 About Clarks Outdoor Chairs Hello, my name is CJ Gross, founder and owner of Clarks Outdoor Chairs. I started my company to offer people affordable high quality Adirondack chairs and Adirondack furniture. My humble beginning has taken me from my garage woodshop to my current shop located at 1008 East New Circle Road, Lexington, Kentucky 40505. My story goes something like this....... In 1996; I was looking for some wooden outdoor chairs and tables for a new deck and screened-in-porch I had recently designed and built onto my home. My interest in Adirondack chairs and Adirondack furniture occurred when I saw pictures of them while looking through all the various outdoor living magazines I had purchased during my project. To me nothing else was even close, as I fell in love with their classic beauty and decided that was what I wanted. I began my search by going to the local stores and looking through catalogs, but all I found were thin fragile Adirondack chairs that all looked the same or ones so expensive they cost more than my new deck. Yes, I was disappointed, but I was also very determined. Feeling confident after my successful building project, I decided I would build some Adirondack chairs that would be as nice as or nicer than any I had seen, yet affordable. I went back to work in my garage workshop using some extra Treated Pine boards from my deck project and a magazine picture of a Chattahoochee Adirondack chair. The chairs I built were a little different from the magazine picture because the wood I was using was wider and thicker, but it turned out to be a good thing because they ended up being extremely sturdy outdoor chairs. In fact, they are now 12 years old and as solid as ever. Needless to say, I was very proud of the Chattahoochee Adirondack chairs I had built and soon found myself building more for my family and friends as a way to make extra money. You could say this was the beginning of Clarks Outdoor Chairs. Today, it still seems it is hard to find affordable high quality Adirondack chairs and furniture as the market is saturated with plenty of foreign (China & Vietnam) mass produced chairs that cost $100 to $150 dollars (see"Thrones of Summer"). These mass produced chairs will usually last a year or two or until they get over stressed for strength. My belief is most people today feel the same way I felt back in 1996; that is they want something better because they are weary of buying poorly made products. They would if given the chance spend a little more and buy quality USA made Adirondack chairs and furniture that are better made, stylish, sturdy and will last. This belief is what led to my decision in January 2004 to take the full-time plunge of building and selling my Adirondack chairs and tables. Now in our sixth year of online sales I am proud to say we have shipped our Adirondack chairs to 45 states and five foreign countries. I do not know what the future holds, but I do know that we will continue to work hard to build affordable high quality Adirondack chairs and furniture. My father taught me there is only one way to do something and that is to do it right or do not do it at all. I hope that you find our Adirondack chairs and Adirondack furniture is exactly what you are looking for and decide to add some to your home. Best Regards, CJ Gross "It takes less time to do a thing right than it does to explain why you did it wrong". |
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