Retirement Notice

[drcollie]

I have made a decision to retire.

It has not been an easy one since I love this business and my customers. I will be 70 years old on my next birthday, and that's too old to be unloading furniture off trucks. The small stroke I had in July cemented the decision.

I have already listed my building for sale with a commercial broker and will begin selling off all floor stock at discounted prices. Once the floor stock is gone, the store will close. It has been a good run, my store has survived all the downturns in the Market and my customers are very loyal, which I have appreciated more than you can imagine. Without your support, there would be no Keeping Room, for that I am grateful.

I don't think there is a buyer for my business, it's hard, physical work that requires an owner presence. Furniture stores are rarely sold, mostly they just close. However, if someone does want to buy it - reach out to me at to discuss.

I will continue to take orders as I expect it will take 6 to 12 months to sell off all the floor inventory (the store is fully packed right now, its very full). At some point I will have to cut off orders, but that will likely be later on in 2024. Most my suppliers will not allow me to work from home taking orders, and require a brick and mortar presence to continue to sell their lines.

I will be discounting all floor inventory in order to move it out. I will have to tag everything which is going to take some time. For now, it will be 10% off all tagged prices on every piece of furniture, 30% off all accessories (lamps, artwork, rugs, etc). Please don't expect me to photo every single item and post it, that is too large a task. All sales will be final.

It has been my honor and privilege to be your dealer for all these years and help everyone out with over 15,000 posts to this forum since its creation in 20008. What a ride!

Duane Collie

[SueCT]

I can't say this is unexpected but you will be missed. A trusted source in this business is rare and you are that. I hope this means that you will be able to spend more time doing other things you love. You will likely have the cleanest, shiniest cars in the world, if you don't already, lol. How often can you can clean and treat your leather furniture? I hope you leave the site up, it is a wealth of information, but even if you can't, you have already educated thousands. Thank you for that. Just take care of yourself, and don't overdue it in the process of winding down the business.

[Miles77]

Thanks Duane for educating us about fine leather furniture. You've really made us all understand what quality and craftspersonship really looks like.

[Angie]

Enjoy !! It was hard for my husband and I to retire last year from our apple orchard. We were 70 also but lifting 40 pound bushels and making cider was getting too much too. We miss the customers and still get calls. We decided at some point we have to retire and pursue other things in life. We are riding our horses all over New England, enjoy riding your bike.( Do you still have it? )

[Judyg951]

Enjoy your retirement. You have certainly earned it!!! Although I'm sorry to see the store close, all things must come to an end and You will have the time to enjoy life. Don't be surprised if you find you need to have your foot in the door somewhere though. My husband has been retired for over 13 years now, but now he's a consultant so he does still work, but it's at home or online meetings.

[Judyg951]

I do have a question regarding ordering. You have stated that if you have a problem with your furniture you should contact the selling dealer. What happens once you have retired if there is a problem in the future? Who do we contact for help? I'm not expecting to need any, but just in case.

[drcollie]

The manufacturer's warranty is always in effect, no worries there. You would contact the company directly in such a case. There have been hundreds if not thousands of furniture stores that close, they are used to dealing with it.

[Judyg951]

Thank you.

[sam_g]

Congrats Duane! I am just getting caught up here. Sorry to hear about the health issue but very happy for you being able to ride off into the sunset! This forum has been a wealth of information and I commend you for your business practices and wanting to do right by your customers. Will keep checking back!

[drcollie]

Appreciate it! I have had so many folks come in the store and shocked that I am winding down - and one customer actually had some tears... "Where am I going to get my good furniture now from someone who is honest and fair?" It almost makes me want to re-think retirement.

But I have so much trouble unloading trucks these days, and many other things that used to be easy are more difficult, Father Time has just caught up with me as a store owner of a very small business. I'm going to miss my customers (well, most of them!) Yesterday for example, there were so many really nice people in the store, not a single person giving me a hard time about this or that, it was really pleasant. There are always a few people come in a store ready to do retail combat, and I just won't engage in that any more.

I suspect it will still take 6 to 9 months to sell off the floor inventory, so I'll still take orders and still be around until that happens