A polished craft
Company hopes marketing can add another sheen to sales.
A passion for craftsmanship has sustained Irion Co. Furniture Makers for 61 years. Now, the company's owners have set out to make its reproduction of 18th-century furniture more profitable with a 21st-century business plan.
The beauty of carefully chosen woods comes about in the finish of these cabinet doors at Irion Co. Furniture Makers in Christiana.
This unassuming shop in Christiana specializes in crafting classic American furniture in the same manner as the originals it honors.
Irion Co. has been commissioned to reproduce such masterpieces as Alexander Hamilton's roll-top writing desk (the original is owned by the Museum of the City of New York) and the Madame de Pompadour highboy (the original is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art).
The passion for antique furniture that led Louis Irion Jr. to found the company in 1947 has grown with the generations of apprentices and owners who succeeded him. Collectively, they snatched a craft from near extinction and made Irion Co., a paragon of antique restoration and reproduction.
Unfortunately, profits haven't matched the company's craftsmanship.000 and reputation. The last fiscal year saw $700,000 gross revenue, said managing partner Todd Felpel. He believes a new business plan has Irion Co. on track to gross $1.4 million next year.
Felpel worked at Irion for eight years, leaving in 2004 to manage a title agency. Last August, he and his brother, Ronald Felpel, bought the company.
Felpel has hired a marketing consultant and developed a business plan to bolster marketing and profits. He put everything on the table for possible change, except compromises in quality and craftsmanship.
Becoming intentional
Irion Co. made a name for itself reproducing famous originals for a niche market. The pinnacle of its work is the Masterpiece Collection, a commission to furnish a private collector's home with reproductions of prestigious antiques.
This craftsmanship — often referred to as works of art and bought as investments — comes at a high price. The reproduction of the Madame de Pompadour highboy, for example, sold for $85,000.
"Maybe the top 3 percent of the country can afford this," Felpel said. "Word of mouth has always served well with this crowd, and it's been enough to keep the lights on," he said.
But this craftsman-turned-businessman said it's not enough to see the trade, and the company, flourish.
The company, which did almost no marketing until now, will deliberately target potential high-end customers. This will include networking with others serving the same demographic.
"Interior designers are hot on our radar," Felpel said.
That courtship is off to a good start. Irion will furnish a room at the Mansion in May Designer Showhouse and Gardens in Chatham, N.J., a benefit for Morristown Memorial Hospital.
The monthlong event is expected to draw 18,000 visitors and has the eye of designers and clients Irion desires.
The company is also working on publishing a catalog for designers' in-house libraries.
"The designers need something that they can show their clients, with the dimensions of the piece and a full color picture," Felpel said.
Expand customer base
"I want to keep Irion the best of the best, but to be profitable we may need to do some things differently. We're in a position where we want to be exposed to all levels of income and help them be able to have a piece of Irion furniture," Felpel said.
The company will push its Chester County Line, introduced a little more than two years ago but inadequately marketed.
This line includes functional pieces such as linen presses, chests of drawers, mirrors, side tables, and beds.
Chester County pieces use the same woods and workmanship as the reproduction work, but are cut from a single pattern, making production more efficient.
Pieces average $5,000, and customers can choose the wood, finish and hardware. They can also go the instant gratification route and take home a finished item from the Irion showroom.
No compromise
The new plan includes an openness to designs outside traditional American style, which has piqued the interest of designers.
However, if the company accepts a commission to craft an original, more contemporary piece, it will be made with the old-school craftsmanship and materials the company is trying to preserve.
Within the next two weeks, the company will unveil a revamped Web site. They hope to increase the site's number of hits per day from 1,000 to as many as 10,000.
A company goal for 2008 is to make sure products are priced right for the consumer.
"We want to make sure the price of a piece of furniture is comparable to something else. We don't want to build a $3,000 chair that is only worth $1,000," Felpel said.
Location, location
A return to its Main Line roots may be in the future for Irion Co., which was founded in Berwyn and later moved to Paoli before leaving suburban Philadelphia for Christiana.
At the very least, the company may reopen a showroom near its former location, where Irion Co. will be more accessible to the wealthier demographic it seeks.
Any move of the actual workshop would not occur until the lease in Christiana expires in seven years.
The ultimate goal is to maintain the levels craftsmanship Irion Co. was built upon, while changing the business model to secure its future.
"Now everything has a game plan and a goal set. It's a well-oiled machine," Felpel said.
"It can be profitable. It's more of a reality now than ever."