While typical American furniture manufacturers continue to outsource production and supplies to international sources, at least one domestic firm is proving that craftsmanship and local sourcing can still make for a scalable, successful business model.

Paul Mencel’s Philadelphia Table Co. is crafting tables, other freestanding furniture and casegoods, and even doing some commercial buildouts, all without sourcing overseas for either materials or personnel. It’s a business philosophy that many in the furniture industry have abandoned, but he is making it work and even scaling the business. The key appears to be a combination of marketing traditional craftsmanship and attention to detail, all while using technology tools to help create a focused and engaged customer experience that promotes repeat business and enthusiasm.

 

A maker and musician
Mencel grew up in a home with makers. His grandfather was a carpenter, and he describes his father as an avid do-it-yourselfer. “As a kid, I remember helping my dad with several additions around the house and random renovation projects,” Mencel recalls. “My dad had a basement full of woodworking tools, and I spent a lot of time tinkering and inventing ideas, all made from wood.”
But Mencel didn’t immediately turn to wood as a career. His father was a chemist by profession, and Mencel leaned toward the sciences. “I went to college for chemistry and physics, started as a mechanical engineer major because I just liked building things and taking things apart and putting things back together,” he said. “And in the meantime, I also am a musician, so I was playing in a rock band.”

When he graduated from college, the band was taking off. So, he put his chemistry degree on the shelf, grabbed his guitar, and started touring, even signed a record deal with RCA. But the money wasn’t enough to pay the bills.

“While I’m on the road, I started building furniture for our apartment,” he said. “Then, you know, friends would be like, hey, this is like pretty good. Where’d you get it?”

 

Starting with 2x4s
Furniture from today’s Philadelphia Furniture Co. can be quite refined, but that wasn’t the way Mencel started. The trend when he began making furniture was “shabby chic,” big farm tables, and the like. “So, I built stuff out of like, you know, 2x4s or whatever I could get my hands on, a lot of reclaimed wood and stuff, and then I opened an Etsy,” he said. “I was starting to sell furniture while I was on tour, which is kind of a crazy thing. You know, it’s hard to deliver it from the stage.”

Most of the time, he would collect orders, then build the pieces when he came home from tour. But sometimes the timing didn’t work out. He promised a four-week turnaround to Etsy customers, but he would go on a six-week music tour. “I actually called my dad, and my dad actually ended up building one of the pieces of furniture that I delivered when I came home,” Mencel recalls.
As the band wound down, the furniture orders started winding up. He also started substitute teaching as a science teacher. It was time to hire help.

 

More employees, higher style
Today, the Philadelphia Table Co. has about 10 employees and focuses on a demanding high-end furniture market. “This is not like farm tables,” he said. “Not anymore. It evolved with basically the trends. As I got better, as the company grew, we were able to start producing fine furniture.”

Part of his connection to his customers and helping to increase the perceived value of his products is developing an engaging story. That story begins with craftsmanship, with one maker being responsible for each piece start to finish and even signing the piece and delivering it personally to the customer when it’s done.

“I care a lot about telling the story, telling the why, telling what we’re doing, who it’s made by,” he says. “For me perpetuating that story is so much more valuable. Anytime I run an ad, it’s not an ad for, hey, buy a specific item, it’s invest in my business, it’s invest in my company. I want to create fans of the company.”

He is cultivating customers who don’t come to him for a specific piece of furniture. The come to him because they want something by Philadelphia Table Co.

Not overnight
Of course, creating a valuable brand and building a great clientele doesn’t happen overnight. 

“I think a lot of people aren’t prepared for how long it’s going to take to create a reputable name,” he said. “We’ve slowly crept up the prices and have slowly found those pockets of people through interior designers and then again through like the marketing and making sure that the people that are coming in understand the value before coming.”

That means he doesn’t have to deal so much with price objections or people wanting cheap knock-offs. 

“Somebody’s not going to come to us and ask for a piece of furniture for $1,000 because they already know from the story from the perceived value, from everything that we’ve projected out that we’re not going to do something that’s that,” he said. 

Acknowledging that he does get potential customers coming in with a Pinterest link from time to time, but he said they usually are asking for higher quality, a custom size, and made specifically by Philadelphia Table Co.

 

Enlightened manufacturing
But the reality is you still have to design and build the pieces and deliver them on time to customers. Mencel has developed a somewhat counterintuitive production process that he calls “enlightened manufacturing.”

“It’s like manufacturing with sort of the employee in mind as well as like what the final piece is like,” he said. “To me, it’s like those two things sort of sit within equality, maybe even the employees, maybe a little, a little higher in that regard. And, you know, I started that because that’s how I started making things, one at a time.”

But he has also found advantages to the system beyond just a marketing tool or image. “From an accounting perspective, it’s easier because I know what my cost of each individual piece is because it’s only ever by one person,” he said. “And, you know, that’s definitely not the most economical way to do it, if you will, it’s not the best way to, to run a business financially. But I mean, if you can make the numbers work out, if you are getting the proper margins, then, I say, why not?”

He also said the system has been great for employee retention. “I get an email like at least twice a week from people who want to work there,” he said.

He also admits to a bit of a rebellious streak. “If everyone’s going right, how do I go left, Let’s pave my own path,” he said. “It’s a little bit more fun. It’s a little more exciting.”

 

Technology: office, not shop
Mencel is a firm believer in using technology in the office to manage sales, design, orders, track costs, and time, and help with marketing. But you won’t see high tech on the shop floor.

“We still do a lot of things with router jigs and stuff like that,” he said. “We do a lot of stuff by hand.”

He began the business with nothing more sophisticated than a DeWalt table saw. The first big piece of equipment he bought was a widebelt sander. He acknowledges that CNC machines are almost as standard as a table saw in today’s shops, but you won’t find a CNC at Philadelphia Table Co. They do occasionally subcontract for CNC work, but conventional means drive the shop on a daily basis.

 

Managing the business
Although Mencel started as a maker, he now spends most of his time in the front office, managing the business. He recognized fairly early in the business that his real skills and interests were in management and building the business.

“I’m the weakest link,” he said. “So, I think it makes the most sense for me to go into the office. And, now the joke is like, I tell all of my employees if they see me with a tool in my hand, yell at me or something, take it away!”

He still builds things for his wife and their home, but he reports his wife jokingly says, “So, I get the longest lead time and made by the worst maker at your company.” 

Mencel says business skills come naturally to him. “I’ve always liked business, you know, when I was a kid, I always fantasized about having a business and furniture was just kind of the thing that fell in my lap,” he said. “As much as I like making things, I think I actually like making businesses more than I actually like making things.”

In fact, he likes the management so much that he has developed a group of other businesses that he counsels in a mastermind-type group. He also spoke in October at the Wood Pro Expo Lancaster and will speak again at the Closets Conference and Wood Pro Expo Florida in June. His talks focus on using systems to drive business efficiency and success.

 

Looking ahead
Right now, Mencel is still focused on growing Philadelphia Table Co. One possible future is for the company to expand to a level to become like another Thos. Moser, the iconic Maine furniture company that was recently acquired by a holding company. Another avenue might be acquiring a cabinet company to supplement and expand the business in a new area.

“I just see the future being wide, but the thing that’s nice, too, is I am able to do other ventures, which has been fun, too,” he said.
He pointed to the consulting work he has been doing and said, “I’m a teacher at heart. I love teaching, and I love connecting with other people.”

He also attributes a lot of his success to the people who have helped him along the way. “I am where I am today because I’ve always sought help,” he said. “I’ve always had mentors or coaches or other people. I’ve never had a problem reaching out to somebody to be like, hey, I see you’re farther along than me. How can I learn? How can I be better? What can I learn from you?” 

Editor’s note: Much of this story was excerpted from a podcast interview with Paul Mencel. To listen to the full interview, visit woodworkingnetwork.com/podcasts. To see a video about Philadelphia Table Co. go to www.philadelphiatablecompany.com/about-us.