About My Craft & Woodshop

A few words from Paul Lavenberg of Made in Perry by Paul:

The idea for Made in Perry by Paul does not have a romantic or inspirational origin for that matter, but arose from my interest and enjoyment in making things. As a kid, I did not make museum grade furniture or anything like that, but the desire to make things was always bubbling underneath. I enjoyed making models of cars and airplanes, did a lot of Lego building, and had a great Erector set that I received as a gift from my father’s employer (the Torrington Company). The first thing I have recollection of building was a small parking garage for my Matchbox cars back in the 1970’s. Using some scraps and my dad’s tools (without permission, probably) I made a crude structure. After that, I made some other things and my interest in building took a hiatus until I became a homeowner. 

Fast forwarding to 1994, my good friend Joe Mantey (St. Bonaventure ‘93 like me) got me a Craftsman circular saw. From there I acquired some other power tools and accessories. I also got Norm Abrams’ book from This Old House. Life took over again; I got married and children started to arrive in our house, so again, the interest took a hiatus.

Amid a career change in 2000, I had an opportunity to invest in my company’s stock program. Although I had small children and money was tight, I was able to squirrel away a little money every paycheck into the stock program. After a few years, the sum of this investment grew to the point where there was enough to buy some shop staples (not that kind of staple, but some basic machines, tools, etc). So, I began researching what I fundamentally needed and then approached my wife with my wish list and told her I had this money and it was ready to use. She replied, “What money?” and after that fight, she abruptly told me, “....you’re going to need some training.”

Enter Harrisburg Area Community College. Shortly after the money talk I had with wifey, I found a program at HACC in Cabinetry and Millwork. It was a bona fide and accredited diploma program in building cabinets. I enrolled in 2003 and after getting some of my undergraduate credits applied to the degree. It was determined that I could indeed get a diploma. So, after two years of classes at a cabinetry shop in Dauphin County, PA, I had my diploma. TAKE THAT, WIFEY!

Paul for the win!

A little before the graduation ceremony, I had purchased the machines needed to get things started and I moved into a small 17’x22’ corner of our basement. The original shop.

So from the fall of 2004, I’ve been building cabinets, furniture and other items crafted from wood.