Keith Misumi, owner of Bear Flag Construction, stands in front of one of his Old Towne Orange restoration projects.  Misumi especially enjoys the craftmanship aspect of his work.

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Bear Flag Construction

As a general contractor for the last 40 years, Keith Misumi has seen and done it all.  While Misumi’s company, Bear Flag Construction, does everything from complete remodels to smaller projects, his passion is carpentry and the craftsmanship of the historic homes in Old Towne.

“I love what I do,” says Misumi, who does a lot of work in Orange.  “I like to build things. I love the creative part of it and the skill part of it, but craftsmanship is my passion. When things are hand done, you can just tell.”

Growing up in Claremont and starting out his career in Sierra Madre, Misumi learned to appreciate the craftsmanship of old homes from the beginning.

“I learned from a craftsman who built custom homes,” says Misumi.  “That contractor in Sierra Madre was Reg Tollefson.  His work was a result of creative process.”

In 2008, the recession hit and Misumi took the opportunity to found Bear Flag Construction the following year.  Bear Flag is mainly Misumi, who has a bevy of subcontractors that he has filtered through over the years—all sharing the same passion for craftmanship in their trades.

On one job in Old Towne, the customer showed Misumi a photo from the 1940s and said he wanted to restore the home to that era.  The home had been altered over the years and Misumi enjoyed the challenge

“On the front exterior, there was a porch and steps and nothing else,” he says.  “I considered the columns on the sides of the porch.  For the porch windows, I used a subcontractor who makes windows the old-school way.”

Misumi places importance on getting to know his clients and begins each job with understanding the customer’s expectations.

Orange business owner Bruce Sargeant has done half a dozen projects with Keith over the years and says his vision keeps him coming back.  “What I like about Keith is once he really understands what you want and why, he’ll get a vision of what it will be,” says Sargeant.  “When he gets like that, he goes to great lengths to make sure that he does it right.”    

“I’ve done everything from the bottom up since 1978,” says Misumi, who is booked for the rest of the year.  “I’ve done it all, so I’m qualified to supervise it all.  The passion for what I do is there.”

Bear Flag Construction  /  949-795-6812