A Passion For Creating

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My dream was to create a business that allowed me to share my skills with others.  The term “Sylvan” from the company name is relevant for me in several ways:

• First, the term originates from the Latin ‘sylva’, meaning “wood” or “forest”.  The products I build are coming from the woods and forest to become part of our homes.  
• My birth state/commonwealth, Pennsylvania, meaning “Penn’s Woods” was coined for the densely forested Appalachian Mountains.  I learned my values from the hardworking men and women from this region - most notably my family.
• My present neighborhood, Sylvan Park, prides itself on being a tree-friendly grove that doesn’t feel like it’s within the Metro Nashville borders.

For a lot of years, my ‘creating’ was mostly done with Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.   That was well enough, but I always felt the most excitement when I had a chance to create something tangible.  Whether I’m working on a laptop or in the workshop, I always have a keen focus on the details.  

I’ve learned a lot about building and crafting over the last few years.  I took on the challenge of a complete home renovation of my 1940’s home (‘down to the studs’ as they say).  I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the support from several family members.  I learned a lot about many trades, including electrical, setting tile, hanging doors, drywall, painting, etc - but mostly I enjoyed anything that involved shaping wood.

Most of my tools are hand-me-downs from my father (retired 50-year carpenter) and my step-father.  The older tools don’t have all of the bells and whistles as the newer stuff, but they are made well and they force you to learn how the machine actually operates.

I’m appreciative of all that I’ve learned and I want to continue to grow.  I receive a lot of satisfaction from creating a piece of work that someone else enjoys.

Hope to speak with you soon!