Lynchburg man builds furniture, dreams in riverside warehouse

Thomas Johnson is carving his dreams out of what could be a bad time for high-end furniture.

Already having launched a successful furniture manufacturing business in downtown Lynchburg, he has now started a retail venture. Next month, he plans to start selling lumber and other supplies. He also hopes to buy another property in Lynchburg to expand his manufacturing and help him reach his long-term goal of training woodsmiths to make furniture and make profits.

Talking of his dreams at what could be the tail end of a severe economic recession, he pauses in the middle of his warehouse.

“I’m crazy, right?” he says.

Johnson, whose business was a stopping point for Bob McDonnell’s gubernatorial campaign on Wednesday, makes furniture in an old warehouse on Concord Turnpike in Lynchburg. His work can be seen in local businesses, including Bank of the James and the Craddock-Terry Hotel.

This summer, he opened a retail division of his company in the same warehouse. Called James River Furnishings, the shop is an unfinished showroom sandwiched between Johnson’s manufacturing area and a room that currently contains piles of lumber.

He decided to develop his own retail chain because other retailers are more likely to choose cheaper products. “I cannot find retailers to buy from me. The Chinese are beating me,” Johnson said. “I have to find a way to beat the market.”

His idea is to create a furniture line that mimics the design of historic architecture along the James River.

He hired Heather Bonawitz, an interior designer who toured his facility in February, to market James River Furnishings.

Johnson said Bonawitz is responsible for getting hundreds of people to visit the showroom by reaching out to the community.

“Normally, marketing is done in a different format” that requires businesses to “go spend money and hope that people flock to your door,” Johnson said. “Heather goes and talks to organizations.”

James River Furnishings has partnered with the Boys and Girls Club in Lynchburg as well as United Way of Central Virginia. During this month, 10 percent of all sales are being donated to the Boys and Girls Club. Ten percent of all sales of the Virginia Cellerette, a small cabinet made with wine storage in mind, go to United Way.

Bonawitz also has arranged group tours with Young Professionals of Central Virginia and a newcomers club, Johnson said.

These visits don’t always lead to purchases right away, but Johnson said that is because furniture is a high-ticket item that people need to think about.

Bonawitz said that some people who have toured the facility have returned later to buy furniture.

“We’ve had a great reaction,” she said. “The majority of the people who have come to those events have never been down here before.”

Although the showroom is still unfinished, Bonawitz said that has been appealing to some visitors. “It tells more of a story and it helps them become part of the journey,” she said.

Johnson said that next month he plans to launch Riverfront Supplies to sell lumber and other items to hobby furniture makers and contractors. It will operate in another portion of his warehouse.

“A lot of these doctors and lawyers have their own machines at home. They don’t buy furniture anymore. They make it,” he said.

Johnson constantly looks for business opportunities that will help him achieve his goals. Recently he got on Craigslist and found someone in Appomattox selling walnut lumber, which usually costs $3 to $4 per foot. He got it for 25 cents per foot and plans to sell it at Riverfront Supply, he said.

Johnson also hopes to buy another warehouse in Lynchburg where he could expand his manufacturing division. The facility also would play a role in a woodworking school he wants to start in Lynchburg, giving students a place to run their businesses.

He said that an economic downturn, when some shoppers might think twice about spending $1,000 and more for a table, is the right time for him to chase his goals.

There are fewer people competing against him now, he said. “The fewer, the merrier,” he said.