Our Team

Together Everyone Achieves More

More friendly service + More creativity + More abilities + More attention to detail + More quality workmanship + More project management = More client satisfaction!

Great communication between our project planning team and our installation team ensures that your project is completed on time, on budget and as expected.

Each one of us comes with our own strengths and expertise, but more importantly, with our own passion and love for what we do.

Joe Lawson, Owner

Excelling in trade school, a compassionate high school teacher helped Joe choose his future career by drawing a simple comparison chart on the black board. Those few moments over four decades ago steered him to an apprenticeship program with George Brown College in Toronto, and his passion for the trade, and the satisfaction of a good day’s work stirred him to start out on his own. Having grown from a sole proprietorship in 1988 to an incorporated team, Joe is proud of our team that works together to bring our client’s vision to life. Evenings and weekends, Joe will be found in his own kitchen cooking creating tasty dishes for family and friends alike.

Kim Lawson, Owner

Academics was Kim’s course of study, and after marrying a carpenter starting his own business, she was able to use those skills to help him build the business. Practical experience working with clients and seeing their growing need for project design and product choices, she was willing to learn and take the opportunity to take on a showroom and design team. Kim’s greatest satisfaction comes knowing that together, with a great design and installation team to work with, along with trusted suppliers of products and services, clients can rest assured that the investment they have made in their homes will not only look great but will serve their families for years to come. Kim loves everything that comes with being a grandmother and embraces the moments she can be outdoors walking the trails, boating, or planning a getaway with family or friends.

Mark Shearer, Project Designer

Mark's childhood was spent in the North Delta area of Vancouver, British Columbia. When graduating highschool he was awarded "1st Overall Proficiency" and he carried on his learning at Fanshawe College earning his diploma in General Arts & Sciences. Starting primarily in kitchen design in 2004, Mark has welcomed the opportunity to continue learning about other aspects of the renovation business. Not afraid of getting dirty, unloading trucks and climbing the ladders, Mark is often out on the road measuring and designing windows and door systems to suit our clients’ needs. He has enjoyed working on projects requiring additions and new construction projects for in-house clients or other local builders and contractors. Mark is always ready to step up to the demands of the job, and his dedication and experience delivered in a straight forward manner is so appreciated by clients and builders alike, and in that, he loves to be a part of the process seeing his clients' renovations come to life. Mark loves fishing and camping no matter the season, and taking his fine crafted home-built canoe out on the lake as often as he can.

Thara Kapitan, Project Designer

Thara grew up in Toronto and later moved to the Markham area. Growing up, she had a huge passion for design and colour and knew from a young age that she wanted to go into the arts. After taking an architecture course in high school she decided to follow a career path in the field of Architecture and Interior Design. She says that the ability to create something out of nothing was fascinating and motivating to her. While studying at Ryerson University's Interior Design School, Thara worked with firms that specialized in commercial design, however she felt a pull towards more residential design. After graduating, she enjoyed working in the residential sector on a wide variety of job sites including new-build homes, subdivisions and cottages, still with some commercial projects such as restaurants, markets, offices and city projects in the mix. Thara designs renovated spaces to be a true reflection of her clients. She says, "What makes working at Lawson's beautiful is that we all make sure that our customers are leaving with a positive experience. That to me, is what makes my job fun and worth going into everyday." Thara's love for the arts extends far beyond the workday as she enjoys baking/cooking, painting, space astronomy, photography. She has also opened up her own small business specializing in earrings and fine jewelry that she hopes will bring beauty and joy to others.

Marie Snetsinger, Project Designer

Brechin, Ontario is where Marie called home growing up. She has always had a love for designing, and after high school, she attended Georgian College for an interior decorating program before beginning her career as a kitchen designer. Marie enjoys the opportunity she has with our team to work on more diverse aspects of the renovation process where each job is special and unique. In particular, she loves to see how the design-stage computer drawings, in combination with the material selections from the showroom, come to life in our clients' homes. Marie is an animal lover who enjoys walking her dog, Jesper, and spending time with her miniature pony, Nutmeg, as well as her 5 chickens. She enjoys horseback riding as well as gardening.

Hailey Stroud, Project Manager

Hailey grew up right here in Uxbridge, and after graduating high school, she obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Forensic Psychology. After deciding that the criminology route wasn't the career path she wanted to take, she redirected her studies to Human Resources and earned her Graduate Certificate in HR. Hailey has gained a lot of experience working in customer service throughout her schooling years. She has found her role as our Project Manager to be the ideal way to merge her education and training with her love for people as she has the opportunity to develop relationships and support our team and clients. Hailey's happy place is at the barn with her horse, Henry, whether they are walking, trotting, cantering, jumping, or just enjoying the fresh air.

Mat Testa, Red Seal Certified Carpenter

Mat is a born-and-raised Uxbridge native who started with our team as a co-op student in high school. Mat continued to work with us as an apprentice, and later earned his Red Seal in General Carpentry. Mat’s hard work, loyalty and dedication is shown through his wonderful craftsmanship and attention to detail. Mat’s attitude and quality of work speaks volumes about who he is and how he loves what he does, and he says that his favourite part of his job is seeing a project's before-and-after transformation. Apart from Carpentry, Mat enjoys using his hands "wrenching" and working on trucks as well as a laid back game of golf.

Brad Jones, Red Seal Certified Carpenter

Originally from Newmarket, Brad's family grew up with mutual friends of ours in the Uxbridge area that eventually connected him with us after he began his Carpentry Trade School Apprenticeship. Brad has been with us long since graduating with his Red Seal Certificate and both his desire to learn and his great communication skills have been an asset to our team and to our clients alike. Brad says that he really enjoys building relationships with our clients and is an excellent teacher/mentor to our apprentices. Outside of work Brad enjoys playing in a men's baseball league and keeps up with both Major Hockey and Baseball news throughout the year.

Greg Heath, Carpentry Apprentice

Greg grew up in Brampton, Ontario and later moved with his family to Moncton, New Brunswick before starting highschool. After beginning Trade School, his first job experience was in concrete forming before moving on to general contracting. Greg is enjoying the wider variety of work that he's learning to do with Lawson Home Improvements as he continues through his Carpentry Apprenticeship to earn his Red Seal Certificate. He says that he loves getting to be a part of bringing our customer's vision of their renovated space to life. Greg is a self-proclaimed "man of many hobbies" and in particular he enjoys golf, hockey & water sports.

Mathew Rubie, Carpentry Apprentice

Mathew's family lived in Scarborough through his childhood before they moved to Uxbridge when Mat was in highschool. Before graduating, he took on a high school co-op course under the mentorship of Paul Fraser of Windcrest Electrical Contracting, which brought Mat onto many Lawson Home Improvements projects and job sites. Working alongside each other was the introduction to us and now Mat has begun his Carpentry Apprenticeship for Red Seal Certification. His favourite aspects of the job involve the variety of projects we do and learning something new everyday. When he has time away Mat loves spending time outdoors at his trailer and hunting.

Sophia Py, Carpentry Apprentice

Sophia grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Competing as a professional rowing athlete for several years opened doors for Sophia to earn her BA in the US and Brazil. Discovering that she liked to create and work with her hands, upon moving to Canada, she began working for a small company in Millbrook as a carpenter’s apprentice and then joined the Lawson team. Her favorite part of being a carpenter is seeing the transformation and positive impact that our work has on our client’s lives. Sophia loves to be involved in the community and she serves as a volunteer firefighter in Brock Township. In her downtime, she loves to run, go for walks with her dog and watch movies.

Donna Baines, Administrative Assistant

Donna grew up on a dairy farm in the Markham area. Besides having studied at Fanshawe and Seneca Colleges, she gained experience at her varied administrative and accounting positions working for Christian Charity organizations over the years. Donna appreciates working in a support role for a trusted local professional team who do their work with care and ethics. Having once considered entering into the world of Interior Decorating, she finds working with the Lawson team her perfect work environment as she is surrounded by creative people who design pleasing surroundings for their clients. One of Donna’s favorite things to do is to spend time with her grandchildren and their parents. She loves being in nature, especially being by the water.

Brittany Jones, Project Designer Support

Brittany has enjoyed being involved in the family business ever since her first job as a pre-teen cleaning and organizing the showroom and offices. She remembers dinner table chats about renovations and visiting dad (Joe) on jobsites with mom (Kim) as she grew up. You could say that she came by her love for design and renovation honestly. After completing her post-secondary education, Brittany took on the Project Manager role where she learned the important practical ins and outs of the business, and later began working in Project Design as well. As the business grew, she moved into full-time design work with our local renovation clients as well as with our builders' clients. Brittany is currently on maternity leave yet she continues to work on special projects and provides support to our design team.