Specializing in creating custom furniture, McAskill Woodworking has been operating on Prince Edward Island for over 75 years. The family business started making wooden doors and windows and later grew to find its niche in custom furniture. With a strong customer base remaining in P.E.I., McAskill’s furniture has also made its way across North America.

Getting started

The founder of the family business, Daniel (Danny) McAskill, initially learned woodworking while apprenticing for Christie Woodworking Company in Saint John, New Brunswick. After working for an aircraft company in Montréal during WWII, he returned home to Prince Edward Island with his wife and first child to start his own venture. In 1947, he opened a woodworking business on Beasley Avenue in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

McAskill’s first big job was making large gothic windows for a local church. He also branched into furniture repair, building, refinishing and other woodworking. But, windows and doors were his specialty.

In the family

As in many family operations, McAskill’s sons worked in the shop growing up, learning their father’s craft. After 34 years in business, in 1981 Danny McAskill retired at 65 and left McAskill Woodworking to his two sons, Joe and Dan.

Joe McAskill says it wasn’t always his plan to join the family business long-term, but after graduating from university he took a break to work with his father and never left. Something about the work stuck. Joe eventually took over the business himself and made big changes.

McAskill Woodworking has always remained on the same property, but over time buildings were renovated and rebuilt to expand its facilities to 8,000-9,000 square feet. Under Joe’s direction, McAskill’s focus switched to building custom furniture. The company also repairs and refinishes furniture and has a craft line of cutting boards, rolling pins and other smaller items. It still does some work with doors and windows, but only upon special request.

McAskill has also embraced technology. About five or six years ago, the company began selling its craft products online. And McAskill has invested in new machinery to improve manufacturing efficiency. A CNC machine is now used for certain tasks and the company recently invested in a new laser machine to remove furniture finish without chemicals.

Going strong

Today, operations continue at McAskill Woodworking in Charlottetown, P.E.I. At 68 years of age, Joe McAskill is still the owner and operator of the business. McAskill says they have a loyal customer base on the island, with generations of families going to the business for custom furniture. Outside of the province, McAskill furniture has been sold across North America in Vancouver, New York City, Boston, Montréal, and more. Commenting on what sets the nearly 80-year-old business apart from others, McAskill said: “Our level of knowledge and skill. We’re capable of doing nearly anything and love the challenge.”

Looking towards the future, McAskill shared that his son isn’t interested in taking over, so when he’s ready to retire he hopes to sell the business to someone interested in the trade and carrying on their legacy.

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