LESTER FURNITURE MANUFACTURING INC.
311 Judges Road, 9F

No. of employees: 12 

Year founded: 1988

Top local officials: John Lester, founder and vice president, and Nicole Robinson, president (father-daughter run company)

Company description: A family-owned furniture manufacturer that concentrates in high-end, custom and hand-crafted furniture for interior designers. Lester Furniture’s head office and showroom are located in Wilmington. Its manufacturing site is in Delco.

Products made locally: The company has a furniture line made up of more than 200 furniture and upholstery styles combined. It works with interior designers ordering custom pieces for their clients. Lester Furniture also offers reupholstery/refurbishing of existing furniture – from basic reupholstery to antique reproduction. 

Places of product distribution: The majority of the company’s distribution is within the United States, but it has the capability of sending outside of the country.
 
What made the company decide to make its goods locally? Robinson: “Besides the fact of loving the quality of life in Wilmington, we strive to build our products from U.S.-made supplies. Being that High Point, North Carolina, is the furniture capital of the world, we are able to benefit from endless USA-made supplies and the beautiful shoreline in Wilmington.”

What’s your target market? Robinson: “Our target market is interior designers. We service designers in Wilmington along with many other interior designers across the U.S.”

What do you guys have planned next? Robinson: “We will be launching a new catalog/product line this spring along with a fabric line, with 40 fabrics to choose from.”