Car Family Reinvents Self with Rustic Furniture
Posted By admin on June 28, 2010
Updated: Jun 28, 2010 12:01 PM
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KAREN WORKMAN,
The Oakland Press
INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Chuck Fortinberry describes being in a state of shock when he got the call last year that his Chrysler Jeep dealership — a five-star, top-rated, highly profitable 24-year-old business — was being closed as the automaker went through bankruptcy.
His son, Lane Fortinberry, described the loss in stronger terms.
“It was like a death in the family,” said Lane, who worked at the dealership. “There was that feeling of helplessness and just why — it was that terrible sinking feeling in your stomach.”
A little more than a year later, the family has moved forward — reinventing themselves and opening a rustic furniture store in Waterford Township.
Chuck briefly turned the dealership into a used car business, but said it was “just not a sustainable business model given the overhead of that size of a building.”
The family, including Chuck’s wife, Dana Fortinberry, a former Oakland County district court judge, resides in Independence Township, near Clarkston.
Closing the dealership meant three of the five family members — Chuck, Lane and another son — were out of a job.
“The hardest thing for me, as a spouse, was watching my husband deal with this after having been a good businessman and after having been a profitable businessman and a good customer for Chrysler for so many years, for them to turn their backs on him and 788 other dealers who didn’t deserve it,” Dana said.
“While it would not have been my choice for Chrysler to take my husband’s dealership … we spent very little time saying ‘woe is me’ and decided that what we had to do as a family was move forward.”
The doors to the dealership were closed when Chuck was approached by his friend Rick Detkowski Sr., owner of Springfield Township’s Moon Valley Rustic Furniture, with a special request.
“He said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a bunch of inventory I’d like to unload, can I rent your showroom for a couple months and have a furniture sale?’ and he said, ‘It would really help me out,’” Chuck said. “So I rented it to him for peanuts and he brought his stuff in and sold it.”
Detkowski purchased Moon Valley a few years ago, and since then, the company has been transitioning from producing only outside furniture to a blend of indoor and outdoor rustic furniture, Chuck said.
“It’s all white cedar, all grown in Michigan and all made right here in Springfield Township, which makes it pretty unique,” Chuck said.
The sale at the dealership was a huge success, inspiring the family to think about opening a rustic furniture store.
“Our family was faced with a challenge a year ago, as many, many families and certainly many of our friends were … but everything happens for a reason, and I believe that with all my heart,” Dana said.
On April 1, the family opened up Ironton Rustic Furniture and Accessories next to Gardner White on Dixie Highway in Waterford Township.
Chuck said that when thinking about starting a new business, he knew it had be something that would benefit the local economy.
“This is where we live, this is where we stay, this is where we want our kids to stay and what better way to accomplish that than to create new business and new job opportunities in the communities right here where we live,” Chuck said.
Dana took on the task of searching out other American-made products that fit the rustic theme of their store.
“She came up with three or four other major manufacturers that are right here in the Midwest, in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, so we really tried to do things that help the region, that help Michigan, that help our family and help to continue to support the local community,” Chuck said.
The family is particularly proud to carry Moon Valley furniture, since they’ve been buying the company’s products ever since their sons were little.
“One of the first things (our sons) got was a Moon Valley kids’ picnic table; we had that for years and have since passed that on to some friends of ours who have younger children,” Dana said. “It’s great furniture and it really is heirloom furniture.”
The store is even named after their cabin in northern Michigan, where Dana said they “have a full complement of Moon Valley outdoor furniture.” Unfortunately, the cabin is now for sale as a result of dealership closing, she added.
“Retail is retail,” Chuck said. “You gotta get stuff people want, you gotta advertise it and you gotta provide service and the price people want.”
The store offers traditional log cabin style furniture, from outdoor swings and picnic tables to couches, beds, dressers and more. Accessories range from funny signs for the wall, clothing and kids’ activities to antler-based holders for everything from wine bottles to toilet paper.
“If I see something that I think is really cute and really funny, I know I, as a consumer, love that sort of stuff when I go shopping, so I certainly have made an effort to incorporate it here,” Dana said.
The Fortinberrys also price the products with the current economy in mind.
“People can’t afford to spend $3,000 on one room. If you come to Ironton Rustic Furniture and Accessories, you’re going to be able to outfit your room very affordably with good quality furniture,” Dana said.
For those who want the products for a cabin Up North, the business also offers to deliver the furniture there.
“Most people don’t want to spend their vacation shopping for furniture,” Lane said. “They can do it down here on their way home from work and I’ve got everything we sell on the Internet or on its way to our website.”
The store has only been open for a couple months, but Chuck said business has been great.
If the success continues into the future, the family may consider opening other stores in places like Petoskey or even as far away as Denver.
While both Chuck and Lane agree that running a rustic furniture store was “the last thing I thought I’d be doing a year ago,” they’re both excited about the new opportunity.
Click here for information on rustic furniture.
“Talk’s cheap, we’re a family of action,” Chuck said.
When thinking about starting any kind of business, Chuck advises people to do a lot of research and be smart about what type of business to choose.
“Certainly there’s risk involved, but necessity sometimes increases your tolerance for risk,” Chuck said. “I always tell people, ‘Pick something that you know something about, pick something that you like and pick something that people want and you might be successful if you work your tail off and provide good service and good products.’”
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