Woodworking was always a creative outlet for Bucks County native Colin Thompson, a trait that runs in the family as his father, John, and grandfather, Jack, operated amateur woodshops on their farms where Colin was introduced to the industry.
Colin, who just turned 30 years old, now owns and operates Paramount Wood Co., a specialized wood furniture business based in New Hope. He founded the company in 2020 alongside his fiancé, Alexandra Andresen, who is a co-owner and lead designer. "However, I was a hobbyist in woodworking while building a successful career as a race car driver," he shares.
Like wood, cars came early into Colin’s life. He started racing cars at the tender age of 5, and at 15, was ranked No. 1 nationally in the QMA racing league. This also was a family affair, as both his grandfather and father raced professionally at some points in their careers.
At 17, Colin was racing professionally and living his first dream. He would continue for the next 10 years for a living while weaving in woodworking personal projects in his spare time in what he called “practice." During his career, he won four national championships in four pro series. He was at the top of his game and achieved these wins in the final four years of racing as a “job."
“When I retired from Motorsports in 2018, I was still tinkering with woodworking and figured out what my next career path would be, moving from my first childhood dream to the next,” he recalls.
The start of the Paramount company came the way many morph into a business. “I was making furniture for myself and some locals had taken interest. I decided to start on a small scale out of my garage and see if it had legs. Quickly, I realized there was a gap in the market for well-made, truly custom and artistic furniture.”
From a style perspective, Colin stays focused on creativity, with all pieces being unique and a combination of customers' desires and a designer’s eye. “Making artistic furniture shouldn’t be stressful or difficult,” says Colin.
The 2020 garage turned into a 2021 2,000-square-foot shop, into a 2023 7,800-square-foot facility. Colin believes the success and growth of the woodworking business is driven by the fact that the company does what he calls “ultra custom” work, unique to the industry, and only uses exotic and the highest-grade materials on the planet.
“To make a positive environmental impact through our woodworking, we pledge to plant trees for every piece made. On the inaugural tree planting day, we planted 83 trees. This fall, we hope to do much more,” Colin states.
In addition to taking on new and larger projects in the luxury commercial space, the Paramount team is expanding into the yachting furniture business.
Most youths don’t have the opportunity or ability to live out one of their childhood dreams, let alone more than one. Kudos to Colin for pursuing two of his!
412.587.4166
ParamountWoodCo.com