OUR TEAM & VALUES
OUR VALUES
We Value Your Time: Especially when it is the first day of April.
We Value Your Home: Even if it’s between the dates of March 31st and April 2nd.
We Value Your Business: We want you to be pleased when the job is done, and if you’re not, then it must be APRIL FOOL’S DAY.
OUR TEAM
Andy Sjostrom
Principal
Andy comes from a long line of handymen, tracing his lineage as far back as 1943 to Sweden where his Uncle Ingvar founded what came to be known as IKEA. Though a billionaire by birthright, Andy decided to distance himself from untold riches and start his own business without the family’s assistance. He does keep one piece of IKEA furniture in his workshop: a sjøstrom. “It’s a shelf/chair combo that also makes coffee. I use it a lot actually.”
If you were a tool, what kind would you be?
An allen wrench.
Matt Miller/Matt Torre
Never in the same room at the same time, Matt Miller and Matt Torre have the same first name but are definitely not one person pretending to be two different people. “What would even be the point of that?” asked one of the Matts, while he chuckled nervously, “one of us has a beard, so clearly I am–we are– different people.”
If you were a tool, what kind would you be?
Multi-tool because it’s one person, but does different things. Did we say person? We meant to say tool.
Leanne Grace
No one really knows how Leanne got here.
If you were a tool, what kind would you be?
I don’t know, I’m just waiting for my lyft driver.
Katie Kopecky
It was at the tender age of nine that Katie got her start in carpentry whilst on a family vacation. Caught up in the river of tourists that Colonial Williamsburg is famous for attracting, Katie was separated from her family. She was mistaken for an actor cast to play a child carpenter (or “carpenter” as they would say in colonial times). After 18 months of hand-carving fifes for tourists, playfully inscribed with “Help Me”, Katie was finally reunited with her family. Outside of work, you can find Katie hiking, reading, or drawing.
If you were a tool, what kind would you be?
Not a colonial-era carving knife, I’ll tell you that much.
Jake Racina
With “Handyman4Lyfe” tattooed around his ankle, it’s abundantly clear that Jake is never quitting this job. He will tackle any task you give him, whether it’s filling rat holes or renovating a crawlspace hole. He specifically asked for his bio to include that customers need to know not to be shy when asking him to do things, even if it’s something they would never, ever ask a handyman, or another human being, to do. “Got a rodent problem? Ole Jake’s your guy. I’m personable too,” he said then shot-gunned a Gatorade Fast Twitch, orange.
If you were a tool, what kind would you be?
Sledge hammer. I need to balance the filling of house holes with the creation of new ones. I am the architect of my own prison.
Matt Miller/Matt Torre
Never in the same room at the same time, Matt Miller and Matt Torre have the same first name but are definitely not one person pretending to be two different people. “What would even be the point of that?” asked one of the Matts, while he chuckled nervously, “one of us has a beard, so clearly I am–we are– different people.”
If you were a tool, what kind would you be?
Multi-tool because it’s one person, but does different things. Did we say person? We meant to say tool.
David Bortman
When you first meet David, “riverboat captain,” might not be the first thing to come to mind, but looks can be deceiving. At age 14, he piloted his first steamboat, the Adequate Mary, down the Mississippi River. It was also at that time that he learned how to be a handyman. David perfected his now-renowned drywall techniques on walls that were anything but dry. “I never run from a challenge,” Bortman said, “especially when it comes to drywall. And what’s more,” he continued while hand rolling a cigar, “I’m clean and I know it.”
If you were a tool, what kind would you be?
Sandpaper, extra gritty.
Steve Hain
While professional wrestling aficionados may know him by another name, here at Sjostrom Renovation, we call him Steve.
If you were a tool, what kind would you be?
These fists.
Tommy Herner
Before joining Sjostrom Renovation, Tommy was actually a professional barrel jumper in a traveling rodeo. After a career-ending injury when two rodeo clowns in a horse-costume stuffed him in one of the barrels, Tommy knew it was time to retire and find a safer career. “He’s a very stable employee and an asset to his neighborhood,” Andy said. “The horse attack happened at 10am, but the whole thing was a real nightmare.”
If you were a tool, what kind would you be?
Barrel opener. That would have been handy.
Kriste Baker
According to an urban legend, if you look into a mirror and chant “Expenses” three times in a row, Kriste will send a text asking about unmatched charges. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Kriste honed her bookkeeping skills during her years working in the accounting department at the asylum (now abandoned). Before finding her current position at Sjostrom Renovation, she spent some time getting back to nature, “I took some time off to dart around forest preserves, float up in reflecting ponds, and collect mouse skeletons. Now I feel really recharged and ready to dig into Quickbooks for Business.”
If you were a tool, what kind would you be?
An axe. It’s helpful in a variety of situations.
