A BRIEF SUMMARY

Chilmark house in winter South Mountain Company is an employee owned, resource conscious design/build firm located on the island of Martha's Vineyard. We provide a wide range of services including development, planning, architecture, building, solar & wind energy system design & installation, Loewen window & door sales, cabinetry, furniture, and interiors. South Mountain Company is about collaboration. It's not about somebody, it's about everybody: our co-owners, employees, clients, subcontractors, suppliers, and community. Engaging as many participants as possible in our work consistently produces rewarding results. We are all acutely aware that what we do we couldn't possibly do alone; we are utterly dependent on the good will, great craftsmanship, and shared ideas of a large cast of characters. This collaborative effort springs from a business model based on shared ownership, limited growth, highest quality craftsmanship and service, community involvement, and long term thinking. Our goal is to serve our several constituencies at once, in an exemplary and responsible way that nurtures and strengthens all.

Craftsman style porch We are determined to create buildings and settings that are enjoyed for generations - that stand as worthy expressions of a humane, well-crafted, environmentally sound architecture. We hope our buildings will be loved (if they are, we have done our job well, and only then will they endure). The English architect Charles Voysey said, "Simplicity, sincerity, repose, directness, and frankness are moral qualities as essential to good architecture as to good people." We try to live up to his words.

Stair detail We hope our business practices provide a model for a 21st century economy, balancing profits with environmental restoration, social justice, and community involvement. The company has 32 full time employees (14 in the office and design studio, four in the woodworking shop, the remainder in the field). Half of our employees are owners; this number will continue to grow as all employees who work here for five years have an opportunity to participate in ownership. We do approximately $7,000,000 of work each year - some renovation, some new construction. At any given time we keep 2-3 major projects and 3-4 minor projects in construction. Most of our smaller projects are additions, renovations, and alterations to buildings we have built during the past 30 years. We don't let go of our past projects and clients (we learn from them and they keep us humble!) and we understand that most new ideas don't work, just like surfers miss more waves than they catch. But we keep trying.

The view from ICoHo #13 We limit our work to the island of Martha's Vineyard with the exception of educational and consulting opportunities beyond our shores. This is the region we know best and the place where we live. We consider ourselves an important part of the community. We take seriously our responsibility to make it a better place for all by participating in regional efforts to provide high quality affordable housing, preserve rural character, support traditional economies, and promote environmental stewardship. Relationships are the cornerstones of this business - both internally (among ourselves), and outside the company (with clients, subcontractors, suppliers, consultants, officials, community members). We work with wood (mostly) but we work with each other (always). South Mountain Company is the people who work here.

That's us in a nutshell.