Connecting with our Community: Alex Shuford, III of Century Furniture

Studio Designer is proud to serve the needs of our community of interior design professionals whose creativity and business savvy have been especially inspirational during recent times. Since we have spent the majority of the past year sequestered at home, we are revisiting our Connecting with our Community webinar series that showcased the experience and wisdom from notable industry leaders. Our CEO Keith Granet leads these webinars that are engaging and especially useful for designers.

In this featured interview, Keith had  a lively discussion with Alex Shuford, III, the president of Rock House Farm home furniture family of brands including Century Furniture and Hickory Chair. He shared insider details about the high-end furnishings world and how his company is doing its part to help out employees and front-line medical workers. He noted the challenges of changing plans on a daily basis due to the shifting conditions of government mandates but prides himself on being nimble and quick to make decisions for the best interests of his employees.

Alex was excited to share that his factory machines were repurposed for cutting and manufacturing masks closely following the advice of a local doctor to ensure their quality. He is also deeply supportive of his North Carolina community noting that 99% of his employees work in the state and the remaining 1% work in his nationwide showrooms.

Alex expressed that he is “always looking for silver linings” and believes that people spending so much time at will create “pent-up demand” for spending in home improvement when times are better. Alex also emphasized that this era will generate new innovations like washable slipcovers and durable surfaces that can be quickly sanitized. Since this interview, his predictions have borne out and the home goods and design industry have been tremendously resilient in the past year.

View the recording of the Alex Shuford interview here, check out the full collection of Connecting with our Community webinars, or read a blog post about the entire series.