Editor’s note: Woodworking Network Senior Editor Karen Koenig was among a group of U.S. journalists and videographers invited by the Polish Investment & Trade Agency for a firsthand look at the country’s furniture manufacturing industry. Here’s one of the companies on the tour.

Attention to detail and design distinguish Olta, a high-end, upholstered furniture manufacturer based near Białystok, Poland. Olta also incorporates Italian craftsmanship as a key inspiration in its contemporary furniture, said Klaudia Zawistowska-Rychla, who, along with parents Krzysztof Zawistowski and Katarzyna Zawistowska, co-owns the company.

Olta’s offerings include more than 30 collections comprised of sofas, corner sectionals, armchairs, chairs, and tables, for sale in hundreds of showrooms in Europe and the Middle East. And although Olta doesn’t partner in the United States just yet, it could be on the horizon, she added.

Details make a difference
Olta pays careful attention to details. For example, Zawistowska-Rychla pointed to the Reverso sofa, which has a reversible design offering optimal comfort and viewing regardless of the orientation. The Italian influence is also evident in many of the pieces, including the Amalfi sofa with its slightly rounded edges. Comfort is key in all of Olta’s furniture, which uses feathers/down and memory foam padding in cushions and backrests, “like a cloud on the back of the sofa,” she described.

In addition to its stock offerings, consumers come to Olta for its custom design services, including choosing from hundreds of upholstery fabric options, wood or steel bases, finishes, and proportions. The company has an in-house design team and also consults with outside designers and architects. 

All operations, from the cutting and sewing of upholstery fabric to the machining of wood, are conducted inside the 14,000-square-meter (150,695-square-foot) facility by the company’s roughly 70 employees.

“On each sofa, we have like 20 elements to build,” Zawistowska-Rychla explained, so the sectional pieces can be customized to fit the individual interiors. 

Furniture is assembled and tested for quality and comfort before leaving the factory. The average turnaround time on custom projects is approximately eight weeks.  

Collections are updated every couple of years, and the company’s designs are registered in EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office).

For more on Olta visit Olta.eu or watch a video of its products below.

Read more on the Polish furniture industry and company tours.