Growing up on a dairy farm on the Ponsford prairie, Steve knew at an early age that we wanted to work for himself. Steve started working at Green Valley Bean in Park Rapids during high school to gain experience outside of the dairy farm. One day on the job, Steve was in an accident that landed him at home recovering. During his brief time out of work, Itasca Community College out of Grand Rapids called offering him a scholarship to wrestle. Not knowing what his future had in store, Steve accepted the scholarship. Steve started college in the fall of 1996 and picked up a job working at a local furniture restoration company, Jim’s Strip All. After the first semester Steve decided to run with his newfound love of restoring furniture and to bring it back to the farmstead on the Ponsford prairie.
In the winter of 1996, Steve’s Woodworking, Inc was born in what used to be a pig barn on the family farm. Steve’s Woodworking, Inc focused on furniture restoration, building tables, dressers, and hope chests. Steve quickly outgrew the 1,200 sqft pig barn and converted the dairy barn into the new workshop. Steve built his first kitchen in the spring of 2001 for his first home and growing family. Building his first kitchen for himself he saw an opportunity to expand his business. While looking at the opportunity to expand he knew that he would need to build a bigger facility.
So, plans were started to build a bigger facility on the family farm. While Steve was running his growing company, he was also moving snow during the winter. In the winter of 2006, he seen a for sale sign at the old sawmill in Osage, MN. This sparked interest, so he stopped in to see what the asking price was. Knowing that the price for this facility was out of his budget, Steve continued his day moving snow. Little did he know he was going to receive a phone call from a very eager seller. They worked out a deal and in May of 2007 Steve bought the old sawmill. There were multiple buildings on the property and the main building was 110’ X 104’ or 11,440 sqft. Steve and his team quickly started to move equipment to the new shop as the excitement of the new adventure ahead grew. On May 17th , 2007, a fire engulfed the dairy barn. They still lost a lot of equipment and everything that they had been working on. Not knowing what the next step was, Steve received support and encouragement from the strong relationships that were established over those first few years. With this support Steve was able to continue with the dream of growing into the new shop.
In 2008 Steve’s Woodworking, Inc became SWI Interiors. Fast forward to the present day, the 11,440sqft facility has grown to an astounding 68,000 sqft facility. We have added state-of-the-art equipment, from CNCs to a flatline finishing machine.
As of June of 2023, SWI employes 58 employees. SWI has created multiple jobs not only for the Osage area but Park Rapids, Menahga, and Nevis areas as well.
SWI Interiors offers custom cabinets, closet systems, millwork, doors, flooring, laminate, and solid surface countertops. We are your one stop shop when it comes to wood.
Job Openings
To apply for a position please complete the form to below and attach your resume or our employment application.
General Laborer
Customer cabinet manufacturer in Osage, MN is now hiring for a general laborer. 40+ hours per week, Mon-Fri. No experience necessary, we will train. Please click the link above to submit an application.