|
|
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
Artisan Custom Homes: Know Their Craft-Take
Pride in Doing It Well
By Donna Emmary
An "Artisan Custom Homes" is defined as a skilled craftsman, someone trained to produce a high-level of workmanship.
Although the word is not used frequently today, a person who knows his craft, and takes pride in doing it well,
is still recognized and respected. This is an apt definition of Artisan Custom Homes.
Although Artisan Custom Homes is barely two years old, its three partners bring valuable experience to their high-end homes
in the greater Charlotte area. Jay Johnstone, Brad Remmey and John Shryock are close friends as well as business
partners. They have years of upscale construction experience and a strong desire to give clients the ultimate in
personalized attention.
The Davidson-based business has lived up to its name by creating well-crafted homes that reflect its clients' diverse
tastes and lifestyles. The partners are young and enthusiastic, honest and straightforward and are convinced each
custom home-builder wants to deal directly with the owner of the company building their home.
Although Artisan Custom Homes is a small firm, its principles have a depth of knowledge you might expect to find only at a larger
builder. Johnstone has spent 14 years overseeing all areas of residential construction, most recently supervising
construction of homes valued from $300,000 to $4.5 million with Dienst Custom Homes. His role is maintaining Artisan Custom Homes's
quality standards and acquiring the best subcontractors in the area.
Shryock has nine years of expertise in keeping projects both on time and within budget. He previously worked as
a supervising builder in Charlotte for John Wieland Homes, one of the largest high-end builders in the southeast.
John and Jay met at Wieland where they both worked from 1994 to 1998.
Remmey and Shryock have been friends since their first day together at NC State. Brad moved back to New Jersey
after graduating and worked at AT&T in sales, marketing and customer service. He later managed the largest
account for a dot com in New York City. In late 2000, John and Brad started talking about going into business together.
Prior to that, Jay and John had been discussing about going out on their own. Collectively, the three of them formed
Artisan Custom Homes to fill a niche-to provide hands-on, personalized attention to clients building a $400,000
home or more.
Artisan Custom Homes formed the high-end custom home building business using John and Jay's building skills and Brad's business
experience. It has proven to be a successful combination of democratic decision-making and natural checks and balances.
John is the primary builder and developer. Brad handles sales, marketing, accounting, legal matters and administrative
duties. Jay bridges across all aspects of the business. The three partners play well off of each other's strengths,
and respect one another's different opinions.
Innovative Style
One reason Artisan Custom Homes has signed contracts over their competitors is precisely because they are young. There are other
builders with 20 or 30 years of experience, but they aren't as fresh and excited about building homes as Brad,
John and Jay.
"We have the experience to construct a high-quality home, but we're also enthusiastic about building, facing
new challenges and keeping our clients happy," said Jay. "We tend to be more innovative than other builders
and are willing to try new materials and approaches."
They are self-described "junkies" about researching cutting-edge technologies, new products and innovative
design ideas. Also, each year Jay, Brad and John attend the National Association of Home Builders Convention, to
discover new trends in home building. Artisan Custom Homes uses these trends, design ideas, products and technologies to enhance
their clients' dreams of the perfect home for their families.
Brad, John and Jay use purchased plans or work with clients and a local architect, Pippen Home Designs to produce
custom plans. Artisan Custom Homes clients also have the benefit of using the expertise of a Customer Selections Coordinator,
Maureen Malone. Malone meets with Artisan Custom Homes clients to help them make selections and translate their vision into
reality.
The company has come a long way in the past year, from erecting a single spec home in Davidson to acquiring six
prime lots in Davidson Farm Estates, a new community in the Davidson Equestrian Center. There is nothing "cookie
cutter" about Artisan Custom Homes homes, which include a stately Myers Park residence, a Nantucket-inspired cedar shake
home and a vintage European farmhouse among others.
"A lot of our clients are corporate people who tend to get transferred, so resale is very important,"
explains John. "We want our houses to be unique, where people will walk into them and say 'Wow, this is something
I haven't seen before.'"
Hands-On Approach
While learning their craft from the bottom up, John and Jay learned that accurate communication between customers
and the subs, designers and sales agents was difficult, and miscommunication made satisfying customers a challenge.
They were disappointed in the past when they witnessed customers sign contracts and then get passed off to sales
agents who did not deliver on their promises. The primary goal in creating Artisan Custom Homes was to provide a service where
the partners communicated directly with the homebuyers, rather than handing a project off to a superintendent.
John explains, "Our clients are able to access at least one of us 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you
have a problem with the loan or the bank, you call Brad. If you are checking on the progress on the building of
your home and you can't find me, you can call Jay. If one of us is out of the office attending to family matters,
the other two are available and the work doesn't stop on anyone's home at any point in time."
The trio are often in the office until 8 P.M., or checking on properties on the weekend. They are tireless in trying
to make the home building process run smoothly, with as little stress as possible placed upon their clients. Johnstone,
Remmey and Shryock are proud that their reference list includes each Artisan Custom Homes client, all of whom have happily agreed
to speak to potential home buyers.
The Artisan Custom Homes tagline is: "The best possible value on your investment." Brad explains, "We are working
very hard to ensure our clients feel they are getting topnotch customer service along with a high-quality home.
Our company pays close attention to the details that make a difference and our prices are extremely competitive.
Our philosophy is to create a home for our clients-not just a house. Best of all, we're having fun keeping our
clients happy! There is no greater satisfaction than handing over the key to a client and seeing the smile."
For more information on Artisan Custom Homes, please call (704) 987-9369. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
