A SENSE OF PLACE

Auburn, Maine

From the moment we first realized we needed a space in which our customers could interact with and get to know our furniture, we’ve purposefully chosen the building intended to house our showrooms with the same attention to detail we apply to making furniture— including fidelity to each region’s unique characteristics. Each showroom has its tale to tell about the building it inhabits, its region’s architecture, and the local community surrounding it.

Tom and Mary Moser founded Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers in 1972. Their first official shop was located in the old grange on Cobb’s Bridge Road in New Gloucester, Maine. After they cleared out what had been left behind, they transformed the space into a functioning workshop. The stage where the band played on Saturday nights became the finishing room, the box office became the shop office, and workbenches and machinery replaced the risers that had previously lined either side of the dance floor.

Eventually, they would acquire an abandoned vestry and move the building to reside next to the Grange Hall workshop. Managed by Mary Moser, the vestry would become their first official showroom. The grange hall and vestry were home to Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers for eight years. With the company’s success, we soon outgrew this new space. In 1987, the workshop, call center, and small showroom in Auburn, Maine, became our permanent home.

Maine people have a long and rich history of working in wood; we are, after all, the Pine Tree State. The conifer forest that covers over 90% of our state is our leading economic driver. Wood boats, tools, toys, and furniture have been made in Maine for generations.  

It was a historical accident that brought Tom and Mary Moser to Maine for the first time in 1959. From that initial visit, they knew it was the right place to raise a family and eventually run a furniture-making business. Not only was nature generous with mountains, lakes, and a 2,700-mile rocky coastline, but there was also magic in the old houses with attached barns, the grange halls in every small town, the bean suppers, the historical societies, and the people of Maine. 

Our furniture is an honest attempt to preserve and advance the deep-rooted Maine values of simplicity, integrity, and reverence for the past. We could be doing this elsewhere, but we choose to stay here in Maine, where the work ethic and value system find their way into everything we do— from answering the phone to sanding a tabletop. The men and women who craft this furniture share a tradition reaching back hundreds of years. Pride in the work of one’s hands permeates our shop. There is no permanence in this life in the search for it, and for us, Maine is the ideal place to look. 

Today, our 80,000-square-foot workshop houses a small showroom and our call center. Here, customers worldwide and those traveling to Maine can experience our craft in person. This combination of workshop and customer service gives our sales representatives a unique opportunity to work in tandem with our craftspeople and share that experience with customers over the phone or via the website.

What we love about Maine

“My favorite town in Maine is Pownal. It’s very close to Freeport but in the country, a small little town with very friendly people and safe. I grew up there, so I have several favorite places to go and explore the great outdoors. In particular, my favorite is a quarry in Pownal, where you can search for live gems and enjoy hiking afterward on Tryon Mountain. It’s in the center of Yarmouth, Freeport, Durham, and Gray, and it’s a wonderful place to call home.”