FORTY FORT, Pa. — Enrico Bartolini began making furniture in 1975 and stopped in the mid-1990s. Then, he recently saw one of his pieces selling on an antique website online.
"And I said, 'If you don't mind, what did it sell for?' He said, '$7,000.' And right there knocked me off my seat because I used to make $300 a week back in the day for all the main players—Montgomery Ward, Sears, JC Penney, Spiegel—and we used to sell for $69 each. So at that point, I said, I think maybe I should be making some more furniture," Bartolini said.
So that's what he did.
"I just take and bring back some of those pieces, twist them a little bit, and sell them to people, and they seem to love it."
Bartolini said he spent much of the pandemic in this workshop, and it allowed him to get creative, giving him the time to create pieces he had only seen in his dreams. But at the height of the pandemic, when waitlists for furniture were long at regular retailers, it wasn't always so peaceful here.
"Sometimes there's hurricanes running around in my head because it's like that. It's overwhelming. Sometimes people just, they can't get product that they can rely on. This is not furniture that you're going to get rid of in a landfill in two years; this is something you're going to pass down."
And it's reasons like that Bartolini said his business has grown during a period that's been difficult for others.
While access is limited to the workshop, if you're interested, you can see the finished pieces made in the Wyoming Valley at his showroom in the 900 Building in Forty Fort. Click here for his website.