The Craftsman Home: Built on Relationships, by Terry Tsujioka

Reprinted from American Bungalow Magazine, Winter 2008.

“One of the most important lessons I learned from working in the corporate world,” says Lee Jester, proprietor of The Craftsman Home in Berkeley, Calif., “was how not to do business.” A successful but often frustrating sales career during the 1980s convinced him that instead of the usual, short-sighted corporate timeline, he wanted to base his own business decisions on long-range interests.

“I saw the importance of developing long-term, real relationships with clients and of treating every sale as a big deal.”

A native of Minnesota who spent his teen years living in Europe with his family, Lee returned to the U.S. at 18 and worked in a boatyard where he restored antique boats, developing a deep appreciation for fine wood and workmanship. Almost two decades and a career later, he left the corporate world and combined this love of antiques and woodworking with his seasoned business principles to manage an antiques dealer’s restoration business.

Old and New

It was a natural fit. Lee’s craftsman background and keen business sense helped the dealer improve and build the business. Eventually, drawing on additional what-notto- do corporate lessons and creative ideas sparked by the antiques business, he set out on his own in 1995, opening his Arts and Crafts home-furnishings store in the heart of the Berkeley–Oakland Arts and Crafts district.

Amid neighborhoods containing houses designed by the likes of Bernard Maybeck, Julia Morgan and John Hudson Thomas, he realized there was an opportunity to provide new pieces in the Arts and Crafts style that could be very competitive with the skyrocketing prices of antiques. “I’ve always loved the old patinas and character of the antiques,” he says, “but the prices grew so prohibitive that the average person could no longer afford or even find many quality antiques. I also respected the work of living artists and wanted them to have an opportunity to make a living and gain recognition.”

Craftsman Home’s new and custom furnishings, standing (or hanging) alongside the store’s antiques, have garnered wide recognition. The work of Warren Hile, Caledonia Studios, Ephraim Faience Pottery, Mica Lamp Company and a growing number of carefully selected artisans grace the walls and floors. These artists, he says, “are providing quality work that will endure for future generations—work that’s every bit as good or better than any work that has ever been done.”

He also credits the talent of inhouse designer Michelle Nelson— whom he calls “the artistic personality of this business”—for the shop’s accomplishments in full-service Arts and Crafts interior design.

“Michelle is a widely acknowledged fireplace designer, but because our clients appreciate her design sense, many times we’ve walked into an empty house and been asked to design it from top to bottom—including all the colors, fabrics, furniture and art. Sometimes even the dishes and silverware. In fact, one of our earliest assignments was furnishing an entire house in just six weeks for a birthday party. It was one of my favorite projects, and we still do business with that client.”

Customers Become Friends

Lee still does business with most of his earliest clients. “My best customers, many of them neighbors, have been with me for many years,” he says. “We understand and trust each other and communicate well.” And although he acknowledges that an entrepreneur’s life has its stresses and worries without the safety net of a corporate job, there’s no comparison when it comes to job satisfaction. Forming lasting relationships and sharing a passion for Arts and Crafts principles and workmanship, he’s built a business on his convictions and community.

“I feel very connected to my neighborhood,” says the fly-fishing enthusiast whose dedication to his business was so intense that he didn’t take a day off during the first seven years. He and The Craftsman Home have become an integral part of the area, involved in local historic groups and many causes benefiting the hungry and others in need.

“In 13 years, I’ve had the privilege to know many of the people here first as customers and now as friends. Being plugged into the daily fabric of life in this neighborhood has been vital to my success.”

We’d like to thank American Bunglow for allowing us to reprint this article!

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