Freedom Crate Co.

About Freedom Crate Co.

Freedom Crate Co. was built from a simple idea: make wooden ammo boxes and military-style storage crates that are stronger, more useful, and more meaningful than what is commonly available online.

The idea started with an old Cold War–era 7.62×51 ammo box that was given to me years ago. I used it to store baseball cards, but one day I looked at it and thought — why not build something like this for ammo?

After searching Etsy, eBay, and surplus listings, I kept finding the same problem: most options were either beat-up surplus, decorative display boxes, or products that looked good but were not built the way I thought they should be built.

So I built my own.

That first box eventually became the foundation for what is now Freedom Crate Co. — a small-batch, Florida-built company focused on handcrafted wooden ammo boxes, caliber crates, range boxes, military-inspired storage, and heirloom-style utility crates.

Our philosophy is simple:

Build useful things the right way. Make them durable. Make them repairable. Make them worth owning.

We build American-made products the way American-made products are supposed to be made — with better materials, stronger components, and no shortcuts hidden under the surface.

People buy American-made products because they expect them to be better. Period. They expect stronger construction, better hardware, smarter design, and a product built with pride instead of built down to the lowest possible cost.

That is the standard behind every Freedom Crate.

We use heavy-duty steel handles mounted with deep coarse-thread screws so the handles can stand up to hard use, heavy loads, and extreme conditions. We assemble our wooden box frames with SPAX structural screws because the frame itself should be just as dependable as the hardware on it.

Government-issued boxes are often designed around cost, logistics, and large-scale production. That makes sense for government contracts — but that is not how we build. Freedom Crate Co. is not trying to make the cheapest box possible. We are building boxes meant to last a lifetime.

If the box is supposed to last, the components have to last too.

Freedom Crate Co. is not built around disposable products or mass-produced shortcuts. Every crate is designed to be practical, rugged, serviceable, and meaningful — the kind of box that can sit in a closet, garage, truck, shop, or range room for decades and still do its job.

From the beginning, I wanted these crates to have real-world function: strong construction, bold labeling, practical storage, reliable hardware, and a design that feels connected to American history, military utility, and hands-on craftsmanship.

I also believe value matters. These boxes are built to be better than the low-quality alternatives, but still priced as fairly as possible. I am not chasing high margins. I am building something I believe in.

Freedom Crate Co. continues to grow through constant improvement — from better hardware and stronger joinery to protective coatings, interior upgrades, caliber-specific layouts, and new crate designs.

I am always working to improve the build, the finish, the durability, and the function. Every version teaches me something. Every crate that leaves the shop carries that progress forward.

The goal has never changed:

Storage that is strong, useful, honest, and built to last.

The Founder & The Tauriello Name

Freedom Crate Co. was founded by Steven Tauriello — a craftsman, woodworker, creator, and the builder behind every Freedom Crate product.

I was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. My father served in the United States Navy, so my family moved often throughout my childhood. Eventually, we settled in Martinsville, Indiana, where I spent most of my teenage years. In 2015, my family and I moved to Florida, where Freedom Crate Co. is built today.

That background shaped the way I see work, service, durability, and responsibility. Growing up around a military family gave me a respect for practical things — things that are useful, organized, reliable, and built with purpose.

I have always built things with my hands — blanket chests, desks, bookshelves, storage pieces, and eventually the wooden ammo boxes that became Freedom Crate Co. Truthfully, I have always had a thing for boxes.

That is why designing ammo storage crates came naturally. They combine the things I care about most: function, history, craftsmanship, durability, and purpose.

But the creative side of Freedom Crate Co. reaches deeper than one shop, one product, or one generation.

The Tauriello family name carries a long artistic and musical heritage. A family genealogy report traced what appears to be a remarkable multi-generational creative line connected to artists, musicians, makers, and craftsmen — a history that helps explain why building, designing, and creating have always felt natural.

Steven is the son of Richard Michael Tauriello and the grandson of Michael “Mike” Tauriello, a highly respected visual artist. The family’s artistic legacy also includes Steven’s great-uncle, Frank Michael Tauriello, a fine arts professor at Syracuse University, Board Member Emeritus of the American Society of Portrait Artists, and a celebrated Western and portrait painter.

That creative inheritance was not limited to visual art. Music has also been part of the Tauriello family story. Before building Freedom Crate Co., Steven was a drummer for the band The Undesirables, and he continues to enjoy music through instruments like the ukulele and guitar.

That musical thread also runs through his uncle, Gregg Tauriello, an Arizona-based recording artist, songwriter, guitarist, and audio engineer behind Sweet 16 Recording Studio in Cornville, Arizona.

Today, that creative line continues with Steven’s daughter, Kalli Tauriello, the young artist and founder of Kalli Creates, where she shares and sells her own artwork.

From fine art and music to woodworking, product design, digital creation, and handmade craftsmanship, the Tauriello name has remained connected to something meaningful.

For Steven, Freedom Crate Co. is part of that same family tradition — carrying the creative torch forward through rugged, useful, American-made products.

Every crate Steven builds is signed with his name. Not just as a business owner, but as a craftsman.

These are not anonymous factory products. They are designed, cut, assembled, finished, improved, and shipped by a real person with a real family name behind the work.

To Steven, the Tauriello name represents more than ancestry. It represents creativity, responsibility, craftsmanship, and the desire to build things that can outlast the moment they were made in.

That is what Freedom Crate Co. is about:

Family. Craftsmanship. Purpose. Legacy.

Steven Tauriello • Founder • Craftsman • Woodworker • Creator

Yes — this is the same Steven Tauriello from The Steven Tauriello Show.

The History of the Tauriello Name

Freedom Crate Co. is part of a larger family story — one connected to art, music, craftsmanship, design, and the act of making things with care. A genealogy report on the Tauriello family name traced what appears to be a multi-generational history connected to artists, musicians, makers, and craftsmen.

From fine art and portrait painting to recording studios, woodworking, digital creation, and now a new generation of young artists, the Tauriello name continues to carry that history forward.

Partners & Resources

For collectors and reenactors seeking true MIL-spec replica ammo boxes, visit Waffenkiste.com — handcrafted by Robert, a master builder devoted to preserving original military designs and standards.

Freedom Crate Co. proudly supports fellow craftsmen who share our dedication to authenticity and precision.

We’re honored to feature his work alongside ours as a trusted source for authentic military-style replicas.