Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cory Herweck. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Cory, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

The name Terraform came out of a place of wanting to make sure peoples homes feel not only the way they only want but need it to feel. The word terraform means to transform (a planet) so as to resemble the earth, especially so that it can support human life. Why shouldn’t your home feel the same?

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I started Terraform officially in the Fall of 2020. I have worked for other furniture/cabinet makers in the St. Louis area but never really loved what I built for them. When I set out on my own, I took what I had learned about building and all aspects of business like customer relations, communication, project management and so much more.

I am primarily a furniture and cabinet maker. I love building kitchens and built-in projects as well as furniture like tables, desks, bedroom furniture, etc. I am focusing on giving people the best quality piece they deserve. So many of kitchens are built using subpar materials with not any quality or substance behind them. When people open a cabinet I make, I want them to feel that the cabinet was built differently. Same with the furniture as so much of the furniture we purchase is very cheaply made. I am often supporting sawmills and lumber yards that are producing the best quality product so I can in turn make the best quality piece that is passed down from generation to generation.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Believe it or not, I started in 2014 making longboards as a side hustle. I was working for a non-profit as an operations manager and needed to spend some time away from my desk in the afternoon/evenings. When I tried starting a business around longboards, I ran into some issues trying to sell expensive goods to a college-aged demographic.

In 2017, when I left the non-profit, I went to the closest woodworking shop and asked for a job. I spent 4 years there, learning so much. Unfortunately, I think many people set out to do this as a full-time job without actually knowing the local industry. I recommend anyone that is wanting to get into woodworking full-time to go out and find someone that has been doing it and learn from them.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Recently, like a month ago recently, I just took on a new shop space in Fox Park. I was offered an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up, to take over an existing shop space and make it my own. I went from working in a 450-square-foot basement to a 4500-square-foot shop. It was quite the pivot for me and my family. Time will tell if it will be a good one, but it feels good at the moment. I have been working with many new designers and architects as the new space is giving me the opportunity to do bigger jobs.

Contact Info:

• Website: terraformwoodworking.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terraformwoodworking.co/
• Facebook: facebook.com/terraformwoodworking.co
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJwb4sLpI9PwdObmCSSGbIw