Furniture industry - Part 1: Overview [1]
Furniture Industry
by Patricia Phillips Marshall, 2006
Additional research by Michael H. Lewis
Part i: Overview; Part ii: Colonial era to the Civil War [2]; Part iii: Industrial age [3]; Part iv: Modern furniture industry [4]; Part v: Companies [5]; Part vi: References and resources [6]
Part 1: Overview
Furniture has been an important product of North Carolina artisans and manufacturers since the early colonial era [8]. The massive success of the industry in the state led to North Carolina's acquiring the nickname "Furniture Capital of the World" during the 1980s, when the state produced approximately one-half of the furniture sold in the United States. While furniture remained a key segment of North Carolina's economy in the early years of the twenty-first century, with more than 600 furniture manufacturers in the state producing in excess of $6 billion in furniture and furnishings and employing nearly 70,000 people, economic and international trade changes in the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in a significant downsizing of the industry.
References and additional resources [6]
Keep reading - Part ii: Colonial era to the Civil War [2] [2]
Image Credit
"Lenoir Chair Company, Lenoir, NC (Caldwell County); final assembly and sanding, c.1943, photo by Patrick." Photograph no. ConDev3171B. From North Carolina Conservation and Development Department, Travel and Tourism Division photo files, North Carolina State Archives [9], Raleigh, NC, USA.
1 January 2006 | Marshall, Patricia Phillips