New Beginnings

Signature WoodCrafters recently took on a new intern for the summer, Alicia Beck. Check out Alicia's thoughts about the working world versus college and all that she's learned so far!

Transitions and New Beginnings:

Happy Friday everyone! My name is Alicia and I began interning with Signature WoodCrafters last month after graduating from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in May. Go Hokies! I just wanted to share a little of my experiences so far while working here. We all have been there. The day approaches when we say to ourselves, “What’s the next step in our lives?” It’s a scary thought after all those years of school, and now it’s time to take that step and join the ranks of the working class and the long joyous rush hour traffic that northern Virginia likes to bring us (anyone else become a fan of books on CD?). I majored in Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management: Housing Option where I was part of an accredited program of the National Kitchen and Bath Association. There I learned many things, from hours and hours dedicated to drafting homes and different kitchen layouts to the new technology that different appliances now have. When I left college, I knew that I wanted to be involved with remodeling and luckily, the wonderful company of Signature Woodcrafters decided they wanted me to join their team. So began my new journey in the world of remodeling.

Knowing different terms is vital within the remodeling business. As you probably know, Signature’s major remodeling areas are kitchens, baths, built-ins and stairs and a vast array of terms comes with those areas. Bullnose, Over-the-Post, Post-to-Post, Loose Parts, and Pre- Assembled are just a few terms that I learned and that’s just stairs! No worries here though. The employees here are extremely helpful and I soon found myself saying “I can do this!” I have even found myself looking in my own home at the stair configuration and kitchen layout and saying to myself what they would be classified as. I learned a lot about the ReCrafting process here and in my opinion it’s a great thing they’re doing. Taking ¼” solid wood instead of just a thin veneer gets the homeowner that great quality that they may be looking for. Also the designers are fantastic. Talking about knowing your stuff, these people are on the top of their game. The best part is seeing the before and after pictures. Amazing! Well that’s just a few of my observations that I wanted to share with everyone. Have a fantastic weekend