I spent much of my childhood around woodworking. My grandfather is a carpenter, and my dad is a forever “do it yourself-er.” As a kid, I remember helping my dad with several additions around the house and random renovation projects. My dad had a basement full of woodworking tools and I spent a lot of time tinkering and inventing ideas, all made from wood. Every school project involved some sort of woodworking. Additionally, my family did and still does have a tiny log cabin on a river in Connecticut. Every trip there would involve some sort of handyman work, alongside my grandfather.

I built my first piece of furniture in 2014. It was a “rustic” farmhouse table, a very popular design on Pinterest at the time. I was moving into a South Philly apartment with my then-girlfriend (now wife) Shea, and we were starting to look for furniture. I remember visiting the big box stores and thinking I could build something better than what these stores are offering. At the time, building the table was more of a hobby than an ambition. It was a great way for me to decompress from my job as a substitute math/science teacher and professional musician. Once I finished the first table I quickly started building more and more furniture for our home; coffee tables, headboards, liquor cabinets, etc.

As time went on friends would come over and ask about the furniture, I’d tell them I built it and they’d ask If I could make something for them. Quickly, I was building things for friends, and then friends of friends, then strangers. At the time, I still hadn’t considered myself a carpenter or a business person. I was in a touring rock band signed to a major label and was working towards making that my main source of income. However, I would come back from a tour or recording sessions in LA and still need to make rent. As a result, Shea convinced me to open an Etsy shop and give the company a name. Since my main focus was rustic reclaimed furniture I settled on “South Philly Barn.” I set up an LLC and became an official business in 2015. Although I was still playing music, and teaching, South Philly Barn started bringing in orders. It started with 1 item per month (just enough to make rent) and quickly grew. At the time I was building furniture in my parent’s garage and basement about 45 mins outside of Philadelphia. (Thanks for all the dinners, Mom!)

It wasn’t until the end of 2016 that I finally decided to rent my own space. I found a 500sqft garage on Emily Street in South Philadelphia with a rent of $500 a month and decided to take the plunge. I was finally able to bike to the workshop and without a commute, I could work on furniture every day. The shop didn’t have a bathroom so we would use bathroom breaks as an excuse to walk to the local coffee shop and grab a coffee (thanks, ULTIMO). At the time, I started developing a larger workload and needed to bring in help. Fortunately my brother, Patrick, also lived in the city and is just as handy. He helped a few times a week and I was able to pay him by the order. Once I was able to move the business to the city the company quickly grew. I was still juggling a few jobs but the furniture was contributing more and more to my income each month.

In about a year we outgrew our Emily street workshop and moved to an 800 square foot garage nearby, (this spot had a bathroom - yay!). Around the same time, I hired the company's first official employee, George, (he is still with us today). We started to pick up some larger commercial jobs. As the company grew, I kept adding more people to the team. Additionally, our personal taste, designs, and skills started to mature and as time went on I felt that we had outgrown our company name. At the time our most popular items were tables. I remember discussing a new name with my brother who randomly said “dude, it should be called Philadelphia Table Company” and so it stuck. In May of 2018, we officially changed the company name to "Philadelphia Table Company”. Interestingly enough, our first client to email me with the new company name was Kylie Kelce, the wife of the Philadelphia Eagles' center, Jason Kelce. The team had just come off of a super bowl win, and, needless to say, we were pretty stoked to be working with them, and got tipped with game tickets for the following season.

Reed street workshop. George Working on a reclaimed table and Patrick at the miter saw.

In February 2019, I signed the lease for our first showroom, located in Old City Philadelphia on 3rd street, part of design row. Until this point, I was meeting with clients in our overcrowded garage or my home. One time a client showed up with their daughter in flip-flops in our garage, and at that moment I knew it was time to have a proper showroom space. The showroom is still located in the same location today, 158 N 3rd street, Philadelphia.

With a new showroom and higher profile clients, the company was growing faster than it ever had. We were working long hours, with loud machinery and our new garage was in a residential area. Additionally, we were unaware that the garage was not zoned properly and we were eventually kicked out. Fortunately, right at that time, George and I were connected with someone, through a South Philly Darts league we participated in, who had a warehouse in Gloucester City, NJ. I was nervous about the prospect of moving the business outside of the city but the rent and space were too good to turn down. So in August of 2019, we moved just over the bridge to Jersey, where we still are today.

As PTC continues to grow daily, we are always refining our skills and working towards a better product. We are committed to a positive environmental impact, ethnically made products, and incredible customer service and communication. At this point in time, we have a staff of 5, 3 craftsmen, the operations lead, and myself. I think “2014 me” would be very surprised with how this all turned out. I am thankful for all of our current and previous clients’ patronage and excited to meet all of our future clients. It’s been a fun journey so far and we wouldn’t be here without you.

Cheers!

-Paul

If you are interested in reading more about my personal professional story you can read more HERE.

A Short but Mighty History