I'm sad to get an email from Steve Oster today informing me that he is closing his store (Oster Furniture in Morton Grove, IL) because of the poor economic climate.

Steve and I met in cyber-space over on the GardenWeb forum and he encouraged me to start an alternate forum where we could speak more freely, post photos and quote prices, etc. Without Steve's encouragement this forum you are reading today would probably not exist. He contributes here regularly and I hope he will continue to do so.

It is devastating to have to close your business. Not only do you lose your job and independence, but you lose the social contacts with your customers that come in on a regular basis. Many customers become friends, and when the store is shuttered, they're gone. Anyone I know in the small store furniture business puts their heart and soul into it - if it fails its like losing a family member. I don't know all the details of the closing but I know the pain and exhaustion of having to make that decison.

While the economy has everyone concerned, when the spending stops because consumers are frightened, the fallout is the failure of small businesses like Steves. I would encourage everyone who reads this to support the stores they like and trust, to keep them in business.

And Steve, I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do. You're smart and savvy in the ways of the furniture biz and I hope you stay in the industry in some manner. Good, knowledgeable and honest people in the trade hard to find and you are an asset to our industry.

Best of luck,