The Wren & Willow Story
Wren & Willow's story begins in a small village in Sicily, Catolica Eraclea, where the Miliziano family owned and operated a brick and tile company and where Giuseppe Miliziano trained to be a stone mason. With a decision to pursue the American dream, he immigrated to the U.S. to become a brick mason in New York during the Great Depression. Though he could not speak a word of English, he persevered and served as a great example of perseverance to his family.
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In 2006, 85 years after Giuseppe Miliziano first set foot in America, his granddaughter Laureen Skrivan had a vision. As is often the case with our favorite stories, this story started as just a seed. Laureen's passion was to help her clients make their homes beautiful. Inspired by the designs of the 19th century designer William Morris, she created Wren & Willow Interior Design Company.
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Giuseppe Miliziano circa 1930
Laureen and Bentley in front of the first Wren & Willow office in 2008
After two years of focusing on interior design, Laureen realized she could do so much more for her clients by not only providing a beautiful design for their homes, but helping them restore and remodel their homes. She acquired a general contractor's license, hired Cliff Kendall as a Project Manager, and renamed the company Wren & Willow, Inc.
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Wren & Willow, Inc. opened its doors in 2008 to the new office space in the Proctor District in North Tacoma. With two employees, Laureen serving as President, General Contractor, and Interior Designer, and Cliff serving as Project Manager, Wren & Willow became known for high-end kitchen, bathroom, and whole-house remodels.
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An active member of both the Proctor District Business Association and the Master Builder's Association of Pierce County, Laureen and Wren & Willow received the notice of many other design and remodel professionals. Not only was the company producing award-winning work, but Laureen was among a very few woman general contractors in the area and was elected the first woman Remodeler's Chairman in 2010.
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The company continued to grow, and it became apparent that Wren & Willow had outgrown its office space. In 2011, the company purchased a commercial building on North Pearl Street that was built in 1917. Laureen saw the building's potential and designed the building to restore it to its original 1917 look and feel, which included using reclaimed wood throughout the building, while giving it a modern touch which included commercial kitchen appliances and a state-of-the-art sound and lighting system. The building took two years to complete, and Wren & Willow moved into the restored building in March 2013. The Wren & Willow office building won the MBA award for Best Commercial Project in Pierce County, the State of Washington, and the Western Region of the United States as well as Best Design through the national Design Professional's Award.
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Wren & Willow continued to grow at a rapid pace. The company grew from two employees to 18 in just a few short years. Laureen's reputation among her peers grew, and in 2014, she was elected to the highest position of the Master Builder's Association of Pierce County as the first woman President in its 69-year history. The company started two new divisions in addition to Interior Design and Remodeling with a Custom Home division and a Tenant Improvement division. As a family-oriented company, Wren & Willow has continued to look for ways to
Three Wren & Willow employees in front of the new office building.
engage with the community around them, serve their clients, and build a community within the company. Guiseppe Miliziano's great-great-grandson, Ezra, dreams of someday becoming Wren & Willow's 2nd president.
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We are convinced that Guiseppe would be very proud that his granddaughter has carried on his dream and perseverance and used tenacity and courage to help others create their American dream of owning a home they can be proud of.