Purekitchen

66 N 11th Street
Williamsburg
718.715. 0843
www.purekitchen.com

By Jennifer Ching

Purekitchen is an environment-friendly kitchen cabinet company with a mandate to provide superior design and craftsmanship, with the lowest possible impact on the environment, and with no health hazards to the customer who will use those cabinets. Purekitchen uses LEED certified materials (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), and the company meets standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council for sustainable tree harvesting practices.

The Purekitchen showroom on North 10th Street displays current models of their cabinetry designs.

“The kitchen is the place you want the least number of chemicals,” says company founder Sergei Hasegawa. “And zero-hazard materials are absolutely a high priority for us. We focus on the big picture of sustainable practices. And we focus just as much on the personal picture, which is the health of the customer.”

Originally from New Jersey, Hasegawa worked as a cabinet maker in Oakland, California, where his interest in safe materials arose for “purely selfish” reasons. He objected to the noxious fumes he had to breath from chemicals used in treating and finishing wood for cabinetry.

Purekitchen has been in business on North 11th Street, near Kent Avenue, since 2004. And lately Hasegawa has been shifting into retail mode. Until now they have worked mostly to-the-trade.

As for price, “Quality is always reflected in price,” says Hasegawa. “Our prices are as low as we can make them. But no, it’s not Ikea.” A full cabinet set runs a minimum of $10,000, with the usual range around $15,000 to $35,000.

“We make things locally, and we sell things locally,” says Hasegawa. “And we are very interested in becoming more engaged with the community as well, to collaborate in the community’s well being.”