Tulip Hardwood Floors was founded in 1986 by Avi  Atid. After pursuing intensive studies in Zen Buddhism through the San  Francisco Zen Center, Avi decided to start a wood flooring business as a means to  supporting his new-born son. What started as a way to make ends-meet soon  became a life-long pursuit. Having developed a passion for Japanese  wood-working while living at the Buddhist Monastery in Tassajara, Avi found  wood flooring to require an exacting measure of Old World craftsmanship that  was absent from most contemporary trades.

With just one van and three employees, Avi  discovered that the quality of wood flooring work throughout the trade was very  unreliable. He made it his priority to ensure that every job Tulip completed  was at or above his demanding standards. Word spread, and soon Tulip had an  office, a warehouse, a designer showroom, and a fleet of trucks. Despite the  company growing in size, Avi and his wife are deeply  involved in the day-to-day operations by visiting jobs regularly, as well as  training a new generation of wood flooring craftsmen to carry on a tradition  that is in its third decade.