Creating Memories One Sea Chest at a Time

When a heart attack 22 years ago put an end to a career in construction, J. Paul Lanza (known as Paul) wasn’t sure what was going to be next.

It was when his daughter, Sara, asked him to make her a coffee table with some storage that the next chapter of his working life began. He made her a sea chest.

Today, Lanza has made more than 1,000 sea chests — 1,059 to be exact and he has four photos albums with pictures of every one. His company, Cottage Furniture, Ltd., is housed in his three-car garage/studio.

“It’s never had a car in it,” he said one day as he showed off some of his works in progress.

A Navy man (he served from 1956-1958), one of his first ideas was to put an advertisement in some of the Naval magazines (this is before the internet became the place to advertise). That has produced steady work for him. Many of the chests are given as honorarium. He also was given permission to use various seals, badges and other symbols on the chests.

More than 50 admirals have one of his chests, he said.

His sea chests, which are all the same size (20 x 20 x 36), are given as wedding gifts, used as toy chests (with a child-safe close), and given as gifts to graduates. He has nine different models, some with dovetail joints, with 10 different color options (some stains are used). The chests have handles and are stenciled (letters/numbers). Prices range from $240-$540.

In the garage was a chest he was working on for a Saint Xavier High School, (Louisville, KY), student.

“I get busy around graduation time,” he said. “I’m in all 50 states.”

He said one chest was sent a town so remote in Alaska that he had to sign a waiver stating he understood he was paying for overnight delivery but the deliveries to this town were only made once every two weeks.

“I very rarely get to meet my customers,” said Lanza.

He may not meet many customer, but he has learned an awful lot about some of them and even more about the Navy.

Woodworking is something he grew up around. Born in Southbridge, MA, his father did some work at Sturbridge Village when it was being built.

“I played there,” said the 75-year-old.

Lanza’s company, Lanza Construction, completed all sort of construction projects — many on Cape Cod — but one in particular stands out: the John F. Kennedy Memorial in Hyannis, MA.

In his East Weatogue home he has a photograph of himself and a few other workers affixing the seal on the field-stone monument, which was built in 1966. There is also a recent painting of the same subject above his fireplace.

In addition to working on the chests, he makes one or two a week, but during busy times will make three or four per week, Lanza spends time with his wife, and likes to golf (he also make golf clubs). The father of five has 15 grandchildren, one of whom (now 16) started helping Lanza with his computer at the age of 5.  

Lanza has no plans to retire and in fact is finding new ways to become active. He recently partnered with Deputy First Selectman John Hampton to hold a food drive for the town’s food pantry and also built a box that could be placed at for food collection.

There is a baseball motif to the collection box as he painted it Green Monster green (think Red Sox) and included a score board on the front. On this day the count was 33 bags of groceries collected.

“I’ll never retire,” he said.

To see some of the chests go to www.seachests.com. You can email Lanza at jpaul@seachests.com.