This episode is with Kwadwo Som-Pimpong, owner of the furniture company Crafted Glory.

If you want to hear the full story behind how Crafted Glory got started - Check out the show archives - episode 135

Get ready for one of the most wild journeys I’ve ever heard a piece of furniture go on. And I really mean that. Who would have guessed that one extra long screw could turn into such an adventure. We have upset clients, shipping nightmares, car trips, planes, forklifts, this story has the works. But besides all the stress and pain this story takes, it also helped to cement the Crafted Glory ethos for the future.

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Kwadwo is the definition of balancing 2 full time jobs - working for someone else as an engineer by night, and by day, he, his wife, and their employee spend their time building furniture. 

As the years have passed, what started as a small goods Etsy company back in 2017 has now turned into a furniture business with a strong foundation that is growing year after year. 

Follow along as we talk about the good and bad of Etsy, laying groundwork for a business' future, understating your pricing value, and much more.

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This episode is with Bryan Ortquist Owner of the furniture company Old Mountain Woodworking

If you want to hear the full story behind how Old Mountain Woodworking got started, check out the show archives - episode 133

Bryan is a student of woodworking, and he has a lot of rules in the shop when building pieces - you have to be when you build the giant tables that he does. But his biggest rule actually came from one of his smaller tables, and it wasn’t even really wood related. It came about because of a table top that no matter what he tried wouldn’t stain evenly. 

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With his hands in so many different parts of the industry - furniture making, cnc work, wood milling, lumber drying, exotic imports, teaching classes, and more - Bryan has to make sure his foundation in each of these practices is solid enough that he can take on clients in any part of his business and it won’t cause issues with the rest of the parts running smoothly. So how does he do it?

Follow along as we talk about reaching out to community competition mindset vs creative mindset, working together with your spouse and much more.

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This episode is with Ashley Pieper, owner of the furniture company Shallow Creek Woodcraft.

If you want to hear the full story behind how Shallow Creek Woodcraft got started, check out the show archives - episode 131

Stress from a project is easy to see when it comes from outside influences like - materials, clients, timelines, or disasters that you never see coming. But there is also the internal stress that is less easy to quantify, but is still a major stumbling block for a projects completion.

In this episode, Ashley talks about when the success of refinishing a table had less to do with what it actually looked like, and more to do with how she felt about it.

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In an industry that is leaning further and further into technology, Ashley is building her furniture business in more of a traditional way. Learning hand tool skills over machine inputs, gathering knowledge more from books than social media videos, and spending carefully considered time on her furniture rather than working towards the need it yesterday culture that many of today’s production falls into. 

So Follow along as we talk about going to furniture school later in life, what you can learn from books, different perspectives in the trades and much more.

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This episode is with Jack Cerchiara, PhD owner of the furniture company Salish Sea Woodworks

If you want to hear the full story behind how Salish Sea Woodworks got started, check out the show archives - episode 129

I don’t want to ruin the story here by giving too much away at the start, but lets just say that epoxy cleanups are hard when they are in your shop...and Jack learned that they are even harder in a client's home, a very high end client's home.

I can’t say anymore because honestly, it stresses me out just thinking about it, so here is the story of an epoxy table that went so so wrong and what Jack did to make it right.

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From studying Penguins in Patagonia to becoming a fine furniture maker, not many people follow the career path Jack has. But a unique perspective on the industry and a client centric work ethic has allowed him to grow his passion into a sustainable business. And his commitment to understanding and sticking to his brand has let him drive his company forward while still maintaining his core identity.

So Follow along as we talk about working in a small shop, teaching your clients to trust you, understanding your brand and much more.

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This episode is with Kelly and Cromwell Schupp, owners of the furniture company Rail & Stile

If you want to hear the full story behind how Rail & Stile got started, check out the show archives - episode 127 

Shipping furniture is always a nightmare, and even though Kelly and Cromwell put so much effort into building their company, they have still struggled with shipping just like everyone else. This is a story of how even though they hired a big time shipper, got the insurance, and made sure the piece went out correctly, they still had a terrible situation they needed to deal with. 

But did they let the experience ruin their reputation or did they find a way to make it right with their customer? That story, coming up, right after a quick word from our sponsors.

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Working out of a 20,000 sqft space, with 8 employees, growing steadily year over year, and debuting a brand new furniture collection - You could look at Kelly and Cromwell and say they are living the dream. But that dream didn’t come easily, and even though their growth was fast, it was because they had already put in the work to make the growth possible. So It didn’t matter if they were thrown into a good or difficult situation, they were set to come out stronger on the other side.

Follow along as we talk about the art of shipping, who to hire to make your business run smoothly, what your clients really want, and much more.

Learn more at buildingafurniturebrand.com