The kitchen is the heart of the home—a space where family meals are shared, holiday dinners are prepared, and cherished moments with loved ones unfold. It’s fitting, then, that Classic Custom Metal Works and Design, a family business founded by Cindy Mullen, crafts bespoke range hoods – the crown jewel of the kitchen – to bring a touch of their family to yours.
Classic Custom Metal Works and Design is a true lemons-to-lemonade story. Cindy’s late husband, Mike Mullen, transitioned from a career in finance and technology to revitalizing small businesses, including a Tampa-based manufacturing company, Pro-Tools. After Mike’s unexpected passing in 2013, Cindy, joined by her children, decided to build on his legacy and transform the business into what it is today.
After four years at the helm, Cindy merged her recently cultivated manufacturing acumen with her lifelong passion for interior design. She and her lifelong friend and bonafide interior designer, Cecelia Weber, began drafting ideas for metal range hoods that captured the attention of local high-end kitchen designer Nancy Braamse of Olde World Cabinetry. Braamse, captivated by the customization and meticulous attention to detail in Cindy’s creations, shared her discovery with other local builders, architects and designers. Alas, Classic Custom Metal Works and Design was born.
The brand’s growth accelerated after partnering with Tina Yaraghi of The Enchanted Home to design and craft a range hood for one of her featured homes. This collaboration brought national exposure, including appearances in Southern Home Magazine and Birmingham Home and Garden.
Mullen’s warm, personalized approach to every project coupled with her team’s exceptional attention to detail have propelled the company’s success and fostered lasting client relationships. Each range hood begins with a conversation to understand the client’s wants, needs, and vision. This vision takes shape through a series of pencil renderings, colored sketches, and CAD designs that illustrate the colors, materials, and design elements the client envisions for their kitchen’s centerpiece. From there, the fabrication team, led by Classic Custom Metal Works and Design’s Director of Operations and Engineering, Chris Kwong, meticulously crafts each hood. Their artisans, assisted by precision manufacturing technologies, dedicate up to thirty hours hand finishing every creation in their Tampa facility. The final result: a lasting investment in the home and a work of art in the kitchen.
As the business continues to grow organically, Mullen emphasizes that it all comes down to building relationships one client at a time. “Our exemplary design, fabrication, and finishing team allows us to offer our clients a wide variety of custom hoods and design elements—the possibilities are endless. Whether we’re working with homeowners, architects, builders, or designers, we’re focused on their vision, and we’re passionate about what we do and how we do it,” she shares.
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