Steve was born in 1969 in New Haven, Connecticut. His first toy was a Fisher Price tool set.
He grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, building backyard forts, fixing things, and working summers in construction and at a local hardware store.
In 1987 he graduated from Bloomington High School South where he won awards in physics for building toothpick bridges and paper airplanes.
Steve attended Indiana University in Bloomington from which he graduated with a degree in Fine Arts. He spent much of his time working with wood and metal, which he still loves to do today.
While in college he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. He served as house manager for two years, fixing and caring for a house with over a hundred live-in members.
After graduation he started building his first home. With some blind faith displayed by his mother and father and with a large textbook on construction, he built--with his own hands--a vacation home for his parents on their 80 acres of land in rural Greene County, Indiana.
Once the project was completed, he moved to Breckenridge, Colorado, where he worked and played in the mountains. After a bit, he decided to return home to pursue a career in homebuilding. Even today, a big part of his heart remains in those mountains.
Back in Indiana, Steve took a job with an Indianapolis-based homebuilder with whom he spent the next five years producing homes on a mass scale. During that time he made a name for himself by running a "tight ship," expecting dedication to details and hard work from not only himself but his subcontractors. He gained much respect and climbed the ladder within the company. Those years exposed him to the good, the bad, and the ugly within the building industry. Overworked and underpaid, Steve decided to take a year off and travel the United States. He lived in a tent, moving from one national park to the next, while also working on a business plan. The solitude gave him perspective on life and work. As an added bonus, he met his wife Jackie in the process!
When he returned home to Indianapolis, he had a fresh outlook and was determined to start his own business. He ran Stein Enterprises, Inc. successfully for five years, doing mainly hands-on remodeling.
Still wanting more, he decided to persuade good friend and past co-worker, Ken McLaren, to leave his secure job and join him in building custom homes. Ken accepted the challenge, and Blue Door Builders was born. Having the same work ethic and dedication with his new venture, Steve was quickly awarded the nickname "Pickie" by his subcontractors.
Blue Door Builders has been Steve's passion for the past nine years. Building custom homes and working hard on large and small remodeling projects keeps him happy. Working with his hands to create and build continues to drive him both on the job and at home. His home workshop is a far cry from his original Fishers Price tool set, but he enjoys the high-tech versions just the same.
When he is not at work, Steve spends his time with his greatest love: his family. His most important and rewarding job is raising his two wonderful girls with his wife, Jackie. He claims they are the best things he has ever had a hand in creating, even though they are not made out of wood!
