MOUNT VERNON — It’s the design more than anything else for Chris Curphey and Chad Chadwick. The two are brother-in-laws also connected in what has become a family business of selling furniture.
“Chad has been selling furniture for 13 years in town,” Curphey said. “I needed to open another business and he was interested in furniture, so let’s open a furniture store.”
Thus, Comfort Collective was born at 855 Coshocton Ave. Suite 11.
Chadwick is a self-described “jack-of-all trades’ with knowledge in upholstery repair and sewing. The idea to open a furniture store came late last year, Curphey said, with a three-year lease signed this month.
Prior to that, creating the space for the furniture store took several weeks.
The process included tearing out the former space’s blue carpet, breaking down drywall and painting the original brick walling black.
Modern, monochromatic-color-schemed furniture was placed across the new space, along with mattresses and home goods for sale like candles, pillows, plants, decorations and custom-made shelving, Curphey said.
“About 35% of our furniture is Ashley (furniture manufacturer),” Curphey said. “And the rest is a mix between all types of different vendors.”
Curphey said the price is point based on the community.
“We’re not oblivious to the fact it’s a blue-collar town,” he noted.
“We allowed the product to be the pop of color. So you notice that all of our design stuff is black and white, but we can let the product shine with the actual color.”
The space has only been open for three weeks and demand has been steady, the duo said, with more furniture in stock.
“We’ve been slammed,” Curphey said. “So now it’s trying to figure out how often we should be getting a truck(load for stock).”
The goal for the shop is to give Mount Vernon customers local options that previously they may have sought in Columbus.
“If you were to go to Polaris, you’re gonna have way more options than what you would have here,” Curphey said. “So our goal is to try to save a trip and to give the community something that we didn’t have before.”
