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www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
R ob Wells, left, and
Coastal Cabinet’s
owner Mike Powell.
{Second
generation
cabinetmaker}
Mike Powell
A t the north end of N ew
H anover C ounty, M ike
Powell’s C oastal C abinets
anchors the extreme end of the cabinet
shop spectrum. From this vantage,
during a career that has spanned his
entire lifetime, he observes the evolution
of the industry.
Powell has spent 42 years as a
second-generation woodworker. H is
father came to W ilmington in 1954
and eventually went into business for
himself in ’68.
“M y earliest recollection was when
I was 12,” Powell explains. “I didn’t
go out and play on Saturday; I went
and worked. It’s what I know. It’s all I
know. A nd I don’t know what I would
do if I didn’t do it.”
A fter working for his father until