Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Iantosca.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Allison. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a graduate of Walnut Hill School for the Arts and Skidmore College (with a Bachelor of Science degree in theater). After pursuing a career in the theater for several years on the east and west coasts, I was looking for “next” and my Dad had the idea of bringing a woman into the company so I joined the family business F. H. Perry Builder to, initially, support clients in selections and buy out. Dad and I had a six month agreement but my career evolved in the building industry, and I decided to stay. In 2008 I purchased F.H. Perry Builder and proudly carry on the tradition of building well and doing the right thing- the philosophy my Dad taught to me. I am very proud of my team that delivers the best in craft and quality with a focus on creating partnerships with clients, trades and designers. The company believes in success through strength—strength of character, strength of knowledge, strength of integrity and strength of relationships.
I was an active member of the Builder’s and Remodeler’s Association of Greater Boston in the early part of my career and served on its Board of Directors. During that time, I also had the opportunity to revive the Sales and Marketing Council serving as co-chair and served as co-chair of the Remodeler’s Council. I was named the Builder’s Association of Greater Boston’s Remodeler of the Year in 2006. I was also a member of the Boston’s Future Leaders class of 2008 through the Boston Chamber of Commerce and served on the Chamber’s Women’s Network Advisory Board. I have a special interests too in supporting Beacon Hill’s Hill House and the mentoring program Friends of the Children Boston. I am particularly dedicated to transformative education, so sat on the Board of Trustees at Walnut Hill School for the Arts and on the Board of Touchstone Community School where students cultivate a joy of lifelong learning. I served as co-chair of the Governance Committee and am active with Touchstone’s Strategic Plan initiative.
I have been recognized as a Banker and Tradesman New Leader and a Professional Remodeler magazine Rock Star. F.H. Perry Builder is a Remodeling Magazine Big 50 winner and we were named to the Commonwealth Institute’s list of Top 100 Women Led Businesses three years in a row. Most recently, I was named a Distinguished Mentor by Design New England Magazine and F.H. Perry Builder has received Best of Boston Awards for the past three years.
Has it been a smooth road?
Smooth road? Well. Deeply seated in mid-life I am learning to love the “not smoothness” of life in general. But I would say my story is one of luck and good fortune so indeed smooth. More, I am a person who seeks change, lacks tolerance for average or normal and was taught that there is always “one better”. To play that out under my Dad’s wing was about learning my own style and tempo. Beating my own drum and listening to my own voice are only just coming to me– not because they weren’t allowed to before but because I am beginning to understand that there isn’t a right way or a good way and its simply more fun and joyful my way. I am learning that my job is to hold a vessel in which people can succeed but I can’t make them succeed; I can only lay the foundation. I am learning clients are smart and wildly successful…but are people too. I only share these learnings as things I once thought made for a bumpy road. Mid-life lets you get a little more familiar with the ride and allows for some shocks to absorb the bumps!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the F.H. Perry Builder story. Tell us more about the business.
We just did a whole re-brand. I can’t help but steal a bit of language from our website:
We are a boutique, residential building company. We do remodels and restorations of some of the finest homes in Boston and the immediate suburbs. We believe your home is about you, not us. It’s who you are. It’s where you live. It’s what you reveal to those who enter and those who pass by. We seek to translate the vision of your home into a deliberate, fine-crafted reality.
I am particularly proud of our trade partner relationships. Described on our website:
“You know that friend of yours who would show up to help at a moment’s notice, any time of day or night? We are so proud of our relationships with these kinds of people, all of whom are eager to contribute to working alongside us on your project: architects, interior designers, technicians, craftspeople, artists, and others.
These are people we know well, through years – sometimes decades – of hard and intense work together. We believe in them for their proficiency, their experience, and their craftsmanship. Most of all, we believe in them as people.”
We’re big on time-honored things like craftsmanship, elegance, taste and aesthetics. Sometimes that means blending new with old. Sometimes it means paying special attention to a persnickety modern detail. No matter what, we never lose sight of who our clients are and why they hired us in the first place. “You don’t settle for “good enough” and neither do we”.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think we will continue to go more modern/contemporary. I think we will stay towards smaller but with more finesse within the small. People seem to be less about the “forever house” and more about making this the most awesome “right now” house. There is still a high demand for quality but more in finishes and what you can see. Boston will remain hot hot hot. In a business where the old way is still the best way we will need to continue to think about efficiencies and ways for things to get done just as well but more quickly; time will be the currency. We will continue to need to think about how to market across multiple generations as wealth and opportunity is alive in all decades of life. Connection and meaning making will be important and building homes will maintain a way for people to know who they are and where they are from.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fhperry,com
- Phone: 508-435-3062
- Email: hello@fhperry.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fhperrybuilder/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fhperrybuilder/
- Other: https://www.houzz.com/pro/fhperrybuilder/
Image Credit:
1. LDa Architects, Sean Litchfield Photography
2. Gleysteen Design
3. LDa Architects, Greg Premru Photography
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
