Meet Craig

Craig Russell, originally from the Black Country region of England, met his wife, Kimberly, a Cincinnati native, in Munich at Oktoberfest where he was having a lads’ weekend. After dating across the pond for 18 months, Craig decided to leave his native England. He sold his business, and the rest, as they say, is history.

In Cincinnati, Craig started his business from the ground up. Having previously worked in high- end construction after completing a plastering apprenticeship in England, he made the natural decision to start his own handyman service. Building trust and relationships with clients, Craig quickly became known around the community as The English Handyman. Word soon spread throughout the local area of his abilities and skills and The English Handyman evolved into The English Contractor & Remodeling Services, LLC, where he currently leads a crew of 36 employees.

In his experiences stateside, Craig has found that the trades in the United States do not share the same revered status as they do in England. In addition to growing his company, Craig is very keen to kick-start apprenticeships and train young craftspeople, in hopes of boosting the appreciation and recognition of the trades.

Outside of work, Craig’s passion is rugby. He played for 26 years and currently is a volunteer coach for two teams. He was instrumental in forming a high school girls’ team which won the state championship twice within his first two years as coach.

Craig, Kimberly, an award-winning OB/GYN, and their two children live in Terrace Park, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. Their dogs, Munich, an English Bull Terrier, and Ocho, a Shih-Tzu/Poodle mix, round out this English-American family. Craig has two daughters who remain in England and visit as frequently as they can. The family makes a concerted effort to sit down every night for a family dinner. While the weeknight fare varies from take-out Thai food to home-made meals prepared from the garden, the weekends revolve around a traditional “British Sunday Roast Dinner.” They remain on the hunt for a local restaurant that can rival the curry found in England.

Throughout it all, Craig has never lost sight of his English roots. He and his staff, several of whom are English themselves, go through many boxes of tea a month, and often march down to the local bar whenever English National teams are playing. Whatever comes next, it’s clear that this English bulldog is more than up to the task.