 About Built by Briick's OwnersRobert BriickI have always found joy in building things from scratch. Seeing something through from conception to tangibility is an exciting, sometimes frustrating, but often rewarding process. I have never enjoyed following someone else's plans for accomplishing something. I appreciate and welcome feedback, thoughts, criticism, etc., but when it comes to action, I want that to be on my own. Needless to say, this has led me to have a very innovative mindset. That is, being mindful of previous good ideas, incorporating them but always searching to see if there might be a better or more useful way to do or accomplish something. Enough about this though, I don't want to bore you. I am 36, a proud step-father to 2 quickly maturing boys, and a husband to my beautiful wife Paula. As you look around the site, if there is anything that you find appealing, chances are, Paula had her hands in it. My skills tend to usually stop at functionality, but every now and again, I have a shining moment that is appealing. Luckily, I am well adept at understanding my capabilities and my limitations. I feel like our balance of traits is what really helps us succeed. We offset each other very well. My grandfather was a woodworker that fell in love with his scroll saw. He had a keen eye for details that the scroll saw could handle. He also had more patience than I, which made that a good fit for him. My father was an electrician but always has been capable of completing a variety of construction tasks involving wood with flying colors. From pergolas and decks to wall construction and coat racks, he has a comfortable hand at detailing out a project and seeing his vision come to life. As I have helped my father and grandfather in some of these tasks, I have acquired a comfort as well with many of these things. For a while, woodworking had just been a hobby. However, I have always been drawn to it for enjoyment, which I feel is most important. Enjoying what you're doing, that is.
Paula BriickA little about me, let's see... I am 33, a mother of 2 amazing boys, and I wear what seems to be 100 different hats a day balancing everything! (But what woman doesn't!) I am not a quilter, I can sew a hem, reattach buttons, and make so-so pillows but that's about it! Maybe one day I will attempt the task of creating a quilt, but for now I am content to see the beautiful quilts all of you make, and help to make your quilting hobby a little more enjoyable along the way! Arts and crafts have always been my passion. When I was very young, my mother would keep the scissors in her top dresser drawer, so I wouldn't lose them. On the weekends I would wake up early and always wanted to create something. Of course these projects required scissors that I didn't have! So, I would tip-toe into her bedroom and quietly pull the top middle dresser drawer open to get those scissors, thinking I was being sneaky. It wasn't until I was an adult that I learned... she always heard me! She knew how strong my passion was for creating things and so never punished me, she just knew she'd have to get the scissors back before they got lost in that atrocious room I called a bedroom! To this day I still think about those mornings, wishing I had them back, wondering why when you're a child- waking up before the birds was never a problem (but only on the weekends!), and being so thankful that my mother always encouraged me to pursue my passions! As an adult my interests and passions have matured into interior decorating, painting, and organizing. I truly love everything about transforming a room into a place of relaxation, creativity, or function... I live for it!
So the question may remain, What got you into quilting products?That answer is simple. Robert's Grandmother, Mother, and Aunt are all quilters. It started with a custom closet for his mother's fabric. Then, she turned our attention to ruler organizers. From there, after doing some research and brainstorming with one of our sons, we felt that there was room for improvement from the 'racks' that are offered now and have been offered for years. After many prototypes, we each had design features incorporated into our Rule-It-All Traveler Deluxe Organizer.We were so happy with our prototype that a business model was born. The passions mentioned above are what have helped lead us to where we are now and to establish Built by Briick. We offset each other quite well... Paula draws something out (not to scale or functionality of course!) and Robert does the hard calculations to make it work and make the vision a reality! He works the 'scary' machinery and creates something out of nothing while Paula sands, stains, and puts on the finishing touches to make it beautiful. As we developed more products, we began vending at quilt shows and attending guilds. After receiving an overwhelmingly positive response at these shows and guilds, we wanted to be able to offer them to more quilters. So, online we went. Neither of us had any experience with web development or website design, but we don't scare easily either. Both of us seem to be numerous departments at the same time, but we are extremely proud of what we've built, which makes it all worth while. We enjoy working together and nothing makes us happier than to be able to see our customers excited to enjoy our products and use them to make their lives a little bit better!
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us!Sincerely, Robert and Paula Briick
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