The French call it a "coup de founder," a stroke of lightning, love at first sight. It’s what happens when two people meet, fall instantly in love and everything changes. In the case of Alan Stein and Nancy Virts, falling in love didn’t just change their personal lives, but transformed the direction of their professional lives too. “We are where we are today and who we are today because of one another,” says Alan. “I often say that I’m the motor; she’s the steering wheel.” Alan is a high-energy sales professional and architect; Nancy’s an artistic business manager. By blending their unique talents, they not only created a marriage, but also launched Tanglewood Conservatories, a company that creates one-of-a-kind custom conservatories. Alan had spent years in the housing industry, first as a carpenter, then an architect and, later, a sales professional. In 1985, he and a colleague ventured into their own business, a contracting firm that sold prefab sunrooms in the Washington, DC area. “We thought we could really do something together, but it turned out to be a disaster,” notes Alan. “I just wanted it over so I gave my partner the profitable arm of the company, the contracting division, and I took the struggling sunroom business.” Initially, it looked as though Alan’s partner got the better deal, but time would prove otherwise. “I had a family to support, so failure just wasn’t an option. I had to make it successful,” Alan says. He wound doing everything from sales to payroll to marketing, and even, in a few cases, installation himself in the early days. Alan and Nancy’s two very different worlds came together in 1991 when Alan stepped into a builder’s office that Nancy happened to be managing. “By the end of the first year, I’d built up a following with contractors and builders in the area. I became the go-to guy for sunrooms. A that point the economy was great and things were really moving,” he says. But as quickly as the good times came, they went. By 1990 the country was in a recession and builders were no longer interested in giving away extras like sunrooms. “Half my customers stopped ordering and the other half stopped paying,” laughs Alan. Nearby in another Washington, DC suburb Nancy, a successful fiber artist, had come off a decade-long run working the corporate management track at Marriott hotels. “I loved the business, but I turned 30 and realized I was at a crossroads. Either I was in it all the way, a life in hotels, or I was going to have a personal life and work on my art,” she says. Nancy opted out of the hotel business and took a job managing a home builder’s office. He provided her with a large loft for her art studio. Nancy’s art began to gain attention and her work was being selected for juried shows. Alan and Nancy’s two very different worlds came together in 1991 when Alan stepped into a builder’s office that Nancy happened to be managing. “I had to wait to get a contract signed and there was Nancy. It was love at first sight for me,” he says. “For Nancy it took longer. But the minute I met her, I knew this woman would change my life.” Alan got his contract signed and left, but not without a plan to woo Nancy. That afternoon he sent her roses. When Nancy finally agreed to have dinner, what Alan saw instantly became clear to her. “Dinner lasted three hours and we never ate. We just talked and talked,” she says. “I knew this was it. It all clicked.”
Never Say No Though Alan’s pre-fab sunroom business was fading, he kept in touch with builders in the industry. One approached Alan about creating a custom conservatory for a high-end home. “He handed me a picture of an English conservatory and asked if I could do that. An entrepreneur never says no, so I said sure, and took the project on,” Alan relates. “At that point I was dating Nancy and she’d sit up with me at night talking about how I could pull this off. She always had confidence that I could do it, even when I wasn’t so sure.” Although Nancy continued to work for the home builder, in her free time she was Alan’s advisor. It was she who organized a trip to England to visit manufacturers to better understand the process of making quality conservatories in the classic tradition. “It just captured my imagination,” notes Nancy. “I became engrossed in the project he was working on.” Without realizing it at the time, Alan had stuck on something that made his work completely unique. They came home from the U.K. and Alan set out to deliver a custom conservatory. “I brushed off my architectural skills and designed it,” he said. The problem didn’t arise until he approached his suppliers and learned that none of them could provide custom doors and windows needed to complete the conservatory. When he called English suppliers, they weren’t interested in shipping materials to the United States. “I had no choice but to have the pieces built myself,” says Alan. Without realizing it at the time, Alan had stuck on something that made his work completely unique. No other company in the United States was doing this level of custom work. “The conservatory turned out beautifully,” Alan recalls. “I loved it and the client loved it.” By the time Alan’s second commission for a conservatory came around, Nancy realized that it wasn’t a sideline to sunrooms, but a veritable business opportunity in its own right. “Nancy saw it immediately,” Alan says. “She knew there was huge growth potential because no one else in this country was doing it like we were.”
Tanglewood Is Born Alan set his sights on getting Nancy to work for him. “I loved how her mind worked, how organized she was,” he says. “Of course, she was very loyal to the builder she was working for, so she was hesitant. It took a year and a half before I persuaded her to join me in this great endeavor. From the moment she came on board, the business became successful—and more fun.” Nancy, who describes herself as cautious by nature, took her time before joining Alan’s fledgling enterprise. “Once our relationship had become serious, I decided that I’d have to get out of my comfort zone and try something new,” she relates. “I loved the work he was doing and the conservatories brought out my artistic sensibilities, so it was a very good fit for me.” "Working together wasn’t always as smooth as it is now; it took time to learn each other’s work styles and to keep the business from interfering with their marriage." Working together wasn’t always as smooth as it is now; it took time to learn each other’s work styles and to keep the business from interfering with their marriage. “We knew we wanted to do this together, that was never in doubt, but there was a lot of push and pull in the beginning as we learned to work together. In the early days, I ran in circles,” Alan says. “In many ways, we’re still learning how to work together,” says Nancy. “Alan is in constant motion, his creative juices are always flowing. I’m much more careful and measured. In the end, that really balances things out.” Coming up with a name for the company proved difficult. “We struggled with it and couldn’t come up with anything that worked. I mean, it was one dumb name after another,” says Alan. Then, one morning Nancy woke up and she had it—Tanglewood Conservatories. It evoked the music of the concerts in the Berkshires that Nancy, who plays piano and guitar, loved so much. “The name reminds people of the traditional conservatory, where music is played, but it is also soft and artful, reflective of our work,” she explains.
Moving Up, Moving Out With a name and a reputation established, the company grew—and quickly. It wasn’t long before the small Silver Spring operation was having serous growing pains. After looking for larger space in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and around Washington, DC, they discovered rural Caroline County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where they were offered a great tax and land deal. The move meant not just giving up the Silver Spring base professionally but personally as well. This is, where the couple lived—and where Nancy grew up. “Plus, we went from renting to owning our workspace, and for me that was a tough adjustment. I knew this was a major commitment,” notes Nancy. “We didn’t expect to be scrambling for workers, but we were...” Although the couple hoped that most employees would follow them across the Chesapeake Bay to their new headquarters, only one did. “We didn’t expect to be scrambling for workers, but we were,” says Nancy, who notes that the couple was in the middle of a project when they made the move. In 1996, Tanglewood opened in its new 10,000 square-foot space. They eventually found a talented team on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. “A delightful and unexpected part of the move was discovering all these wonderful craftsmen, who had spent years wood working on boats on the Eastern Shore. By moving, we were able to gain all this incredible talent,” says Alan.
Growing Together The move to a bigger space allowed Nancy and Alan to expand the business. They now create up to twenty custom conservatories a year. Their work appears all over the world, from Hong Kong to Montana. Their clients include high-profile individuals and CEOs of many Fortune 500 companies. Today, Tanglewood now has more than 40,000 square-feet of space and 25 employees, and is always looking for new challenges. “That’s what keeps it exciting for us,” says Alan. “Nancy and I both love figuring things out.” Alan points to recent projects that have required unusual approaches, including incorporating stained glass panels, utilizing steel trusses and designing a copper-clad conservatory. “When a client throws us something out-of-the-box, we love it. Both Alan and I get a real charge out of doing something new,” Nancy says. “We also have a happy workforce because by taking on unique projects, we keep things interesting for them.” “We have this incredible life that enables us to do what we love with the person we love...” As for their marriage, Nancy admits there’s not much separation between business and pleasure. “We truly do what we love and we are both so focused on it that when we’re home we’re often talking about projects,” she says. “Our work and home life are interconnected and, for us, it works really well.” Not all couples could work and live together successfully, but for Alan and Nancy, whose relationship and business were born simultaneously, they can’t imagine another life. “We have this incredible life that enables us to do what we love with the person we love,” says Alan. “We get to wake up each day and work together to make something beautiful.”
About Tanglewood Conservatories... Tanglewood's Conservatory Production Teams are heirs to a 300 Year Old Craft and Woodworking Tradition. Tanglewood Conservatories' Co-Founder and Director of Architecture Alan Stein relates his deep respect for the talent of each conservatory architect and artisan: "I'm a woodworker from way back. As a carpenter, I built houses before taking up architecture or conservatory design. I like to work with my hands. When I started the company years ago, I could do anything our team could do. I would often pick up a tool, and show them how to do it." For more information about Tanglewood Conservatories, visit Tanglewood's site at www.tanglewoodconservatories.com. Tell them you heard about then at The Proper Home!
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