etween 1994 and 1995, Bob decided to build a cabinet-sized unit and offer it directly to the consumer via the Internet. This resulted in the birth of the Aristocrat. I asked Bob how he arrived at the name for his new creation, and he told me he pulled a dictionary off the shelf and started at the beginning until he found the first word he liked. Quoted from dictionary.com along with several other definitions, “aristocrat: One considered the best of its kind: the aristocrat of cars.”

His original cabinet offered two types of wood and two cabinet styles, and the first year Staebell & Associates produced roughly one-hundred Aristocrats. Last year, offering eight hundred (800) possible combinations of wood, size and style, Bob’s company produced an estimated six hundred cabinets. With world-wide distribution, roughly 10% of his business is in the European and/or Asian market.

Bob is supported by a team of six employees (all with wood-working backgrounds), hiring his first after one year in the business. His wife administers the financial area of the business, while Bob focuses on production.

An estimated 10% of the cabinets produced are temperature-controlled units, requiring additional skill and effort, as they are essentially building a wooden refrigerator with highly sensitive humidification controls. After enjoying my Aristocrat Ultra for one to two years, Bob allowed me to be the guinea pig for retrofitting temperature control features into a non-temperature control cabinet.

With the North Texas heat, it was almost mandatory to have temperature control, as the regular cabinets absorb the ambient temperature and can become over-heated if the home air conditioning is not at an extremely low level. Since my retrofit Bob has performed at least six similar processes for other Aristocrat owners. I am now able to keep my cabinet at a comfortable 66&deg without arguing about the air conditioning bill with my wife each month (LOL). (continued...)