An in-depth look at John & Vicki D’Amico and the business known as JD Kitchens, Bath & More. and now
JD Kitchens Design Build Group Inc.
Our humble beginnings:
John and I moved to Woodstock Ga from Miami FL. Just after our first son was born in 1988 Joseph
We grew up around the corner from one another and began dating in 1975. We got married in 1980.
In 1991 we had our second son Michael. John and I returned to the corporate world in GA for a few years, eagerly chomping at the bit to start our remodeling company. Our parents were hard-working and demonstrated a strong work ethic. Although their main jobs were in other fields, weekends were filled with many construction projects. It was a very diverse upbringing.
![IMG_1672](https://jdkitchensdesignbuild.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_1672-225x300.jpg)
We began JD Construction & Remodeling AKA JD Kitchens and Baths,& More. In our basement, In 1993 almost 30 years ago. The company took off and before long we were moving into our first showroom in Woodstock. As the business dynamic changed and the focus began to move to more kitchens and bathrooms and less remodeling, We put all our efforts into the kitchen and bath market. Both John and I worked in retail during our early years in Miami and decided that retail was a must for our new company.
When we formed JD Kitchens, we did so with the mindset that we wanted to be different. We wanted to have both retail and install services together.
Product selection was one of our greatest goals, we wanted to offer the best quality of products, names people would recognize. Unique selection and that is exactly what we did.
Our efforts as a full design-build firm set us apart from others. In our early days, both John and I were the ones working in a home. Unheard of back then, today every home improvement shows feathers husbands and wives working together in homes. Wow, have the times changed.
What made our working in the field so important to us, we wanted to establish an ethic for our employees, a road map of sorts. We developed a process. We needed to be able to relay to our employees how we wanted things to be built or look. We knew early on that having employees would be better than hiring subcontractors. Our trades were licensed and sub-contractors. Day-to-day field operations were JD employees. We never wanted to cut corners, which is the very reason we use licensed trades.
The internet and HGTV and others were not even a thought. We did business the old fashion way with a location for people to select products. Because the internet did not exist, that meant if you wanted something you had to go get it. Real brick and mortar.
When the internet had first got started we were one of the first to have a website. We were ahead of our time, no one really knew what that was or how you used it. It sounded funny to tell something just go to our website. No one really knew what that was. Today I don’t think there is a single person who hasn’t visited our website first before coming to JD Kitchens.
As the years moved along JD Kitchens and Bath continued to strive for the next lastest and greatest item before anyone else had it. We went to the shows looking for a new product or distribution. And the newest cabinet software.
You can’t be in this business without the proper tools, this includes the cabinet software, the cabinet software alone is expensive, and as the platform continues to evolve there is always a new learning curve. The cabinet software is also inventory driven by each manufacture and when we design a kitchen we are designing with the inventory from specific manufactures that will end up being built for a specific design. We offer several different manufacturers and all are unique in the products they offer. That boils down to a lot of products. We chose to offer an extensive line of different cabinetry because of diversity and endless color selections. No two manufacturers are alike. Two of our manufactures alone have been with us for over 25 years. This also means you have to know the market and what products will work best to meet a specific price point.
We also have a different software we use for our remodel projects. All of our software is licensed and we have to pay a licensing fee for each one we own to stay current. This process allows us to be effective in designing. We create our own blueprint of sorts for how we build things. We do not use free programs from the internet to design with. Then there is our showroom. Everything in the showroom we have to purchase, many people don’t know this. Most people assume that it is given to us or the displays in the showroom are props. They are not. We learned a long time ago that you either get in the business with the right tools, or you get out. We made the investment because we believed in the industry.
When licensing became a requirement, JD Kitchens, Bath & More became GA state licensed. JD Kitchens has received Nemours awards throughout the years from Contractor of the Year locally to Contractor of the Year for the Southeast united states. There have been good years and hard years however JD Kitchens has stayed the course. Like any business JD Kitchens has had its ups and downs. In 2007 during the countries downturn, we decided to move back to downtown Woodstock.
It wasn’t long before we began to grow out of our Woodstock location and moved two miles down the way in Marietta. Our current showroom is 6,000 square feet and has many things to look at.
![teaserbox_4230630576](https://jdkitchensdesignbuild.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/teaserbox_4230630576.jpg)
In 2013 John and I experienced a tragedy that no parent should ever have to experience, with the loss of our second son Michael to Suicide. He was 22. I have made it a personal goal in sharing our story because I feel it can saves lives, our story was unique in the sense that it was not related to drugs or alcohol, or depression. It was related to a sleep issue and overprescribing from a doctor and the use of meds.
We support Suicide awareness. Just ask me I will be glad to share our story. I am apart of the group Suicide Prevention Coalition of Cherokee County. This event certainly defines what a person is made of. Each day is a choice you have to go on, although very hard at times.
Our employees, who I consider our extended family certainly rallied together and helped to support us as we continue to navigate these waters. These are the very employees who work in your homes.
I am so thankful that we have been given the opportunity not only to change people’s lives through remodeling but also the opportunity to save a life through sharing our very personal story.
The good Lord has been good to us.
JD Kitchens, Bath, has always been transparent in everything that we do and I believe sharing our story shows the human side of us.
Our slogan was “leading the way for over 20 years” now almost 33. That is a long time.
We will continue to be the leading edge in all that we do and we want to reach out and say Thank You for the support through the years.
![teaserbox_4230743153](https://jdkitchensdesignbuild.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/teaserbox_4230743153-200x259.png)