Marge Carson resumes manufacturing

CLARENDON HILLS, Ill. -- Janet Linly, the new owner and chief executive of furniture brand Marge Carson, announced that the company has resumed production and is taking orders under the new name of Marge Carson Global, Inc. 

Operating from a 68,000-square-foot production facility in Tijuana, Mexico, the company has re-hired many seasoned Marge Carson craftsmen to manufacture and service its luxury brand, Linly said.

"It is a testimony to the energy and experience of the Marge Carson Global team and the excitement about our vision for the brand that we have been able to resume manufacturing in only 60 days," she said. She added that the resumption of production was anticipated to take up to 12 months after acquiring the brand that had ceased operations. Marge Carson also is poised to resume production of casegoods in Indonesia in the near future, including existing and new designs.

Founded 75 years ago by interior designer Marjorie Carson and known for its plush, generously scaled, and trendsetting upholstery with exclusive fabrics and trims, Marge Carson expanded into casegoods 25 years ago under its previous owner Jim LaBarge. However, the company exited the category it imported from Indonesia and the Philippines in 2021 to centralize production in North America.

The luxury line of upholstery, bedroom and occasional pieces will be distributed and serviced nationally to retailers and designers through a team of "brand ambassadors," Linly said, adding that she has implemented an elevated product quality assurance process and applied new higher standards to packaging. "Commodities are sold by salespeople, but a luxury brand like Marge Carson should be represented by brand ambassadors," Linly said. She added that she has hired a new quality assurance team utilizing multiple inspection steps and is implementing new packaging to "ensure that our line is at the highest possible level of quality." 

Other updates planned include a comprehensive new website and a "reintroduction and restyling of the brand" at the High Point Market at a soon-to-be-announced date, Linly said. Going forward, the Marge Carson look will be "sophisticated and classic. While we will retain the more casual bestselling collections like the Bentley and Santa Barbara upholstery lines, our focus is on elegance." Fabric selection will be collaborative, with contributions from select new designers as well as designers who have overseen textiles at Marge Carson in the past in order to achieve consistency of style but also elevate the offerings, she said. 

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Larry Adams | Editor

Larry Adams is a Chicago-based writer and editor who writes about how things get done. A former wire service and community newspaper reporter, Larry is an award-winning writer with more than three decades of experience. In addition to writing about woodworking, he has covered science, metrology, metalworking, industrial design, quality control, imaging, Swiss and micromanufacturing . He was previously a Tabbie Award winner for his coverage of nano-based coatings technology for the automotive industry. Larry volunteers for the historic preservation group, the Kalo Foundation/Ianelli Studios, and the science-based group, Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST).