Co-founders Heather and John Cashman started Axiom together in 2001, the year after they were married and two years after meeting at the infamous Buckaroo Tavern in Fremont. They both knew enough about design and construction to be dangerous, and both had a passion for business and creativity.
Heather came from a construction family in Whatcom County, admiring her parents as they built a successful industrial construction firm together through hard work, dedication and her mom’s impeccable sense of style. Her grandparents were also successful entrepreneurs in construction, farming and restaurants in the Pacific Northwest, but despite her family legacy she earned her BA in journalism, moved to Seattle and started a photography business.
John grew up in the Midwest and knew since he was a toddler that he would one day be an architect. His parents still joke about his sequestered “time-outs” having little effect because he still had his Legos. A carpenter and tinkerer his whole life, John started a fence-building business with a buddy during high school and worked his way through college in carpentry.
Naturally, when the freshly-minted architect from the University of Washington met the multi-hyphenate artist and writer, the two fell in love and came up with a business that could integrate all their talents and passions: a design build firm. With a business plan, some help from Heather’s parents and a big dream, the Cashmans set off to see what they could do together.
Their first project was a renovation of a derelict Tudor on Queen Anne (rumored to have been a rental to the band Soundgarden in the early 90s). From there, they built a solid team and hundreds of projects throughout Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. John and Heather continue to grow and run Axiom while parenting two amazing kids. They love creating and collecting art*, traveling for design inspiration and being outside in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, no matter the season!