It’s a modest goal Lauren Russell has set for herself and her family’s handcrafted furniture business.
“One day I want Russell and Mackenna to be to Severna Park what L.L. Bean is to Portland, (Maine),” she said. “It’s a great little town.”

From Lauren Russell and her husband Kevin’s Severna Park garage three years ago, the couple has grown a multimillion-dollar custom cottage-style furniture firm, Russell and Mackenna, with 30 dealers up and down the East Coast.

This summer the factory doubled its space by moving to a 6,000-square-foot production facility in Jessup, and the Russells opened their first showroom in Severna Park, which is already outselling the other licensed dealers.

The burgeoning furniture empire was born of vanity. Or at least one vanity. Read more »

A construction project at a popular downtown Clarion business is nearing completion after an extended work schedule due to the discovery of severe building deterioration.

Faller’s Better Furniture store owner Greg Faller and Clarion contractor Charles Deitz attended Tuesday’s Clarion Borough Council meeting.

Deitz, of Deitz Sandblasting and Contracting, said they heard that questions had been raised about the work.

Mayor John Stroup said he had been concerned about safety in the area with the sidewalks and busy crosswalks.

Deitz has been using special equipment to reach the second story of the building.

The store has been open throughout construction, which began about a month ago. Read more »

OstermanCron (www.ostermancron.com), a premier office furniture dealer, has moved into new facilities in Blue Ash, Ohio. The 12,000 square foot showroom is almost four times larger than the company’s previous location.

Steady growth prompted the company’s move. “We have been searching for a new location to accommodate our needs for over two years,” commented Keith Cron, co-founder and partner at OstermanCron. “We ultimately selected the new building for its open showroom space with 20-foot ceilings and natural light, and its convenient location. The larger space will enable our clients to see a much broader range of office furniture options as well as allow OstermanCron to accommodate a growing employee base.”

The new showroom features private offices, conference rooms, workstations, reception, and hospitality areas, as well as a healthcare furniture suite that showcases furniture selections designed specifically for medical facilities. In addition, OstermanCron continues its emphasis on creating healthy workplace environments with ergonomic and eco-friendly or “green” office furniture options. Read more »

With a 1-year-old daughter and a new business, Ilene Saunders had a big decision to make when her husband, Joe, died in 1959: Run the furniture store in Crystal by herself or sell it.

The support of Crystal’s business community and her own drive to see the business succeed led her to not only keep Crystal Furniture Co., but expand it until it closed in 1984.

She died July 18 in Rochester, Minn., at age 84.

Ilene and Joe Saunders started Crystal Furniture Co. in 1951, while Ilene was still teaching third grade in the Robbinsdale School District. They quickly became leaders in the young suburb’s burgeoning business community.

Saunders’ daughter, Kate Zabertini of Rochester, said her mother had been so involved with the store from the beginning that she decided “she would just go for it” when her husband died. Read more »

Local furniture retailer Harry Gregorie got a bird’s-eye view of Summerville’s explosive growth during a recent small-plane trip over the area.

During the flight, he said he was struck by the vast number of new homes and neighborhoods cropping up around the town. “It’s just unbelievable,” said Gregorie, president of Charleston-based GDC Home.

The upscale home-furnishings company is hoping to tap into that residential boom, targeting Summerville for its fourth area location.

GDC plans to open a store this fall in North Main Market, located off U.S. Highway 17-A, also known as North Main Street and one of the town’s main shopping drags. The complex is anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter, a Lowe’s home-improvement warehouse and a Belk department store, and is across the street from the Azalea Square Shopping Center, home to a number of big-box stores. Read more »

Positioning the two international furniture shows in the country under one brand will not only enable industry players to earn, it will also help organizers save on advertising cost.

The Philippines’ major furniture shows, Manila Now and Cebu X, attract buyers from different parts of the world with aggressive advertising campaigns.

“But we advertise separately. Cebu X may spend not less than P3 million. We spend P4 million,” said Eduardo G. Zuluaga, Azcor Lighting Systems executive vice president.

Manila Now is the major platform of the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines, Inc. (CFIP) in promoting Philippine furniture and furnishings industry to the global market. Cebu X, on the other hand, is a showcase of Cebu furniture organized by the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation, Inc. (CFIF). Read more »