Chicago Chair Company Mesh office chair is constructed with a metal frame and a breathable mesh back.Mesh chair features instant lift seat height adjustment and a locking swivel/tilt mechanism. Chrome accents on arms and base hightlight the contemporary styling.Ships ready to assemble.
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As a consumer, Jason Salavon has had the experience of putting together the sleek, affordable furniture of popular retailer Ikea. As an artist, he decided he’d rather break the Scandinavian company down.

Salavon created a collection of works inspired by the global home furnishings chain whose typically mammoth blue and gold stores offer everything from build-it-yourself sofas to plates of Swedish meatballs.

The influence isn’t always obvious. One of the centerpieces of Salavon’s exhibition at the Columbus Museum of Art is a softbound booklet with nothing more than blocks of colors arranged in different patterns on each of its 374 pages. Read more »

Over the 32 years that Frank Moll has worked at Tropitone Furniture Co. Inc., he has witnessed the evolution of his company as its market and the society has changed.

The company once made five lines of patio furniture. It now offers more than 450 different lines and its workforce has gone from mostly white and English-speaking to a variety of colors and languages, said Moll, 53, of Sarasota, who is now a tooling supervisor.

And now, instead of accomplishing every chore by hand, computers help employees to design and manufacture high-end outdoor furniture.

“It grew from a family business to a professional organization,” said Larry Saylor, plant manager, during a tour recently at the 246,000-square-foot facility at 1401 Commerce Blvd.

The company, with 250 employees here and more than 300 in California, generates more than $100 million in annual revenues, said Saylor.

The company was co-founded in 1954 by Bert Baker Sr., an aeronautical engineer originally from Grand Rapids, Mich., who was attempting to retire here. But instead, he launched the Sarasota Redwood Funiture Co. in a former military barracks at SRQ. Baker was among the first to use aluminum to build patio furniture.

“He was definitely the pioneer in that,” said Michael Soncek, the company’s engineering manager.

Baker, and later his family members, ran the business for 53 years. Last year, the family sold the company, including two Florida plants and two California ones, to the private equity firm Pfingsten Partners LLC, headquartered in Chicago.

About half of its sales are to retailers. The other half are to contract buyers such as Walt Disney World Resort, Princess Cruises or the Marriott Corp. hotel chain, said Saylor.

A typical Tropitone table and chair group sells for $1,000 and up. The company also makes chaise lounges, double gliders, recliners, ottomans and umbrellas. It offers customers more than 300 possible fabrics and 400 different frames.

“You can get our products with a wide variety of fabrics and finishes,” said Soncek. “We’re a volume manufacturer but the key is, we give the customer many choices.”

Sara Kennedy, , Bradenton Herald business reporter, can be reached at (941) 748-0411, ext. 4500.

About Tropitone

Founded: 1954

Employees: About 250 in Florida, more than 300 elsewhere

Keys to success: Wide selection and high-quality products

Earnings: More than $100 million annual revenues.

This April, the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show & Conference (K/BIS®) is blowing through the “windy city, ” bringing with it the latest and greatest in kitchen and bath products and information. Owned by the most authoritative voice in the kitchen and bath industry for more than 40 years, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), and produced by Nielsen Business Media, K/BIS returns to Chicago’s McCormick Place, April 10-13, 2008.

As the world’s largest international trade show event dedicated to the kitchen and bath industry, K/BIS sets the tone for the industry. With innovative product launches, emerging trends, cutting-edge information, and the largest gathering of kitchen and bath professionals and manufacturers worldwide, there’s something for everyone on the show floor. Read more »

It appears the 20 Wickes Furniture stores in the Chicago area may have a short future.

The Wheeling-based Wickes Furniture Co. announced Tuesday it has abandoned hopes of reorganization and agreed to put itself on the bankruptcy auction block before the end of the month, according to court papers.

Citing ”operating losses and liquidity concerns,” Wickes said Monday it would seek bankruptcy court approval to sell all its assets by Feb. 29.

The company said it would be sold either as an operating business or piecemeal in a liquidation.

Wickes Furniture stores are currently selling merchandise in the store and in the warehouse, but taking only credit-card payments. Back orders may be subject to a refund. Merchandise was still being delivered and serviced on Tuesday, a service representative said. Read more »

At Amish Furniture Gallery’s new 16,000 square foot store in Batavia, store manager Brian Zerm told me there are 61 different styles of tables on display. One in particular caught my eye: a tabletop of cherry wood with hickory log legs. The matching chairs had cherry wood seats and hickory log chair backs and legs. It was gorgeous, rustic, and heavy. “Here, lift one. See how it dents the carpet,” said Zerm.

“People are surprised when they come into the store for the first time,” said Zerm. “Many people think we have only rustic and country. But we have Shaker, Mission, Arts/crafts and contemporary styling as well. People tell me they’ve been looking for a dining room set for two years. They come in here and find two or three right off. For just a little more than something made in China, people can have heirloom quality. It’ll last forever.” Read more »

Craftmade International, Inc, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Woodard, LLC and CC Industries to acquire substantially all of the assets of Woodard, LLC, a leading Chicago-based designer, manufacturer and distributor of a broad line of outdoor furniture products and related accessories. Craftmade designs and distributes ceiling fans, lighting products, decorative light bulbs, door chimes, ventilation systems and related accessories.

James R. Ridings, Craftmade’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We continue to look for ways to diversify our strong product offering and be less reliant on new home construction while leveraging our core marketing and distribution competencies. The Woodard acquisition will be a strategic addition to our fast-growing outdoor product lines, and will allow us entry into the growing hospitality market, expand our retail customer base, and add a new independent distribution channel. Read more »

December promises to be a big month for 20th-century furniture and decorative arts at fairs, auctions, exhibitions and events around the country. There is even a floating art gallery involved.

Twentieth-century work will be featured on the SeaFair, a new, 228-foot, $40 million yacht designed to accommodate 26 art and antiques galleries from all over the world. The ship is docked at the Miami Beach Marina today through Dec. 9, with its own alternative to Art Basel Miami Beach. (Information on the yacht: expoships.com).

In New York, Antiques & Art at the Armory, a fair at the Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street, continues through Monday. At least six dealers are showing 20th-century works, including Jacques de Vos from Paris (specializing in Art Deco) and Jeffrey F. Purtell (vintage Steuben glass).

In from California, the Santa Barbara gallery Europa is displaying a red leather PK20 chair by the Danish architect Poul Kjaerholm (1929-1980), who is the subject of a new book: “The Furniture of Poul Kjaerholm: Catalogue Raisonné” (Gregory R. Miller & Company), by Michael Sheridan, an American architect and authority on Kjaerholm. While Fritz Hansen continues to manufacture Kjaerholm designs in Denmark, vintage pieces are more popular than ever. There will be two exhibitions on Kjaerholm, both opening on Dec. 15 in New York, at R 20th Century (82 Franklin Street in TriBeCa) and Sean Kelly Gallery (528 West 29th Street in Chelsea). Read more »

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