Host Steve Stack and Craftsman Jon Ulicney Show Off Studio 3B
Steve Stack:
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Dive into topics like architecture, industry trends, project plans, historical tools, tricks of the trade, and life lessons from more than six decades of experience in the hardwood lumber business.
The Contractors Behind Studio 3B
Steve Stack:
Hi folks, and thanks for joining in. I’m excited to introduce our guest today, Mr. Jon Ulicney. I’ve had the honor to know Jon for quite some time and his expertise has played a huge role in bringing us Studio 3B. You were here when we were doing the studio floor back in November, and here we are getting ready to introduce this (Studio 3B) to the world. You’ve helped bring it to life here at Baird Brothers Fine Hardwoods.
So, Jon, how are you doing? I haven’t seen you in a couple weeks.
Jon Ulicney:
I’m doing great.
Steve Stack:
Doing good? Keeping busy?
Jon Ulicney:
Always busy, yeah. Every day.
Steve Stack:
Okay. So, for those of you that have been following along with the studio’s progress, you’ve probably seen Jon a few times. He’s been the contractor behind the scenes of this build out. Jon, a little background on you, how long have you been in the business?
Jon Ulicney:
40 years or so, I would think. My dad had me working on the job when I was probably 14 years old or 15.
Steve Stack:
So your father was the influencer.
Jon Ulicney:
Yes he was, and my father-in-law.
Steve Stack:
That’s cool and that kind of answers how you got started into this. I know you’re very involved in the community. When you started out into this, going back 40 years, 30 years up till today, and myself being in the lumber side of things with Baird over the years, we’ve seen a lot of change.
Jon Ulicney:
Right.
Steve Stack:
Looking back, is there anything that comes to mind that has changed the most?
Jon Ulicney:
That’s a hard question.
Steve Stack:
A lot has changed.
Jon Ulicney:
A lot has changed.
Steve Stack:
A lot has changed. We talk about, in your case, the materials you work with, the tools, the equipment you work with.
Jon Ulicney:
That’s been a big change.
Steve Stack:
Right? Our consumer base, your consumer base has changed. They’ve become more educated.
Jon Ulicney:
Correct.
Baird Brothers is Your Trusted Partner for Any Construction Project, from Mahoning County to New York City
Steve Stack:
So, that’s part of this whole process with Studio 3B, we want to educate people. We want to educate people about yourself and fellow contractors in the area. We want to introduce them to our product line and the availability of the products. But I’m just thinking back, what’s changed? What’s changed here at Baird Brothers?
Jon Ulicney:
That’s kinda-
Steve Stack:
Did you ever-
Jon Ulicney:
Yeah. Well, Baird Brothers has been a big influence for us because of the materials. I remember when I first started coming out, you would order your lumber and your dad would meet us at the door and hand it to us and we’d be gone. But now we have so much to choose from. I mean, when you walk into a showroom and you’re able to see all the different floors and the different crown mouldings… and an example would be this studio. That’s one of the things that has changed!
Steve Stack:
There you go. That leads me into my next question perfectly. Who would’ve ever thought (yourself, me) that through this COVID situation, this pandemic, we were looking for something to do. We landed on a project idea in Studio 3B here at Baird Brothers, right here on Crory Road in Canfield. We have a working content studio. What did you think when we invited you out and said, “Hey, Jon, we’ve got a little idea. We want to build a studio on site at the facility here.”
Jon Ulicney:
I just thought it was great. It was a great idea because, especially with the products that you have, it’s a great way to introduce the products. It’s a great way to show how they’re installed, and that’s the biggest change. The consumer has so much available to them just looking on YouTube. When they go out to the job, they can know as much as you know just by studying and learning the things that are available, videos and stuff.
Steve Stack:
So from day one, I think it’s just because of where we’re at in our lives. We addressed this project as, and you remember me telling you (I hope), the first time we walked in this building, I said, “Jon, it’s going to be fun.”
Jon Ulicney:
And it has been fun.
Steve Stack:
And it has been, right? I mean, we’ve enjoyed this. In your instance, if house building could go as smooth as this has gone, we’d be gold. Right? So, you look around, you’ve been here, you’ve spent hundreds of hours in here. What do you think? Are you happy with the finished product?
Jon Ulicney:
Oh, yeah. I’m looking forward to doing more.
Steve Stack:
We’ve spent hours together talking, discussing. You jobsite-built the cabinet boxes, we built the doors, and you built the drawer boxes. And that went off without a hitch. Then, we did the countertops. Then, we started talking about ceiling treatments. We had this canvas to work with and we got together and we started some sketches. Then, we started some mock buildups. And I’m thrilled with the way it’s turned out. I hope you feel the same because it really reflects your craftsmanship.
Jon Ulicney:
Well, it reflects your ability to decorate and to decide what we needed here, because you were a driving force in this and deciding what we’re going to use.
Steve Stack:
That was part of the fun.
Jon Ulicney:
That was the fun for me, because I didn’t have to worry about that. I just had to figure out how to do it.
Steve Stack:
That was part of the fun. And you know what, now that we’re starting to use it and it’s really getting its legs underneath itself, it’s becoming an asset. We have our sales guys bringing people back and showing it to them. They want to see a crown baseboard assembly, we have it. They want to see a hardwood floor, we have it. They want to see this beautiful live sawn white oak nickel gap siding, we have it. Cabinet doors, retrofits. We’ll build your cabinet from the opening size. The whole thing has really become a fun little area. The family comes back. They’ll bring friends back to show it to them because they have friends building homes or doing remodeling. “Oh, let’s walk back and take a look, show you what we did back there!”
And speaking of the family, I know you’ve been involved, and your father probably, how long have you been involved with the Baird family? You’ve done numerous projects for the family.
Jon Ulicney:
Since probably the late seventies. I started off with Dick Baird, this was his building. He used to store stuff in it. It was for his honey and different things. But, we were just young. I was very young then, and he had a big project going at his house and we started there. Then you went from that brother to the next brother’s and then to the next brother’s and then their kids. We built houses for the kids. It’s been a pleasure working for them because they’re probably the best I’ve ever worked for in my life.
Steve Stack:
Now… don’t limit yourself to the Baird family. I know that’s been an important part, and it’s a fantastic relationship. We’re both fortunate to be afforded, to say “Here guys, make it nice.” That’s how they approached this studio. But, that said, over the years, I know you’ve been involved in some really special projects throughout the Mahoning Valley. Looking back, does one stick out that says, “Man, that was some of the best work we’ve done.” Tell me about it.
Jon Ulicney:
I have a lot of projects, a lot of different ones that I’ve just really enjoyed. But, this is one of the ones that I’m going to say that I’m glad that I worked on.
Steve Stack:
You don’t have to say that, Jon.
Jon Ulicney:
That’s what I want to say! I’m really glad I worked on it because this one I can look back on and I know that people will be seeing your work for a long time. It’ll also be on video. It’ll be just… here. People will come back when they’re looking for lumber and they’ll look at your work.
Steve Stack:
And that’s the whole premise of why this was able to come to life. I know you’re an accomplished carpenter, and we’ve had discussion with some of the antiques that we’re introducing here and the fact that you still use some of that early-mid 1800s, late 1800s equipment but, you’re not only a carpenter.
Whether it be framing homes, trimming houses out, installing hardwood floor, whatever, whatever, you take your passion one step further and you’re an accomplished woodworker, furniture maker. I know one of your loves is building guitars. Tell us a little bit about your guitar building.
Jon Ulicney:
I just started actually, not too long ago. I’ve just had it in my mind that I wanted to build a guitar and I love working in the shop because that’s where I started at. I think that’s my best time is being like thirteen years old out there and building something with your dad, it was just a great time. But this is one that I’m working on and I was having problems with the finish. I just brought it out to show you.
Steve Stack:
Go ahead, bring it out, Jon.
Jon Ulicney:
I used a lot of older tools to make this, because this lumber just came locally. These are actually some pieces from Baird Brothers here. This was a curly maple that a lady had over on New Buffalo Road, which is pretty close. And I hand planed it all down with a big planer and sawed it and made it into this.
Steve Stack:
So what am I looking at? I’m looking at four or five different species of wood on that instrument.
Jon Ulicney:
Yeah. You have a red spruce. This is old growth red spruce.
Steve Stack:
Look at the growth lines on that. When you say “old growth red spruce”, that is-
Jon Ulicney:
See how close and straight they are.
Steve Stack:
Yes. Yeah. Beautiful.
Jon Ulicney:
And you have the curly maple. I had some just newer maple. You could see the difference between this older maple and this was just some curly maple that I got from Baird. This is some cherry here. So, you have a little bit of cherry there, another curly maple, but it’s kind of fun to build. But this is just a whole hobby of mine right now.
Steve Stack:
You can’t get enough of the sawdust.
Jon Ulicney:
No, I can’t. I enjoy that.
Steve Stack:
That’s good. That’s good, Jonny.
Jon Ulicney:
But you don’t go… You keep yourself moving. You keep your mind, you challenge yourself, and you figure out ways to build it, how to put it together. And that’s the fun part.
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Steve Stack:
So, just like in your guitar building, I know it’s important to you because you take pride in your work, what is the importance of the quality of the materials you start your projects with?
Jon Ulicney:
It’s everything. If you don’t look at the materials before you start, you don’t pick out the choice ones, your job quality is just not there. You have to look at it. You have to look at when you put something together, how does it work with the next piece?
Steve Stack:
And I see that in yourself and, along with the title craftsmanship, the next word should be pride. And if you’re working with good material to start, your project is already set to go down the road of success. Right?
Jon Ulicney:
Correct. I agree.
Steve Stack:
And so, you know, you’ve been here, you’ve been purchasing lumber here long enough. You’ve been working with our products and we strive to be a dependable supplier of a quality hardwood product.
Jon Ulicney:
You are.
Steve Stack:
Oh, thank you. You know how hard the family works to achieve that. So, look around, Jon. You are versed in our product line as well as any of our sales people. We used some red oak. We used some maple on our ceiling treatments. I know one kind that catches your fancy is that cherry coffered ceiling that we did.
Jon Ulicney:
Yeah. I love cherry.
Steve Stack:
And some of the products we use there, we started with some dimensional stock. We used the old pencil mold corner. We introduced a crown molding that had a little bit of a round over pencil appearance to it. But one of the nicest elements of that ceiling, I think, is the cherry, sometimes referred to as cherry beadboard, tongue and groove with a center bead joined together. You still like that ceiling the best?
Jon Ulicney:
Yeah. That’s one of my favorites. I like that. I like them all. It was really… You did a great job of designing them and even the ceiling in here, I just like it. It’s just nice to see this stuff, where a homeowner can come in and take a look at this and say, I can do this.
Steve Stack:
And that’s going to be part of the importance of this. I don’t dare call it a facility because it has a life of its own on this big facility. It’s going to be a workshop. It’s going to be a studio where we’re going to inform and educate and interview folks like yourself. But this has been a cool project. This has been a cool project. I’m like you. And I’ve been asked, “what do you like most about it?” I like it as a whole!
Jon Ulicney:
I do too. Right.
Fine Hardwoods Retailer for Over 60 Years
Steve Stack:
I really enjoy it as a whole. So, times force us to change. And in the approaching 62 years here at 7060 Crory Road, the business has changed in a number of different ways. You and I come from a time, you mentioned it earlier today that you remember coming here, walking into the old front of the mill shop, an A-frame with some of the moldings in it. And it was a cash and carry kind of deal.
Jon Ulicney:
Right.
Steve Stack:
You came here, bought it, you hauled it home. So, at some point we added a delivery service. Now we have five or six trucks and however many small vans on the road, the availability and the ease of purchasing now. Yourself, you were a phone call away – call in for a will call order.
Now, if you’re sitting at home at 10 o’clock at night and you go to the website, you place your order online, come in here at 8:30 in the morning, and it’s ready, pulled, and ready for you to take it and go to the job site.
So, a lot of aspects on availability have changed. We like to think that one thing that hasn’t changed is dependability. How do you see that? What do you see as being the biggest change and what has stayed the same that is important to you?
Jon Ulicney:
Well, I would say staying the same is the fact that you back everything. For us, it’s important if something’s not right, or if there is a problem, I know that I can call you on the phone and it’s corrected that day.
And one of the services that we use a lot is your outdoor salesman. I can call up. For example, if I call Derek Donatelli, I know I can count on him talking to the homeowner, helping them, guiding them through the whole project. And then also getting the list of materials and a pricing, everything set up. It makes it easy for us as a general contractor.
Steve Stack:
Yeah.
Jon Ulicney:
Not only Derek, you have a whole group of salesmen.
Steve Stack:
And I’ve witnessed that trait being passed on. I mean, you know Richard and Howard. You know the guys they were, and they weren’t happy unless you were happy. That has been passed on. We try to achieve that every day.
Not only have things changed here, but things throughout the industry have changed. We could put a balloon around it and say, “What’s changed most?” I know one of the first things that’s come to my mind is regulations. Is it more difficult today to build a house than it was 25 years ago?
Jon Ulicney:
Yes. But it’s better. Everything’s been for the better. At first, you want to fight it, but when you look at it, the safety issues are better. The things that we have to do to make it a great house, I mean, with the inspectors and everything. I just think we’ve done a lot better job at it now. It’s better for the homeowner and the consumer.
Steve Stack:
And that’s very true. You wonder why sometimes things are implemented and you scratch your head and you say, “Well, a year or two down the road…”
Jon Ulicney:
You could see.
Steve Stack:
Right? It shows why it was implemented. Have you noticed a change or a shift in the consumers for different types of products and services?
Jon Ulicney:
Yes. And as the new products come out, that’ll be the new fad. And that’s what we’re installing all the time, it seems like. And that’s great because we’re always putting new floors in, or new wall treatments and new ceiling treatments.
Steve Stack:
I know that you have installed thousands of floors over the years. Recently here we have seen the white oak and the hickory and the character hickory – it’s going out of here as fast as we can manufacture it. And so, is that a design trend? Is it a value trend?
We’ve seen over the course of the years, one of the big influencers over the years has been the kitchen cabinet manufacturers. I’m going back 20-25 years. Everything was maple. Everything was blonde. Now, here we are today with the live sawn white oak. I mean, it’s very popular, a little more to the rustic side, the antique oak flooring. But you get into the select grade white oak and it’s furniture grade quality, wood products. And whether you like that neutral, soft color that it has or whether you want to enhance it with a stain, it’s a very finisher-friendly wood.
Jon Ulicney:
It is, and it’s a stable floor.
Steve Stack:
And yes, very stable also.
Jon Ulicney:
I have a favorite. I love quarter sawn white oak and quarter sawn red oak floors. They just look so flat and so beautiful when they’re done. And it’s not something that we do all the time. That’s probably why I like it, too.
Steve Stack:
And you mentioned it, and I just want to expound upon it a little bit. You being a furniture maker and appreciating the old tools and the old furniture, there was a time in our American history when not all of the furniture, but a lot of the furniture, especially a lot of the handmade furniture was made out of a quarter sawn white oak or a quarter sawn red oak. Those old boys weren’t dumb. They were putting time and effort into creating a piece of art. And they knew that white oak is good. Red oak is good.
But when you start talking about stability, you go to the quarter sawn red oak, or the quarter sawn white oak. Through the sawing technique and changing the growth lines, shortening the growth lines, both of those products in the quarter sawn family become more stable.
Jon Ulicney:
That’s my favorite floor to put down. It’s just perfect when it’s finished, it just looks-
Steve Stack:
Character, stability, durability. It has all of those properties. Right? Well that’s cool and I’m glad you brought that up because it’s a subtle difference, but it can be a game changer, too. All right. So, now that things are complete here, and we’re here at Studio 3B and, and you’re off to your next project, or are you taking some time off?
Jon Ulicney:
No, I’m always on a project. It makes you-
Steve Stack:
Now wait a minute.
Jon Ulicney:
I am going to take… I’m going to have my knee fixed. That’s what I’m going to do.
Steve Stack:
Okay. All right. So that’s a project that we don’t even want to go into.
Jon Ulicney:
That’s right.
Steve Stack:
But you took some time and you went to the East Coast, right?
Jon Ulicney:
Yes. My daughter had twins.
Steve Stack:
That’s right. So you got to see the family.
Jon Ulicney:
I got to see the family.
Steve Stack:
Everybody’s doing good over there?
Jon Ulicney:
Everybody’s doing good. Yeah.
Steve Stack:
Jonny, we’ve talked about a lot today. We’ve covered a lot of ground in the last eight months. Right?
Jon Ulicney:
Right.
Steve Stack:
We appreciate you here at Baird Brothers, very much so. And I have to say, thanks.
Jon Ulicney:
Thank you for all the work out there.
Steve Stack:
It’s been a great project, bud. Appreciate it. Appreciate it. Look forward to our next one!
Jon Ulicney:
Yeah, I do too.
Steve Stack:
All right. You take care of yourself.
Jon Ulicney:
Thank you.
Steve Stack:
For all you folks listening, thanks for talking shop with Baird Brothers Fine Hardwoods. If you enjoyed this episode and want to stay up-to-date with our American Hardwood Advisor series, give us a like and subscribe. For more tips, projects and inspiration, check us out on Facebook, Instagram or at www.bairdbrothers.com. Until next time!
