Ken started in 1967. His mother helped him convert the double garage at the back of the house: flooring, a couple of heaters, a newspaper ad in the local paper. He had a few upholstery books and not much else.
“Trial and error,” he says. “Making mistakes, correcting them.”
At 19 he had a truck, a sign, and a company he called Arlington Upholstery. He spent his early years subcontracting for other shops across the Ottawa Valley, Quebec to Kingston. There was always work.
He built the business the way durable businesses get built. Got along with his people. Let skilled workers work. Kept the customer happy. Upholstery never goes out of demand, he points out. Fifty years ago it was necessity. Now it is redecorating. The phone keeps ringing either way.
The Succession Problem
Back in the day, Ken says, you never really saw anyone buying an upholstery company. When the owner retired, the business closed. The name, the client relationships, decades of goodwill: gone.
He did not want that for his shop.
The question was how to find someone who would carry it forward. Not just financially capable but the right kind of person. Someone who would treat the staff with integrity. Who would not walk in on day one telling everyone how things were going to change. Someone who understood that what they were buying was not just equipment and a client list but a reputation.
“You don’t want somebody coming into your business that’s going to upset the apple cart,” he says, “and make a mess of everything and end up closing it in six months or a year.”
How the Guild Helped
The Guild matched Ken with a buyer who was, in his words, “qualified in every aspect of the buyer-seller agreement.” That means more than the ability to write a cheque. It means the enthusiasm, the integrity, and the understanding of the trade required to carry on what took decades to build.
“We want somebody that’s going to carry on the legacy of the name and the quality of the furniture,” he says, “and treat your employees with integrity also.”
“That’s why the Upholstery Guild is essential to this changeover that you want to make.”
The full interview is above. Ken covers his whole arc: how he started, what made the business work, and what he would tell any shop owner who is thinking about what comes next but does not know where to start.