CELEBRATING A DECADE OF ELEMENT FURNITURE!

This month is a big one for us because we are celebrating ten years in business! A whole decade has gone by of crafting custom-made furniture for families across the United States. So much of Element Furniture has undergone change (we literally made a science out of making tables!) while our motto has remained the same: Create long lasting, durable pieces that are expertly tailored to fit our customers’ space. These past years have brought us so much joy, and every year seems to be better than the last. Our journey is quite the story. Read how we officially became Element Furniture below:

To start, back in 2009, Scott was on the hunt for a table after some minor home renovations. The big box stores that were selling seemingly quality pieces just didn’t match up to the price point. Determined he could make one cheaper, and somewhat better, he set forth on creating his own. When finished, it came out nowhere near today’s standards for our tables, but at least it was solid wood. Not much thought was given after the first build, but eventually interest from family and friends grew. From 2009 until 2011, Scott created tables for customers right in his three-car garage. That is until the village came knocking, ceasing any form of business done on the property, and thus beginning a search for a permanent building.

Scott’s wife happened to notice a small sign off the highway on Frontage Road for a 1,500 square foot shop at the very end of the street. It was big enough to showcase ONE table in the front and also had additional space to expand. It wasn’t long until that space started to feel a bit cramped and difficult to do our wood and finish work. So, when the unit across the lot came up for rent, the wood shop was moved into there. Each week we would load up a trailer and move materials across the parking lot. It was pretty comical to say the least, but it worked. It was also during this time that we underwent a name change and adopted “Rustic Elements Furniture" [currently Element Furniture]. Unfortunately, time here was limited.

In 2013, major rainfall caused the DuPage River, located behind us, to flood our shops with almost two and a half feet of water. It didn’t set us back completely, as many of our material and pieces were able to be salvaged, however, it was time to find a new home.

Luckily, about half a mile down the road was a run down (but much more spacious) building that was up for grabs and out of flood hazard! In October of 2014 the purchase was final, and in April of 2015 Element Furniture [previously Rustic Elements Furniture] was up and running in the vast location. We were able to implement a lot of the techniques we learned over the years in the new location. Improved efficiency, quality and, new designs started to flow.

We really went from the average “Joe” to a specialized shop. We had a custom clamping machine made for our tops, which would flatten and hold them until the glue cured. We located a used saw that would cut our boards laser-straight for a perfect seam and a large sander that allowed us to make tops completely flat. The production came to an abrupt halt in March of 2017, though, when an unexpected fire tore down the wood shop. Our attached showroom was left standing and most of the furniture it housed was able to be recovered. Down, but certainly not out, we were presented with the opportunity of a temporary location, not even ten minutes from our “home” shop. We were eager to get back to normality, so we continued business out of the temporary location all while rebuilding “home.”

 If you’re keeping track, that’s a total of four moves in the span of our ten-year lifetime. The fifth, and final, came October of 2018 when we got the all-clear to move “home.” In some way, all the trials and tribulations it took to get to where we are today makes our craft just a little bit sweeter. Not only is our shop better than it was, it gives way to tables that we can confidently say are the best on the market. Our creativity is at its highest it has been; new styles, colors, overall designs are constantly being formed. Thank you to all for your support of a local, small business. Here’s to the next ten years!