Marblehead native Christian Tosi is the consummate artisan. In fact, he’s worked most of his life designing and sculpting furniture and works of art in wood. So it is no wonder that his company, the Regatta Group, which includes Regatta Construction and BONS award-winning TRK Design, is getting rave reviews for its custom kitchen designs from Manchester to Marblehead and everywhere in between.
Tosi got his start in the carpentry field as a teenage apprentice hanging sheetrock and constructing cabinetry for David Nazaroff Construction, a high-end outfit, creating beautiful kitchens and baths for clients. “I fell in love with woodworking and decided to go to the North Bennet Street School in the North End to further my knowledge in cabinet and furniture making,” says Tosi. “It was an intense two-year hands-on program where I gained a thorough knowledge of furniture construction—from creating full-size working drawings to carving mortise-and-tenon joinery to applying wood finishes.”
With his invaluable experience from North Bennet, Tosi started an artisan’s gallery in Marblehead. “We had 40 artisans’ works represented in the gallery and a furniture-making shop,” he says. “The building itself was pretty rudimentary with raccoons living in the attic, but we made it work.” Most of Tosi’s work at the gallery was “problem-solving.” If someone needed a Windsor chair to complete a dining set—or needed an entire set—he would handmake them from old ash trees using Old World methods. “We built narrow consoles for the hallways of Marblehead’s antique homes and made dining room tables from cherry wood—it was a great experience,” Tosi says.
After running the gallery, the woodshop, and a small construction company for a number of years, he decided to sell the gallery business and focus on the world of construction to allow him to spend more time with his children. Tosi was hired on as the finish carpenter for another premier design-build firm on the North Shore, where he honed his skills even further as a craftsman, creating beautiful kitchen cabinetry, built-ins, and baths for a number of houses on the North Shore.
After a serious neck injury, Tosi could no longer do manual labor. He took a job in IT recruiting—a far cry from the chisels and planes of a woodworking shop. “I learned a lot about business systems and wanted to translate that back into my blue-collar roots,” says Tosi.
Tosi worked with a business coach to develop a company culture that would draw talented carpenters—the kind of business he would want to work for himself. And Regatta Construction was born, a full-service kitchen-centric design/build construction firm. He recently purchased TRK Design in Marblehead. “We have incredible contractors on board, who all continue their carpentry education through the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, which sets industry standards—from setting budgets to using new technologies,” says Tosi. The Regatta Group’s general manager Linda Doliber has been with TRK Design for 20 years and is well versed in all things kitchen. Designer Michelle Cooney rounds out the excellent team. “We really are a one-stop shop. We have subcontractors for lighting, tile, plumbing, painting, so you will work with us from start to finish,” Tosi notes.
Known as a perfectionist in the construction field, Tosi works with only the best craftsman and products. The shop’s furniture-grade custom cabinetry is hand made by artisans in Pennsylvania Dutch country. And no detail is left to chance under Tosi’s artisan eye. regattainc.com