Thom grew up in Chatham, New Jersey. His
love of all kinds of music led to studying theory
and composition at Manhattan School of Music
and graduate school at the University of Toronto. Fascinated by North Indian music, he began playing sitar and enrolled in the doctoral program at Wesleyan University to study world music.
In 1974 he took a teaching job in the music department at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington. He found teaching rewarding, but after twelve years, he was ready for a change.
He had always enjoyed woodworking and had built classical guitars and dulcimers. So he began working as a carpenter for a local builder and in 1986 started his own business. What began as fine carpentry grew into general contracting and design work as well as custom cabinetry.
His original workshop, on an unheated porch in his nineteenth-century farmhouse, first moved inside the house and then into a remodeled barn on the property. In 1998 he doubled the size of the shop, so it is now fully equipped for any size project.
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Energy Star Tier II house
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Thom keeps up with the latest in building science and green building techniques. He is now a member of the U.S. Green Building Council. Many of his projects feature new building techniques and materials, such as structural insulated panels, advanced insulation, and high-efficiency heating systems. In 2010 one of his design/build houses scored so well on energy efficiency tests, it received an Energy Star Tier II rating. The company is now certified by the EPA to do lead remediation in houses older than 1978.
Thom loves his second career, although the hours are long. He especially likes working with his clients to realize their projects. When he takes a break, he enjoys cooking, gardening, meditating with a local Zen group, and (believe it or not) working up remodeling ideas with his wife Anne for their own home.
