Our Mission:

We believe in being good Steward’s of the land around us by providing sustainable practices in our business. We create handcrafted furniture with function, artistic design, and quality craftsmanship that will stand the test of time.

Larry Burr, and Joseph Jaeger, began their friendship about 15 years ago working together making doors in a custom cabinet company. In those 15 years of friendship they further developed their skills as master craftsman and in sales, in the hope that one day they would start their own furniture company. In the early spring of 2009 an opportunity came up to enter a design competition and show called Rising from Ashes; Furniture from Lost Trees.

Rising from Ashes is a show that travels throughout the Chicago area promoting the use of ash trees to make fine custom furniture, and educating the public on the emerald ash borer beetle.  Chicago Furniture Design Association (CFDA) was in charge of the show and judged the design competition. The CFDA is an eclectic group of artisans' and craftsmen like Larry and Joe that share ideas, designs and skills while meeting once a month in Chicago. The CFDA had chosen the best twenty-eight designs to be in the show. Their Bevel Chair design was one of those twenty-eight designs, which kick started their business of working together.

With a short time to prepare for the show they were faced with a lot of tasks to do. They needed to become a member of the CFDA, finalize shop drawings, purchase material, purchase machinery, set up shop and create a name for the business. Their moniker needed to be catchy, and represent what they stand for, ecologically friendly furnishings. They finally agreed on "Prickly Pear Furnishings." The prickly pear is indigenous to the Lake Michigan dunes area, requires little to no care so it is environmentally friendly, and they simply liked the sound of it.

Ecologically friendly furnishings use materials from Urban Forest Products (UFP); trees that are either damaged from weather and storm, or removed because of utilities or homeowners decisions. These trees would usually end up as mulch, fire wood, or in a land fill. The Rising from Ashes show required ash trees to be used because the beetle is killing thousands of these trees annually. The good thing is that they are only causing damage to the outer layers, leaving the wood usable to produce fine art studio furniture. Besides the ash tree, there are several other trees that can be used from the surrounding urban areas, such as cherry, white oak, red oak, walnut and more. As owners of Prickly Pear Furnishings Inc. they use materials from Urban Forest Products, FSC certified hardwoods/sheet goods and salvaged wood and furniture from other local sources. They design custom, hand crafted fine art studio furniture, furnishings, bars, libraries, millwork, casework, and vanities locally using low VOC water base finishes/natural oils and waxes. They also sell locally to keep their carbon foot print to a minimum.

To continue their business in a professional manner, they registered their company name and by-laws with the federal and state government on February 13th, 2009.   Currently, they are in the process of furthering their commitment to implement and promote eco-friendly products and technology in the continuing growth of their company.