Troutman Chair soothes with their handmade furniture
Amid the stacks of chair frames, wooden legs and machinery inside the Troutman Chair Company factory in Statesville, North Carolina, sits a long table surrounded by brightly colored chairs. Large enough to seat 12, the table was built by works in the small factory to serve as a communal dining space, with each employee claiming their own colored chair. Like a family dining table, this piece serves as a gathering place, where coworkers share meals and forge bods, enjoying a culture of family cultivated for nearly a century.
The culture comes from the top-owners Champ and Jean Land, who purchased the company in 1999 from the family who originally launched Troutman Chair in 1924. At that time, Troutman mostly produced Shaker-style rockers, chairs and stools, selling them primarly in the Southeast U.S. The Lands envisioned more for the business and set forth on a plan to take the humble chair company to the next level.
By Jennifer Bringle
Read more in Casual Living: http://digipub.casualliving.com/?issueID=57&pageID=64
