Who You Build With Matters More Than What You Build

Our Story

David James standing beside a custom built wine display wall with wood racking and a glass-front case for Barrett Jackson.

A custom project is a journey that runs for months, sometimes longer. Foundations, framing, inspections, finishes, and a long list of decisions you've probably never had to make before. Most of those decisions come down to one thing: who you're doing this with. That's the choice this page is here to help you make.

Send a note. David calls you back, not a sales team.

Ask David why the company is named Exquisite, and he'll give you the same answer every time.

"We are not the 'sausage factory.' We don't pump out endless amounts of saunas and wine rooms. We price ourselves on offering bespoke, one-off designs that reflect the owner, the house, and the environment we work in."

From Racetracks to underground caverns

How David Got Here

David didn't plan a path into construction. Each stop along the way engrained a belief within him that still shows up on every job site today.

1988 to 1991, Staffordshire, UK

Race Technician

Built and repaired racing engines and kart and motorbike frames for race teams. If something he built failed, someone got hurt on track. That is where the lesson came from: what you build has a direct result on performance and safety.

1992 to 1996, Staffordshire, UK

Firefighter

Served with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue, including time as a breathing apparatus team leader and a three year assignment overseas. His first house fire was two weeks into the job, at 3am. The line he took from it still runs the company: don't doubt, just do. Improvise, adapt, overcome.

1996 to 2006, CERN, Geneva

Zero Margin for Error

David supervised a team of up to 20 people, installing about 8,000 tons of equipment and heavy infrastructure inside a research cavern roughly 330 feet underground, about the length of a football field. Everything went in on a tight schedule, on budget, with no room for a safety shortcut.

2006 to 2017, Geneva

Founded Create and Construct Geneva

Started his own renovation and building company in Geneva, doing kitchens, bathrooms, and remodels. He kept it running for over a decade.

2016, Scottsdale, Arizona

Founded Create and Construct Scottsdale

Founded Create and Construct Scottsdale, running it alongside the Geneva business for about a year before switching entire focus to Arizona.

Today, Scottsdale, Arizona

Exquisite Custom Group

David founded Exquisite Wine Cellars in 2020. In 2026, construction, saunas, and wine cellars came together under one name: Exquisite Custom Group.

A wine cellar's climate system and a race kart's engine fail the same way: something small, ignored early, becomes something big later. It's the same failure pattern David learned to watch for at CERN, on a fire ground, and now on a job site.

What Clients say about us

David is smart and calm and always able to remedy a situation when something unexpected pops up on a job site.
— JoEllen Sessa

Clients notice when the person on-site doesn't rattle when something goes wrong.

David is absolutely amazing to work with. They are so passionate about what they do, genuinely love helping their customers, and produce high quality work.
— Cynthia Sassi

It's always great to find people you can trust to get the job done right.

Hands down, truly someone that you can trust, They will not miss any detail. As a team, they create magic when they put their hands to something.
— Gelie Akhenblit

The kind of line that only shows up when two people genuinely work as a team.

The Projects We Take On

Not every project is the right fit. These are the kinds of clients who usually end up working with The Exquisite Group.

Renovated living room with a gray stone fireplace, wood wall paneling, and a striped sofa.

Homes

From single-room transformations to whole-home renovations, we build spaces that become part of how you live every day. Kitchens, bathrooms, additions, structural remodels, custom wine cellars, saunas, outdoor living spaces, and complete home renovations. Whether you're opening walls, rethinking the floor plan, or building something entirely new, we manage the construction project to completion.

A wine rack with horizontal bottles behind glass doors in a restaurant or bar. Multiple people are present, with staff and a guest nearby

Commercial

While residential work is the heart of Exquisite, our dual KB-1 license also allows us to take on select commercial projects. Restaurants, hospitality spaces, offices, retail environments, tenant improvements, and custom commercial interiors where thoughtful design, precise execution, and high-quality craftsmanship matter just as much as they do in a home.

Floating spiral wood-tread staircase with gray metal railings in a bright living space.

Specialty

Every so often we're asked to build something that's outside our usual work. Trade show installations, event structures, custom displays, or completely one-off projects that require creative problem solving and exceptional craftsmanship.

We don't actively chase these projects, but when the right one comes along, we're usually interested.

Your Questions, Answered

Indoor wood sauna with bench seating and ambient lighting, framed by a desert mountain view at sunset.

Fewer Projects, More Attention.

After 25 years building things, across multiple disciplines, David reached one conclusion: build fewer projects, and make sure every one still means something decades later. That's the whole reason for the name.