Equipping your home with new furniture always poses a challenge. What to prioritize? Quality, or design? Environmental benefits, or price? How do you find a company you can rely on?

Regardless of whether you’ve just bought a new home and are looking at the prospect of equipping it from scratch, there’s never a simple answer to these questions.

There wasn’t, that is, until Jack and John Reed decided to revolutionize the world of furniture.

Arhaus, Jack and John’s company, has always prioritized three key aspects of their products: they’re sustainably sourced, lovingly made, and built to last.

Jack and John fought tooth and nail in order to ensure that Arhaus furniture always abided by these high-quality standards, vouching for the satisfaction of their customers.

Their story is quite an exciting one. Now, 35 years later, it’s almost a legend. Stick around and discover the deets that made Arhaus a legendary company.

Creativity Runs in the Family

Ever since he was a boy, Jack Reed had always dreamt of founding a business that would reach all around the world. In the mid-twentieth century, however, this wasn’t an easy thing to achieve.

As a child and later on, a young adult, John enjoyed the balance of the indoor and the outdoor, always looking for ways to craft something out of nothing.

After all, the world wasn’t as interconnected as it is now. Establishing long-lasting and confidential relationships with potential business partners was, arguably, the most difficult part of the whole process.

The other parts weren’t much easier either.

How does one make a company about homes and furniture? Homes built with environmentally friendly materials, yet guaranteeing the highest quality of its products? How does one go about it? Plus, owning branches and being partners with companies all around the world? There are a lot of question marks there and for a good reason.

It wasn’t until the 1980s, when Jack’s son, John, was already an adult, that Jack plucked up the courage to stand up and pursue his ambition.

Like his father, John, too, was ambitious. But John was also creative and more versed in the ways of the new world - a world more open to connections and international collaborations.

The Foundations of an Empire

It was precisely John that encouraged his father to take the first step and make his ideas real.

The first thing to do was to decide where to station the company. The answer was simple: at home.

Arhaus was founded in 1986, in Cleveland, Ohio, where both Jack and John were originally from. John was the one who came up with the name.

Arhaus is a portmanteau word, a mixture of the name of the Danish city Aarhus, and the word “house”. John was adamant about them putting both essential aspects of the company’s ambitions at the forefront. Young John wanted the brand to yield homely, warm, and stable vibes, but also make it sound international, broad, far-reaching.

Aarhus was a port city, commerce ran in its veins. It was to run in the furnishing company’s veins, too.

And that was exactly what happened. As prophesied at the very start, the company’s name is now the epitome of quality furniture and home equipment. Arhaus also stands out with its international character and diverse sourcing of materials.

But more on that later. For now, let’s stick to the beginnings.

Another dream that those beginnings included was that of a better, greener future. It is, by now, a well-known fact that acute environmental changes have been threatening the Earth.

Like it or not, furniture companies only detract from the cause by cutting healthy trees and using non-eco-friendly materials for their products.

Jack and John wanted to change that. Pledging that they would never use wood from endangered rainforests, and would always prioritize recycled materials, the duo raised their standards even higher.

In other words, they added yet another impossibility to their stack of impossible dreams.

But it was all worth it.

The Slow and Steady Spread

The original headquarters, and, principally, the only Arhaus store - was a relatively tiny furniture store. This store was located in an almost ancient building, dating from the 1840s, stationed in The Flats, in Cleveland.

The Flats District was, at the time, undergoing a process of transition. Up until then, it had been, primarily, an industrial zone, filled with factories, stores, and commerce chains. Sadly, but, after a few fires, and quite an unlucky business streak for most of the companies stationed there, it had started to move in a more residential direction.

When the Reeds established Arhaus, The Flats was becoming an increasingly popular entertainment area, filled with bars and restaurants.

This, of course, didn’t deter our American boys.

The very same year, John and Jack purchased four Workbench franchise stores in the surrounding region and converted them into Arhaus shops. Stationed in Cleveland and Akron, they were the first herald of the spread that was about to come.

Throughout the years, Jack and John were partnering with more and more vendors. These vendors were supplying them with construction materials sourced from all around the world. The materials were sustainable, but also diverse and of very high quality.

In time, the sub-par collaborators dropped out, and the vendors that stayed had become much more than simply business partners. In John’s words, they became friends and family. Both Arhaus and its partner firms kept collaborating, helping each other prosper and grow.

By today, Arhaus has managed to open more than 70 privately owned storefronts across multiple states, all of them occupying an average of 16.000+ square feet. Promoting their ideals while selling responsibly sourced and high-quality, handcrafted designs, these people are truly living the dream.

Standing Tall and Strong in 2021

So, what has Arhaus become by now? You must’ve already heard of them!

It was in 2013 that the company officially changed its name from Homeworks, Inc. to Arhaus, LLC. In 2019, John took over the position of CEO, after former CEO, Adrian Mitchell, resigned.

With locations all around Arizona, California, New York, Texas, Kansas, Alabama, and Wisconsin, it’s no wonder that other companies, such as Freeman Spogli & Co., have already started buying stakes!

Arhaus’ current headquarters is located in Boston Heights, Ohio, and you’re more than welcome to look them up if you happen to be in need of indoor and outdoor furniture. Today, more than 1,500 people work for Arhaus!

Tables, chairs, sofas, bedrooms, rugs, and lighting fixtures are but a few of the types of products you can find there! Almost 50% of their products - glass, metals, and wood - are made from recycled materials!

The company utilizes old materials which can no longer be used and repurposes them! Alternatively, Arhaus might find old mango trees, which can no longer give fruit, and give them a new “purpose in life”, so to speak!

What’s more, Arhaus also sells, so-called, “relics” - antique objects and materials which it had acquired and refurbished! You can equip your home with the coolest of objects thanks to this company!

And in order to guarantee the quality of these objects, Arhaus has been collaborating with some of the most talented and unique artisans from all around the world.

Family businesses from Italy, Mexico, India, and North Carolina, continuously work for this company to deliver the best products to you.

Unlike other top furniture companies in the US, such as Councill, Henredon, Sherrill, or Ferguson Copeland, Arhaus also distinguishes itself as a reliable brand with strong ethical values.

Having collaborated with humanitarian and ecological organizations like Small World, Habitat for Humanity, Global Dental Relief, and American Forests, Arhaus keeps delivering on their original promise! Bringing to life furniture that’s lovingly made, sustainably sourced, and built to last a lifetime, is what keeps Arhaus on top of people’s wishlist for the best furniture.