Greg Antonioli, President/Founder

Greg “founded” Out of the Woods out of necessity in 1992. Having moved to Arlington from California while his wife pursued her 2nd master’s degree, he figured he’d swing a hammer for someone else for 3 years and then move away again…WRONG! Being at the tail-end of a recession, his best offer was $8/hour, so he placed an ad in the Arlington Advocate, came up with a name/logo, flipped a couple of properties and got some exposure from those open-houses…and a practice was off and running.

The carpentry part was easy, but turning the practice into a well-run business became the challenge Greg took-on with a passion. Smiles on clients’ faces were an easy metric to maintain, but improving financial metrics and company stability at the same time was key to OOTW success and longevity.  He takes it as his biggest source of pride that OOTW has never had to lay-off an employee and never had to advertise.

Greg is a past president of the Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of NARI (the National Association of the Remodeling Industry). As a visionary leader in the industry, Greg has written and blogged for the industry's largest trade publications and spoken nationwide on business topics such as open-book management, which he practices at both Out of the Woods Construction & Cabinetry and his property management company, FirstCall Residential.
He continues to be known for his passion for learning, tireless follow-through, and creative approach to preventing future problems.

“All of the business acumen really stems from one core personality trait. I’m just a conflict-averse guy and we developed a system where we get to plan our projects really well just so we can avoid having to have awkward conversations with our clients in the middle of the project. It’s that simple.”

Paul Mericantante, Lead Carpenter

Paul is currently our most-tenured team member, having joined us in 2003. An Arlington native, Paul is our rock on the production team, known for his quiet, steady leadership.  Clients always talk about his calm-and-calming presence…that and how he’s a man of (very) few words!  It would be hard to count how many carpenters have benefited from his training and example in the past 20 years with OOTW. 

Dave Richard, Production Manager

Dave came to us in 2005 as a staff carpenter after stints as a professional cook and touring musician. A Martha’s Vineyard native, he’s the son of a carpenter and, fortunately for us, chose to pursue carpentry as his long-term vocation.  Also fortunately for us, he was willing to take off his toolbelt after 15 years at OOTW and take the reins of running our production department.  If you want to get on his good side, ask him about his dogs!

Jim DeCoste, Lead Project Developer

Hired as an apprentice carpenter in 2005, Jim came to us after management training at Enterprise Rent-a-Car and earning his degree in Hospitality Management at UMass.  If you recognize his name, yes, he’s THAT Jim DeCoste, the Duxbury High School soccer and lacrosse stand-out.  Another former Lead Carpenter who was generous enough to give up the tool belt for a less-glamorous office job!

Tami King, Controller

What can we say?  Tami fell from the heavens into our lap right when we needed her in 2014.  She came to us from a larger, glitzier company with a “been there, done that” wealth of accounting knowledge.  She’s the cheery voice you hear when you call the office even though she’s probably in the middle of reconciling bank statements, running job cost reports, or chasing the crew for their delinquent timesheets!

Debbie Bishop, Designer & Product Specialist

Deb and Greg go back quite a ways to the mid-nineties when she worked at House of Cabinets in Bedford, the place where OOTW sent their clients to buy cabinets.  In the interim, H.O.C. shuttered, Deb worked with OOTW as a subcontractor and ultimately came on as a full-time team member in 2015.  Deb, known for her “bedside manor”, is the ultimate anti-designer…she LISTENS and guides clients into discovering what they want in their home.  She’s the opposite of the stereotypical designer that inflicts their vision on other peoples’ spaces.

Nick Lykourgos, Lead Carpenter

Nick just loves what he does. The “MacGyver” of the crew, he just finds creative, beautiful solutions for whatever situation his projects present. If I ever need tool advice, Nick is my first call. Another man-of-few-words, his craftsmanship and project schedules speak for themselves!

Cole Blake, Lead Carpenter

Cole joined us in 2021 after a few years in Tennessee, doing commercial construction. A native of Baltimore, it is recommended not to bad-mouth the Orioles or Ravens in his presence.  His project management and leadership skills were honed in the family business, running crews applying epoxy floor coatings in commercial spaces around the clock.  His numerous talents include curating amazing playlists and playing a mean blues harp.

Cameron Fagen, Lead Carpenter

Another 2nd generation carpenter, Cam arrived at OOTW with solid skills and is rising in the ranks to establish himself in the Lead Carpenter role. Admittedly though, he’d rather have a fishing pole in his hand than a hammer on any given day, but the hammer is a close 2nd!  

Soramy Le, Designer & Draftsperson

Fate brought Greg and Soramy together through a couple of volunteer projects they worked on together.  A graduate of the Boston Architectural College, Soramy, like Deb, fits Greg’s  “anti-designer” moniker because she LISTENS.  Fortunately for us, after building street cred working on fancy restaurants and multi-family developments, she was looking for something a little less stressful and Greg pounced at the opportunity to bring her on-board.  His pitch? Use OOTW as a means to get what you really want: that ice cream shop!  Our “CAD jockey”, Soramy creates those working drawings and 3D renderings that ensure the clients can visualize their project and the crew knows what to build.

Gabriel Miranda, Staff Carpenter

Gabriel comes to us after working as a carpenter on large residential developments. You won’t meet a harder worker with a greater attitude than Gabriel! He was born and raised in the beautiful beach city of Vila Velha, in Espirito Santo, Brazil, where he worked in IT for 7 years before coming to the United States. We’re thankful that he found his true calling in carpentry and has acclimated to our cold!

Troy Ciarametaro, Staff Carpenter

Troy is back for a second (and hopefully permanent) round with OOTW. Raised on the North Shore in a fishing family, he’s the kind of guy who volunteers to travel to South Carolina with Greg to work on a Women’s Shelter. Oh, and he relishes the role of uncle. ‘Nuf said.