Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristine Christensen
Hi Kristine, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2020, during the height of Covid, I decided to start a business selling custom furniture. At the time I thought it would be a fun hobby and had no idea that it would eventually turn into a large, thriving business. 2024 was by largest year so far with over 300 pieces of furniture designed and sold. I make sofa’s, sectional’s, chairs, ottomans, banquettes’s and custom pillows. Sectional are definitely the most common piece that clients come to me to customize. I can make a sectional in any size and I can also make it in multiple pieces so that we can fit it in a basement or down a set of narrow stairs. I love my clients and I love being able to design a gorgeous piece of furniture that is custom to my client and that will last the test of time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There has definitely been a learning curve as I am sure there is with any business. My furniture is manufactured outside of Utah so getting it here was my largest challenge yet. Finding an affordable fright company that I trust with my custom furniture was a large struggle. I have found a great company that is wonderful to me and we now have a long standing relationship.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a furniture business that specializes in designing and creating custom pieces of furniture for clients. I have a website at Couchesbykristine.com. My clients are able to choose a design and from there we configure the size that suites their space. I can do any size to the inch in width and depth. Then are then able to choose from the hundred’s of fabric options that I have available or if they want they can order fabric and I will put it on the furniture we created. I am most known for educating my clients on what to look for when they want really good quality furniture and for making the custom process easy and fun. The thing that I am most proud of besides creating beautiful furniture is my relationship with my clients. Meeting them is always the best part of my job.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
There was a large risk in starting a new business during covid. I wasn’t sure if the fabrics and fill were going to be available or if there were going to be long lead times. I wasn’t sure if freight was going to be equitable and if I was going to get the product here without damage. I am offering a custom product at discounted rate and so I also wasn’t sure if it was going to be profitable for me. There were many days when I thought about shutting the business down due to risk factors, but pushing through those difficult situations has proven to be worth the journey.
Pricing:
- Sofa’s, for an average size, range from $1800 plus depending on width, depth
- Sectionals start at $2800 and go up depending on size and fill
- Ottomans start around $500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://couchesbykristine.com
- Instagram: @couchesbykristine
