A MILLWORK FAMILY WHOSE ROOTS CAN BE TRACED BACK TO OLD WORLD ITALY AND PROGRESS OVER FOUR DECADES AND TWO GENERATIONS

Vittorio Ciccone, founder of Stilewood International, has traveled an amazing millwork journey that began over 60 years ago in a small town just off the coast in Southern Italy. This was the breeding ground where, at a very young age, he learned and developed the skills and passion for traditional architectural woodworking. His mastery has become legendary throughout Italy where, to this day, his work is enjoyed by Italians and tourists who visit the churches and buildings where his timeless work still stands.

Fast tracking Vittorio's story about 30 years would bring us to Prince Rupert, B.C., where Vittorio landed in 1954 at the age of 18. With the promises of the New World and an entrepreneurial spirit, Vittorio would then move to Vancouver where he would begin the next phase of his journey.

During a successful run as a millwork artisan (working in "period reproduction" styles of the 20th century such as Baroque, Rococo, Renaissance and Louis XV), Vittorio established himself as an authority when it came to the production of this type of architectural millwork.

It was this reputation for quality craftsmanship and traditional wood artistry that would have designers from all over the world calling on Vittorio to reproduce period furniture and millwork items that would eventually end up furnishing many high-end homes, villas and movie sets.

In the early 1960s, this demand and market niche launched Vittorio into the high-end furniture design and manufacturing business that would eventually grow to have interests throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

RE-SETTING THE SAILS

After successfully navigating his company through the turbulent trade winds of the 60s, 70s and early 80s, Vittorio noticed a shift in market demand from his traditionally designed and manufactured pieces to the more trendy art-deco/art-novo/knock-down styles that came with the baby boom. With this in mind Vittorio, together with his son Salvatore, made the decision to start the process of changing the direction and focus of the company to the building materials industry.

Poised to take over the family business and groomed from a very young age, Salvatore led the charge and the initiative to penetrate this new market on which he and his dad had set their sights.

By utilizing the skills, production process and plant set-ups learned from his father, Salvatore quickly found himself providing an exclusive line of French doors to the largest millwork distributors in North America. The success of this single product line and the critical acclaim received for their use of cutting-edge construction techniques led to the 1988 incorporation and launch of their new company, Stilewood International Mfg. Ltd.

COMBINING OLD WORLD HAND-CRAFTSMANSHIP WITH LATEST IN THE STATE-OF-THE-ART EQUIPEMENT

Today, Stilewood is a wood products resource located in Port Coquitlam, BC, that specializes in the production of architectural stile and rail doors for both interior and exterior applications. The production facility itself is equipped with over 150 dedicated machine centers and has been laid out and designed in a manner that models the finest joinery operations of Europe.

By bringing together Old World hand-craftsmanship and the latest in state-of-the-art equipment, Stilewood has been able to re-define the term quality with every door they build. This re-definition has spawned revolutionary proprietary technologies for almost every process in the manufacturing of a stile and rail door - including Stilewood's exclusive "Fluted Tenon" technology and their linear serrated edge, "Panel Smart" technology.

SIMPLY THE FINEST WOOD DOORS IN THE MARKET

Advances such as these give Stilewood the ability to build a door that will virtually never warp, split, crack or separate at the stiles. Couple all this with the artistry, attention to detail and eye for beauty being passed on by Vittorio, and the result has best been described as "furniture for your walls."

Stilewood's market is global and their main marketing message can be summed up as "Any Style, Any Size, Any Specie." This philosophy to selling product and manufacturing is all about choices and has allowed the design community to design by creativity rather than product availability.

This approach, combined with the finest creative technical experts available, has the company working with architects and designers who are specifying Stilewood's products for some of the most prestigious projects worldwide.

At this point in Vittorio's career and after 15 years in the door business, Vittorio is content to step into the role of consultant/mentor to his staff, letting his son Salvatore run the day-to-day operations.

THE FUTURE IS IN GOOD HANDS

In an attempt to continue this progress, Salvatore has surrounded himself with a quality group of people. Many have developed themselves in the environment created by Vittorio and all share in the same vision and values that have guided him and his companies through his 30 years plus of business operations.