About Steve Strouse
I was born in Central Pennsylvania in September 1962 and have lived there ever since. I became
fascinated by woodworking at a very young age and began
building furniture for around the house as early as junior high
school.
I initially began by largely making custom-made pieces of furniture. In 1993, I decided to turn my long time passion into my
full-time job, by founding Strouse Woodworking. Late that same year I
was asked to make a set of Shaker-style boxes. I had never tried
making one before, but I set off on the task. Quickly becoming
enthralled by the entire process of making Shaker boxes, from getting
the wood, to cutting it, and then to making the actual boxes. Shaker boxes soon
became the majority of my work, but I always enjoy making custom furniture when I have time for larger projects.
I entered my first arts
festival in 1994, with the People's Choice Festival in Boalsburg, PA.
After a couple of years, I had my work in a number of galleries and began participating in art shows throughout Pennsylvania, as well as a few in Virginia and Maryland. In 1996 I became a juried member of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen.
Personal Life and Other Hobbies
We have three children: T.J. (27), Erica (25), and Takara (12). Throughout
the years, they have all three played a large role in my business, spending long
hours sanding in the shop to traveling with me to arts festivals all around Pennsylvania. T.J. recently graduated with his Masters degree in Middle East Studies from George Washington University. He is now living in Dubai, and working as a Middle East reporter for Energy Intelligence, a New York based company. Erica recently graduated from Penn State University and is currently studying for her Masters degree in Social Work at The University of Texas-San Antonio. Takara is in the sixth grade at the Bellefonte Middle School, but is already getting excited about moving on to college.
To get away from the woodworking and still have an opportunity to work with my hands, I have found an interest over the past several years in vintage motorcycles.
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| 1969 SS 350 Sprint, Aermacchi Harley Davidson |
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| Tj, Erica, Melissa, Takara, and Steve |
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My current 2012 winter project
This will be my third winter of working on my 75 Goldwing. Each winter I have taken a few things apart to repair and have ready to ride again by early spring. Had a few major items in need of repair this year, and wanted to polish and repaint some parts. Definitely took more parts off than my original plan, but I should have it looking pretty nice by spring.
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