About Us

Sleeping Bear Inc. is a custom furniture and cabinet company located near Chicago IL. Headed by Robert Kasinecz, an experienced woodworker who specializes in designing and creating heirloom-quality, one-of-a-kind pieces that perfectly fit your space.

My mom and sisters have been calling me “Bear” since I was four years old, and it seems that my passion for woodworking goes back almost as long. I earned my bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Eastern Illinois where I developed my skills in visual design. Since then I have worked in everything from sculpture to photography. These experiences are what help me create the unique pieces that I do. Custom carpentry for me is sculpting raw wood until it belongs in a room. I've become, over the last 3 decades, an expert in the tools of my trade have used that experience to teach and train others and build Sleeping Bear into what it is today. We create fine, custom furniture and cabinets from our workshop in Downers Grove, Illinois, and deliver it to your doorstep.

Why custom furniture?

The finest quality hardwoods and veneers make custom-made furniture and cabinets an investment. They offer you one-of-a-kind design and quality craftsmanship that, over time, only increases in value. Too often furniture stores will use particleboard, cardboard, and cheap plastic parts, this is something we will never do, we hand-build and hand-finish every piece for superior durability and beauty.

What you can expect?

I like to design in collaboration with you, so we can produce an amazing piece. As the client, you should think about where the furniture will go in the room and how you would like it used. You can cut out pictures of furniture you like, styles and/or details that you would like to incorporate. Then, together, we spend some time in the room. We'll take some photos and measurements to ensure the design will coordinate with the other furniture, and the room's proportions. My team and I will sit down and come up with some loose sketches of ideas and recommendations for the type of wood, the color of the stain or finish and present them to you. From there, all that’s left is your go ahead and I begin to construct your one of a kind piece.