Issue Two

If you passed John Grieco on the street, you probably wouldn’t even notice him: he’s a regular, down to Earth, tee-shirt-and-jeans kind of guy. But sit down and talk with John Grieco and you’ll sense something greater: an intangible energy, a genuine enthusiasm, a contagious excitement–the sort that can only be found in a person who is doing what they love. For Grieco, that’s two things: battling fires as a firefighter in Rochester, New York, and creating one-of-a-kind furniture and accessories.

"I absolutely love my job," says the 39-year-old of his responsibility as a firefighter. "I still look forward to going to work, even after twelve years. Every aspect of it is fun–fighting fires, training, interacting with everyone in the firehouse and in other firehouses. We break chops, big time. But we also encourage each other. It’s like any other family–we say bad things about each other, but we’re always there for one another."

When Grieco’s not fighting fires, he can usually be found in his backyard garage workshop engrossed in his second passion—creating cool objects (thus, his business name, Object Maker) from recycled iron, copper, lumber, and tile he salvages from antique shops, junk yards, and flea markets. Though Grieco "will make anything for anyone," he’s known locally for his custom-made tables, garden arbors, flower boxes, and benches. "People call me and say, ‘This is what I’m looking for. Can you come up with some ideas?’ Many times, I’ve never even made what they want, but I figure it out."

And if he can’t, help is nearby. Grieco’s wife, Laurie, a property manager for the University of Rochester, has an artistic edge herself. "She’s my sounding board," says Grieco. "She’s very good with color, especially when it comes to the tile top tables. She knows which colors or patterns look best and how to place them. Or, if a copper patina is too green for a conservative style of table, she’ll see it right away."

Grieco shares a similar vision, only his strength lies in seeing the potential in an old piece of metal or a discarded block of wood. In fact, that’s exactly how he began making furniture five years ago. "I was helping a close friend move a fountain out of a three-acre estate on Park Avenue in downtown Rochester," he says. "And up against a tree I saw this beat-up iron fence and I said, ‘that would make a neat table.’ At the time, we were looking for a coffee table that would blend in with our antiques and newer stuff and I thought this might work. So I took the fence home, sketched a design for a table base and had a fireman I know who is a welder use the fence to make it. Then I threw an old piece of granite on top and that was it. It fit in perfectly in the house. Then I started getting requests from friends to make them, so I got more fencing and kept making them with this welder."

And though business was booming and orders kept rolling in for his tables, Grieco was restless. "I felt like there was a piece missing from the puzzle," he says. "I was designing and marketing the tables, but I wasn’t actually building them and I wanted to." So he took a welding class and the rest is history. "I like doing it all myself," he says of his business. "I get the stimulation of dealing with people. I get to make things and stretch my mind. And it’s honest, hard work, but also a little bit of art. When someone says, ‘You’re an artist,’ I feel a little dorky because I don’t feel like I’m a real artist. But when someone says, ‘You’re a craftsmen,’ I think I’m a little more than a craftsman. So I guess I’m somewhere in between the two."

In hindsight, it’s not hard to trace Grieco’s creative tendencies. The youngest of nine children, Grieco grew up in Spencerport, New York and can remember building things as early as age six. "My brother, Barney, and I were inseparable," he says. "We would get these little beat up bicycles and fix them up and work on them and make choppers out of them. Or make BMX bikes and ramps to jump them. It was great."

After high school, Grieco studied Mechanical Engineering and Technology, dabbled in music (he was the drummer of a band) and tried his hand at landscaping before settling on fire fighting at age 27. By the time he was 35, Grieco was well into his balancing act of fire fighter and Object Maker–an impressive accomplishment that he attributes, in part, to what he learned at home. "My dad was a very confident person and I think I got that from him," he says warmly. "My brother Dave was also a big influence and inspiration to me. He’s the kind of person who always flew by the seat of his pants and said ‘yes’ to things he was unsure of, but then figured it out as he went along. I think sometimes that’s how people end up doing great things. If they knew the magnitude of what they were attempting, it would probably scare them away. So they go for it full force. That’s what I’m doing. All of this has been by the seat of my pants. Sure, my naivete has hurt me. But I don’t regret anything. Sometimes you can’t think about things too much. You just have to do it."

And that he does.

For more information on Grieco’s work www.objectmaker.com 1.716.244.4933