Founded in Durango, Colorado, Animas Kitchen & Bath brings comprehensive cabinetry solutions to homeowners, contractors, and commercial projects throughout the Four Corners region. We believe every home tells a story - let it be exceptional.
Our Team
Jay Hecker joined the Animas Kitchen and Bath team in December of 2018. Previously he was a design/build general contractor and cabinet maker and had conducted business with Animas Kitchen & Bath through the years. When Jay felt the need for a different career focus, he considered specializing in kitchen and bath design. Having design experience with AutoCAD and over 35 years in the building industry, it seemed like a natural fit.
With these years of experience he has a good sense for what works well in the two most important rooms in a house; the heart of the home, the kitchen, and the room for grooming and relaxation, the bathroom. Whether it is a young couple with measurements scratched on a sticky note or a contractor with a specific set of plans, Jay serves them well and supplies them with an excellent design.
Knowing that his clients are engaged in one of the larger investments they will make in their lives, he works hard to keep them informed and confident in their decisions. Jay enjoys cooking and closely considers the kitchen working space and how it can be made both attractive and efficient.
He is a good communicator and knows that the job doesn’t end when the sale is made. Having been in the building industry so long, he knows that follow up service is very important for long term customer satisfaction.
Jay was born and raised in New England, but now has deep roots here in Southwest Colorado. He is married and has two wonderful daughters who live here in Durango. His family is involved in the community and enjoy volunteering with various organizations. He is grateful to live in such a beautiful corner of the world, to get out and enjoying all it has to offer.
Lindsay Baran has had a lifelong love of design. From building dollhouses as a child to scale models of homes she designed as a teen at architecture summer camps, winning arts awards and scholarships in high school, and going to college for architecture and industrial design, she has ceaselessly kept her creativity flowing.
Entering the workforce, she grew her knowledge and experience working on high-end luxury homes in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley until 2014 when she decided to get out of the desert and into the mountains. She worked at Yaseen Design Studio for several years doing graphic and industrial design until she decided to get back to her passion in residential design. Working with a wide spectrum of residential elements, she found that she had a passion for cabinetry.
In 2021, she joined the Animas Kitchen & Bath team and feels she finally found her place. Cabinetry is the perfect balance of form and function, and its design is both challenging and rewarding. She loves working directly with homeowners to finetune a space to their needs and budget so that they get exactly what they need (and want). Her goal is to make people fall in love with using and being in their kitchen and bath and have fun during the process. Coming up with new and exciting alternatives to improve a space is a joy, and being able to value engineer to any budget is her strength. She has also introduced kitchen lighting and innovative hardware to the mix offered by Animas Kitchen & Bath, and is always looking to expand her knowledge in all areas of kitchen and bath design.
Lindsay spends her time away from work sculpting, painting, and enjoying the simple things in life with her husband, Ryan and their 2 dogs, Lola & Rufio. Whether it be dinner downtown, camping, hiking, working on a home project, or playing a board game with friends, they can always be found laughing and enjoying life in Durango.
Kate Arvidson was a slightly unexpected addition to the Animas Kitchen & Bath family. Having built her reputation in Chicago in the corporate world doing everything from communications to project management to data analytics, she moved to Durango with her husband, Noah. Kate worked for the non-profit Tri-County Head Start for 5 years. With the growth of Animas Craft Woodworks and purchase of Animas Kitchen & Bath, it became clear that Noah needed help - and Kate was brought on board to handle Logistics, improvement projects, payroll, and so much more. Kate is our go-to get-’er-done specialist in anything she sets her mind to.
Kate never expected to move to the mountains, but after a round-the-country trip in her tiny house found that she loves this Durango mountain lifestyle. Hiking, paddle boarding, and camping are just some of her favorite activities. Her true passions lie in exploring the world through travel and adventure. As part owner, she gets to travel more now - as long as she brings her laptop.
Noah Arvidson, the owner of Animas Kitchen & Bath, purchased the business in 2024 from founder, Tim Clemens. Noah is a Fort Lewis College graduate who finally made his way back to Durango after 20 years living in Chicago, where he owned and operated a custom woodworking business, Logan Square Woodworks. He then founded the Durango-based custom cabinet manufacturer, Animas Craft Woodworks, in 2019. With Tim going into retirement, Noah took over the reins and made Animas Kitchen & Bath part of the “family” with Animas Craft Woodworks. His passion for quality craftsmanship, beautiful design, and unbeatable customer service made Animas Craft Woodworks a top-tier provider in the custom cabinetry space. Now, with the blending of the companies, Noah is excited to provide the full spectrum of cabinetry products and service to the southwest Colorado community.
When he isn’t in the workshop, Noah loves cooking and being outdoors with his wife, Kate, and dog, Luna. They spend their free time hiking, paddleboarding, riding their motorcycles (Noah rides a Triumph Bonneville and Kate rides a Ducati Scrambler), traveling, and camping around the southwest and beyond. As Noah likes to say, “There is no better place to live, work, and play than Durango!”