Braxton Culler, a major custom house serving the needs of retailers and designers with high quality upholstery, wood, wicker and rattan furniture, has moved to a new showroom in Building B1 on the 12th floor of AmericasMart, Space A-1, where the company is highlighting a cross-section of its design-focused product line.
One of the last remaining American-made furniture companies, Braxton Culler showed solely at the High Point Market for decades. Acquired by leading importer Classic Home four years ago, the company leased temporary space at the Atlanta Market for the first-time this winter as part of its bid to expand beyond its roots and achieve national distribution.
“What we found was that there simply was not any furniture company showing in Atlanta that offered custom capabilities similar to ours, and there was obviously a hunger among attendees for a domestic company that could effectively serve interior designers across the South, and for that matter, across the country,” said Matt Sorensen, Senior Vice President of Sales for Classic Home and Braxton Culler. “Showing in Atlanta, we saw a lot of gift and boutique shops — lifestyle retailers — that carried better-end upholstery, but their buyers don’t regularly attend either the High Point or Las Vegas Markets. These retailers are vibrant and continuing to thrive because they offer consumers a distinct point of view and we’ve been very successful in attracting them as customers.”
According to Sorensen, Braxton Culler is an ideal resource for smaller lifestyle shops not only because of the company’s custom capabilities, but because the manufacturer does not require minimum purchases.
“Unlike the majority of major manufacturers, we’re not demanding $10,000 buy-ins, or that a dealer maintain $50,000 in furniture purchases a year. Instead, we ship them what they need, when they need it, in the finish and fabric their customer wants.”
Additionally, Braxton Culler also offers a guaranteed freight rate that ensures they can effectively ship product from North Carolina anywhere across the country whether a retailer is purchasing two pieces or 20. “There just aren’t a lot of major manufacturers that can effectively service these customers with custom, handcrafted furnishings and a choice of 35 finishes and 600 fabrics.”
Participating in regional markets like Atlanta this summer also allows the company to flex its muscles creatively. For each of the regional markets — Atlanta, Dallas and Las Vegas (where they will show inside Classic Home) — the design team is covering and finishing products in a way that speaks to the region.
“Our creative team is adapting our products to the preferences of buyers in each market,” said Donnie Lesley, Senior Vice President of Operations. “For this reason, expect the offerings in Atlanta to be very colorful, while Las Vegas in a few weeks will have a more California casual feel to the line-up. Consumers now want personalization, and this is what we do best. The real beauty of our line is that Braxton Culler can be whatever the designer or the retailer envisions, and the customer wants. Our job is to help them get there.”
With a diverse range of furnishings for nearly every room in the home, Braxton Culler is a one-stop shopping source for both independent retailers and the interior design trade. Specializing in custom upholstery and custom finishing, the company bench builds its furniture on site in Sophia, NC, using locally sourced textiles and materials. Visit braxtonculler.com.
