Broom Maker Matthew Snyder has descended from a long line of businessmen and craftsman.
Dating back to 1896 when his Great–Grandfather Henry and Great-Uncle John opened “Dodge and Snyder”, a lead paint store in Utica, New York. Following in their entrepreneurial footsteps, were Matt’s grandparents, George and Ann, who started woodworking and crafting in the early 70’s. This would eventually lead to the establishment of Snyder’s Handmade Brooms in the late 70’s. By the early 80’s Matt’s father Tim had taken up woodworking and started his own furniture and restoration company in Littleton New Hampshire.
“I remember as a kid my favorite place to be was my grandparents broom shop in New Hartford. The smell of broom corn, the clanking sounds of the antique broom equipment, the feel of my grandfather’s hammer in my hand and the frequent happy customers are all memories that still sit deep in me today.”, – Matt.
Matt’s grandparents stopped doing craft shows in 2017. They were still making brooms but at a limited capacity. For Matt this was a sad time knowing that Snyder’s Brooms would eventually cease to exist. In 2018 he started buying and collecting their brooms. For him this was his family’s legacy, their art, and pieces of broom history. In 2019 Matt’s collection had reached over 100 brooms! He decided that these works of art didn’t belong in a storage unit anymore. He wanted to share them with the local community of Saratoga which he had grown to love. In 2020 he began selling at the Spa City’s Farmers Market and after his first show seeing the energy, joy and positivity that the brooms created he knew in his heart that he had to continue Snyder’s Brooms. When the season was over Snyder’s Brooms of Saratoga was born.