The other day it occurred to me that, although I had been in the furniture business for a long time, I could probably learn more about cushion construction…and it may be true for many of you. I decided to contact Lawrence Sweeny, owner of Larin Cushion Company of  North Carolina.

Lawrence how long have you been in the cushion business?

I’ve been in the business for 40 years. I started in the cushion business at Hickory Spring Manufacturing Company, a company that is a leading supplier of foam, springs, and other furniture related components. After three years, I left the company and formed my own company, catering to a portion of the business I thought was not being served well in the industry… the high-end business and specialty manufacturers. We make a quality product and rarely do we have a cushion failure. I have made several million cushions over the years and we may have had only 4 or 5 returns a year.

At Casco Bay Furniture we recently had a customer call us. Their new leather sofas had just been delivered and they were afraid to uncover it because of their cat.

I had a chuckle, but I do understand the dilemma, as I also have a cat. The cat’s name is Max and he’s a tuxedo cat. My wife and daughter love that cat. I would say on average the cat gets about a hundred kisses a day (and yes, I do get jealous!) His blankets are fluffed, his food is carefully selected, and he is constantly entertained by an array of toys and distractions.