I began by building some furniture for our home, because I did not like the quality that I was seeing at the fine furniture stores.
I also did not like the prices, style, and woods that were being used. I have always liked to work with wood. It started when I was
very young. My uncles were in the construction industry; my father would build simple cabinets around the house as a hobby. I remember
one summer in the early 70’s we even built my brothers bedroom furniture. It was simple and sturdy and pieces were still in use in
the year 2000 when it was finally given away to a needy family. Then I started to learn how to work with different woods, building
simple projects around the house. One summer my friend, my father, and I built a fort behind the house. This was no regular fort.
The fort had doors, windows, a shingled roof, and even aluminum siding, thanks to my next door neighbor Buck Boehm. He had an aluminum
siding business, and I used to love going to work with him and messing around the shop.
As time went on and I got older I began building larger and more detailed projects and when I was old enough I went to work as a
carpenter apprentice. Eventually I finished the apprenticeship in 1987 and became a Journeymen Carpenter. Some of the projects I
worked on after becoming a Journeyman Carpenter were the riverfront sea walls at the St. Louis Arch, the Kirkwood, Missouri railroad
bridge, and a large highway bridge in Union, Missouri. Because of a big economic down turn, construction work became scarce so I really
never worked that long as a carpenter in the construction industry.
Because I liked working with wood so much, when I was not working at a commercial job site I was always doing a project for my parents,
my friends, or a friend of the family. One project I built for my parents was an 8’x60’ deck on the back of the house and a 12’x25’ deck on the
front. My father designed the decks using Computer Aided Design (CAD) software and I built them. They turned out
beautifully. I finished a couple of basements for friends, and rehabbed a couple of houses that I have rented, gaining more experience
with each project completed.
Because of the economic downturn in the construction industry, I was drawn into the foodservice industry
just to keep “bread on my table”. Over a period of years I worked my way up from washing dishes in a local Bistro to an Executive
Chef at several different Major Hotel chains. Then after all the years of working all the different hours I
decided that it was time to go down a different road, and that is when we started Silver Platter C.E.C. Inc. with my two loves of
building and cooking.
Our philosophy is supplying high quality products and service. All Silver Platter C.E.C. Inc. furniture is
made from the highest quality woods and finishes available. I take pride in the making of our products the old fashion way, with honesty,
handcrafting, and hard work. Look through some of our galleries, and you might see something you like or you might have an idea of
what you would like and would want Silver Platter C.E.C. Inc. to design and/or build for you. (My father and I do a great job
designing projects using CAD software). You can also click and read what our clients are saying about Silver Platter C.E.C., Inc.
