Mahoney and Mr. Smith (who he sometimes sees at Jim’s Donuts) for nurturing his artistic side. His first job was at the Funny Farm Book store, where he was surrounded by comic books and as a result, began writing his own. Aaron’s mom worked for American Airlines, and she flew Aaron and his sister all over the country, often to comic book conventions where he met some of his heroes (comic book artists and authors).

Aaron tried higher education at Sinclair and Wright State, but got married (to Kelly) and eventually had three kids (Tyler, Ashley, and Andrew). So, he left school behind and worked two jobs, at Emery Airlines on the 3rd shift at night and SupplyOne during the day, putting in 12 to 13 hours every weekday for about 6 years. But the long hours provided Aaron, then 25, and Kelly enough money to buy their first home, in West Milton.

It was a tough life, but an opportunity surfaced at SupplyOne, which at the time was a kitchen and bath cabinet supplier and installer. At first Aaron was doing data entry of orders for the firm’s designers, who also brought their blueprints to him, and eventually asked Aaron to draw the layouts from the blueprints. And that’s when he had a career changing “aha moment,” seeing “the potential artistry that could be involved, having fun with the design element of it, for being creative.” After three or four years of drawing layouts by hand, computers and CAD (Computer Aided Design) programs came along, and SupplyOne sent Aaron to a CAD training course (the other designers wanted no part of computers). He was soon outperforming the “draw by hand” designers, producing more creative layout designs, much faster, and eventually was promoted to the showroom selling the kitchen and bathroom fixtures pictured in his designs.

In 2004, Aaron left SupplyOne to be the head designer for Bernie Knapke of Knapke Kitchens and Baths, in Troy. At Knapke’s he met the folks who installed the kitchen and bathroom fixtures (installers) and still works with many of them. He learned a valuable lesson at Knapke’s, who retained many of the installers as employees: it’s more economical and efficient to hire the installers as sub-contractors, because then they work for a fixed price and timeframe, and are motivated not to exceed either.

Aaron’s dream of his own business took root in 2011 when he and Kelly were riding bikes in Tipp City and noticed a building for rent on the north-east side of Main St., by the railroad tracks. For Aaron it was “a designer’s dream…an empty shell, a blank canvas.” So, they took it and Aaron immediately began designing the building layout and meeting with product reps who, hoping to be future suppliers, donated materials for the new building.

Thus Mauk Cabinets by Design was born. Now, twelve years later, the business has tripled in size and doesn’t just do cabinets, but also floors, electric and plumbing work, drywall, wallpaper, etc. Aaron the businessman, says, “We stay in business by doing it all, including remodel.” And they do business all over, in Hilliard, Indian Lake, Piqua, Vandalia, West Milton, and elsewhere.

Aaron the artist, says “Every design that I do is like a puzzle. I put people’s wish list into the puzzle, make sure it’s ascetically pleasing and functional, and oh yes, keep it within budget.” And the toughest part of the business now is “trying to wear so many different hats…take the designer hat off, put on the bookkeeper hat, take it off and put on the owner hat, then the marketing hat, then the payroll hat, etc. And I just want to design!”

So, to get some hats off his head, Aaron hired staff members, to which he says, “If it wasn’t for my staff, I don’t know what I would do!” And for the marketing hat, he says, “social media has been a huge help for me over the years. It’s free advertising!”

Aaron works long days, but finds time for Kelly and the kids. They go to record and comic book conventions, and love movies and concerts with live music, particularly at the Rose Music Center in Huber Heights. They also go to Dragons’ games in Dayton.

Aaron says “Tipp feels like home. I know lots of people here, and you wouldn’t get that in a big city”. He joined the Tipp Chamber of Commerce to get more involved in the Tipp business community, and sponsors many downtown events. “It helps the community and gets people into the store.”

Looking back, Aaron says “I kinda fell ass-backwards into it. I keep telling my kids, a college degree is really important, and I’m all for it if that’s what you want. But I got where I’m at because I worked more hours than anyone would work. I did things that none of my colleagues would do. People take notice.”