Stickley Furniture's Mission

As its competition outsources to China, Stickley continues to make its iconic Mission furniture by hand in its upstate N.Y. factory

Across the country, U.S. furniture manufacturers are closing their factories and moving production to China to benefit from the cheap labor. But one company insists it's here to stay, more than a century after it was founded. And there hasn't been a single layoff since L. & J. G. Stickley Furniture was acquired by the Audi family 34 years ago.

What's the secret? The Audis have combined multimillion-dollar investments in technology with Old World craftsmanship to ensure Stickley remains the leader in Mission oak and cherry furniture. "We have a strict adherence to timeless design and honest materials. We use clear finishes that celebrate the beauty of the wood, and we produce enduring construction with the finest joinery," says Edward Audi, whose father Alfred bought the company in 1974.

A visit to the Stickley factory in Manlius, N.Y., just outside of Syracuse, reveals not a giant assembly line as one might expect, but dozens of workshops that resemble European ateliers. A different operation is performed at each work station by craftsmen from 36 countries. More than 1,000 employees work in Manlius, where the factory hums 20 hours a day.

Protective of Their Patents That's a far cry from the dark days of 1974, when the workforce had dwindled to just 22 people and the venerable Stickley company was facing bankruptcy. According to company history, Leopold Stickley's widow Louise called Alfred Audi and asked him to buy the company because he "was the only one who loved Stickley enough to keep its quality." The Stickleys trusted the Audis because the family had been the longtime New York dealer for Stickley furniture, a role that continues to this day in their 14 Stickley-Audi stores around the country.

Although the Audis haven't resisted the call of Asia, they chose to build their own factory in Vietnam rather than use contractors in China. "We are quite protective of our patents," says Aminy Audi, who has been running the company with Edward since the death of her husband and business partner, Alfred, last September. Mrs. Audi says companies who outsource to China run the risk of losing control of their valuable intellectual property.

Arts and Crafts Revival While Mission isn't the only type of furniture produced by Stickley—the company has the rights to the John Widdicomb line of European and Russian reproductions—Alfred Audi's decision to begin reissuing Mission pieces in 1989 sparked a revival of Arts and Crafts furniture and helped preserve Stickley's position in the business.

What's the difference between an authentic Stickley and a knockoff? Learn by watching this slide show, which follows the making of a fall-front desk originally designed by Harvey Ellis for Stickley in 1903. Ellis never could have imagined his signature writing desk would become a favorite work space for users of laptop computers. Some designs truly are timeless.

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