I got a phone call this morning at 8:30 a.m. from a very sad and upset Sherry Treharn, they are closing effective today. Not enough orders to stay afloat, they had no other choice. I am their oldest dealer, we go back 30 years to 1986 when they first started. I've been steadfast in selling their product and they are genuinely nice people, who always did the right thing for their customers. Even today I have close to (30) pieces on my floor and now its time to close them all out. The market changed for their style of furniture and they failed to change with it. Many customers today want transitional style which they did not have. Add to that the price pressure from imports - many wood products coming out of Vietnam are pretty well made - and another American small business bites the dust.

Big companies get bailed out. Little ones just die. Its not quite as bad as going to a funeral, but its a sad affair to hear the tears come through the phone, all the hopes dashed.

There was a time when I used to sell 2,000 handcrafted USA-made windsor chairs a year. No one in the country sold more than we did. Last year I think I sold one set of 6. Two at the most. I saw the handwriting on the wall for the 18th Century Reproductions around 2005, and transitioned into leather upholstery as a primary line. That look will eventually come back in style, but likely it will be 2176, the American Tricentennial, and that's sixty years from now. All styles are cyclic and come and go over time.

If you have wanted a Treharn piece, yet were putting it off - now is the time to get one from whatever dealer stock you can find. They have a few pieces left at their workshop, but its a pretty small group. I wish the Treharn family well on their next endeavor. They have been a good supplier and my friends.