"Your Work is Your Signature"

I started out as a laborer for Amnord Masonry in 1978. At that time I was introduced to Mark Thun, by my friend Fred Ewert. I worked with Mark, learning the masonry trade, until 1981. Soon after, my brother and I started a masonry business. When John left to pursue his career in the aerospace industry I continued on my own eventually acquiring my contractors license in 1997 and starting my own company, Richard J. Reid Stonecraft, which I have today.

During my apprenticeship with Mark I learned a great deal about the importance of layout and quality workmanship. Today I am well versed in the construction of a variety of residential masonry work. I find it especially challenging and stimulating to design and build some special project a customer has envisioned. Working with Mark and Fred taught me the importance of customer relations, which means showing up on time every day and completing the job in a timely manner. To ensure the job is done properly and promptly, I never take on too much work at one time. Consequently, I never spread myself too thin with the result that my customers never feel like I'm neglecting them.

Customer satisfaction ranks high on my list of priorities. To make sure my customers are happy, I spend a lot of time talking with them. Sometimes what they want is simple and straight forward which makes it easy to fulfill their wishes. At other times they have only a vague idea of what they want. In those cases I ask if they have a picture of what they might like or if there is a house that has a feature that is similar to what they have in mind. In some cases, the customer will pick the material they want and give me carte blanche to do whatever I think will look right.

Sometimes a customer will ask me to design something special or unique. In such cases I will work with the customer to develop a design or it may just evolve. In all these cases I keep my customer well informed. I sometimes caution them that masonry can be like a tattoo. Once you get one it's hard to stop. I have many customers of long standing who have employed me repeatedly. I consider this fact as proof that my customer satisfaction rating is high. Sometimes these old customers seem more like friends than clients but I am always careful to keep business matters on a professional level. Recently I completed a job in La Canada. It was a big remodel and several contractors - plumbers, electricians, carpenters, tile setters- were used. When the customer gave me the final payment he said," Rick, I wish they were all like you." That wasn't the first time a customer expressed that feeling to me.

Fred Ewert taught me a valuable lesson when I was starting out. He said to me, Rick, “YOUR WORK IS YOUR SIGNATURE." Those words always remind me to remember that after the job is finished and the invoice is paid, my work stands as a symbol of my reputation. To that end I make sure that the work is the highest quality possible so that it will reflect on my company in the best possible way.

I have also worked in the public sector with North East Trees, a non-profit organization, project called The River Walk. The River Walk is a series of mini parks situated along the Los Angles River designed for people who ride bicycles and walk along the river. These parks include stone seating walls, drinking fountains, steps, and stone based signs that have information about indigenous plants and animals. The park on Oros St. and the river has a small amphitheater made of a mixture of river rock and recycled concrete. I was responsible for the construction of all the stone work done on these projects. Lynn Dwyer was the landscape architect who designed the entire project. We worked together in the field to complete the project.

One park is located on Los Feliz Bl. east of the 5 freeway, two more are on Riverside Dr. from Oros St. to the 110 and 5 interchange, and the others are situated on the river between Los Feliz Bl. and the 110 and 5 interchange.