Peerless Rattan

Monday, November 8, 2010

Did you know....

We list Caners on our website (www.peerlessrattan.com) and have features of Caners in several areas of the country.

Posted by Cindy Hammond at 8:45 AM

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About Us

Peerless Rattan, the oldest mail order and retail store for caning and weaving supplies, was opened in 1903. Proprietors, Ed and Cindy Hammond have been in the seat weaving business for over 30 years. They specialize in hand cane, pressed cane, splints, danish cord, wide binding and rush.

After purchasing material from Peerless Rattan, Ed and Cindy took it over in 2007 and continue to provide the best and freshest quality of seat weaving materials.

Peerless Rattan Website www.peerlessrattan.com

Click here to purchase seatweaving materials and for free detailed instructions on caning and rush...

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Kalamazoo Gazette Article

Gun Plain couple find niche in furniture repair

By Bryce Hoekenga | Kalamazoo Gazette

April 04, 2010, 8:22AM

peerless rattan.jpg

Jill McLane Baker | Kalamazoo GazetteRepair and restore: Ed Hammond, left, and Cindy Hammond own Peerless Rattan, which they operate out of their home near Plainwell.GUN PLAIN TOWNSHIP — If you have banished your favorite old chair to the attic because it has worn out cane and you have no idea how to fix it, Ed and Cindy Hammond can help make your chair look like new again.

The Hammonds own Peerless Rattan LLC, which they operate out of their home at 687 Miller Road in Gun Plain Township. They replace the cane on chairs and other furniture, and they sell caning materials to those who want to repair their own chairs.

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Peerless Rattan What: Replacement of cane on chairs and other furniture; sales of caning materials. Where: 687 Miller Road, Gun Plain Township. Contact: (877) 611-2263 or sales@peerlessrattan.com. Web: www.peerlessrattan.com.

Peerless Rattan is one of about four chair caning businesses in Michigan. The Hammonds said their customers include individuals and businesses, such as furniture refinishing shops in West Michigan and the Detroit area that don’t do cane work.

Cindy Hammond, 56, said they also have worked on the chairs at a Chi Chi’s restaurant in the Detroit area and at the Mi Ranchito Restaurant in Oshtemo Township.

“We have a unique niche market,“ Ed Hammond, 57, said. Rattan is the tough stems of climbing palms. Cane is split rattan woven or interlaced for chair seats and wickerwork. Most of Peerless Rattan’s supplies come from China.

Hammond said he and his wife repair 50 to 80 pieces of furniture each month. The Hammonds are getting an increasing amount of furniture in part because they believe they do quality work, use quality materials and complete their work within two weeks.

“We built our business on speed and quality,“ Hammond said, adding that they charge customers $30 to $130 per chair, depending on the type of work that is needed.

Cindy Hammond said that besides repairing furniture, they also sell caning materials and tools to customers throughout the world, including in Australia, England, Italy and Scotland.

Peerless Rattan buys a type of caning needle, called a steamer, from a supplier in Ferndown-Dorset, England, and is the only business in the United States that sells the needle.

Peerless Rattan sells its materials and tools through its Web site at www.peerlessrattan.com.

The Web site also offers free instructions on how to replace the caning on chairs.

“We like teaching people how to do it,“ Ed Hammond said. “We’re trying to get other people interested in caning.“ The Hammonds are the latest of many owners of Peerless Rattan. Fred DeSapio started the business in 1903 in New York.

Peerless Rattan changed hands several times before it was moved to Springfield, Ohio. Cindy Hammond began replacing cane on chairs in 1978 and bought her materials from Peerless Rattan. Ed Hammond eventually began helping his wife with repairing chairs.

The couple was living in Walled Lake near Detroit when Peerless Rattan’s owner, Helen Cribbs, decided to retire. In October 2007, the Hammonds bought the business and moved it to their Walled Lake home.

The couple hired two subcontractors, Shirley McFadden and Shelley Bogusky, to help them repair chairs. In December 2007, the Hammonds moved to Gun Plain Township to be closer to their two adult children and six grandchildren, who all live in West Michigan.

In 2008, the Hammonds had a 576-square-foot workshop built on the back of their home. They do their caning work and store their caning materials in the workshop. McFadden and Bogusky still work for the Hammonds.

And the Hammonds’ daughter, Adrian McClelland, of Vicksburg, also helps with the business. Cindy Hammond said she wants to hire and train five or six more stay-at-home moms in the Kalamazoo area by this fall.

Hammond said the women would replace the caning on chairs and would work at their own homes.

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