Dispatch From Market: “There’s No Place Like Home”

By: Keith Joyce
VP of Operations

One of the most pleasant surprises at Market was an announcement from Stanley Furniture Company that they were bringing all their manufacturing operations BACK TO THE U.S.A.!  Stanley never ceased production in the States, but they had shifted the production of all beds to China.  After several years of experimentation, Stanley discovered that there is, indeed, no place like home.  The Chinese workers are diligent, smart and hardworking… but the challenges of distance proved to be too much for them. 

Once a group of furniture is in production, it is sometimes necessary to make changes to the designs or to various engineering factors.  Making those changes in a domestic factory is as simple as the boss walking out of his office and on to the plant floor and having the changes implemented.  Those same changes are vastly more difficult to make when your “plant floor” is nine thousand miles away in a radically different culture with an extreme language barrier.  I’d compare it to stopping an ocean liner… it can be done, but it takes a while.  There’s no stopping the process in “mid-stream.”  As a result of this and other factors, the cost savings gained by the use of cheap labor are often lost.

The management of Stanley made it perfectly clear that this change wasn’t made for patriotic reasons; it’s purely a business decision.  As someone once said, “You can have it better, faster, or cheaper… but not all three.”  Stanley chose better and faster – and for them that means “MADE IN USA.”

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Dispatch from the Front – High Point Market October ’09

By: Keith Joyce
VP of Operations

I’m happy to report that my 58th High Point Market has been one of the most exciting and enjoyable markets of my long career.  The crowds are back and there is a tangible feeling of electricity in the air!  I’ve seen more merchandise that I’d like to “bring home” than I have seen in the last two or three years.

The economy has been difficult to say the least and most people – and furniture manufacturers – have been extremely conservative.  For furniture manufacturers, that means sticking with brown case goods and neutral upholstery… safe, but not exactly thrilling.  Consumers looking for new furniture saw the same safe (read that as dull) looks everywhere they went, and I think a lot of them threw in the towel and went home.  If you can’t find something you like better than your old stuff, why buy anything?  I’m willing to bet that a lot of dollars once earmarked for furniture ended up being spent on something else or simply stayed in the bank.

What we’ve seen this market has been anything BUT dull!  Fabrics and leathers feature brilliant colors and bold patterns.. wood pieces offer dozens -sometimes hundreds- of new finishes in every color under the sun.  Form and function has been affected as well… we saw many upholstered pieces without a straight line in sight… media furniture with built-in IPod docks… amazing finishes in gold burnished silver and other metallics… widespread use of stone, copper, and iron… charging stations for your electronics built into night stands and other pieces… ingeniously designed home office furniture… the list is endless.

Market winds up in a few days, but I’ll be sending more dispatches from Market with more specific information about our finds.  We can’t wait to get these wonderful new products on our showroom floor so we can share them with you!

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Tempur-Pedic Is For Real

By: Keith Joyce
VP of Operations

Being in the furniture business, I suppose I’m a little more conscious of my mattress than most people.  Bedding does wear out and it does so far faster than many people think.  The proof of this is readily visible if you look at the old sets we dispose of for customers; many of them have obviously been in use long after the “comfort life” is gone.  Regardless of what kind of warranty a set carries, the comfort life of even the best mattress and foundation is eight to ten years… twelve at the absolute most.
 
I knew my mattress had to be getting close; I’d had it nine years.  I thought I was sleeping well, but I had noticed that I was getting up in the morning with a lot more stiffness, aches and pains than I used to.  Most of this I attributed to getting a little older; my grandfather said that “once you’re fifty, if something isn’t hurting you’re probably dead.”  More on the age of my bed than the way I felt, I decided it was time for a new mattress and foundation… something different than the conventional innerspring sets I’d slept on my entire life.
 
My wife and I decided on The Rhapsody Bed from Tempur-Pedic.  It seemed to combine the right amount of support and cushioning for us, so I ordered a set.  It arrived about 10 days later and we couldn’t wait to see how we slept on it.  Let me tell you, it was well worth the money and the wait to get it.  I’m not going to tell you that it made me 21 again, but there was a drastic difference in the way I felt in the mornings… much less stiffness, a lot fewer aches.  My lovely bride especially enjoyed the lack of motion transfer; if I moved or got up during the night it didn’t disturb her.  This is a huge plus because I often stay up late and usually get up very early.
 
Bowen Town & Country Furniture carries an excellent selection of Tempur-Pedic Swedish Sleep Systems, including the Advanced Ergo Adjustable Bed.  Why not come by today and let us give you the Tempur-Pedic 7 Minute Rest Test?  We’ll change your life!

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