Laura's participation in the Papoutsy Seminar for Women Entrepreneurs, funded through a Foundation grant, enabled her to develop a business plan that eventually opened her business to national markets. Laura is now CEO of a rapidly growing company. After 3,000 chairs, they know instinctively how to work with the wood, discovering the shape of a flame finial in a square of bird's eye maple, the four back slats of a Shaker arm chair in a cherry board. Marketing that knowledge is a different matter. While there are serious challenges in perfecting your craft, the hardest challenge of all is finding a consistent market for it.
Furniture is a discretionary purchase.
We could sit on a peach basket and it would serve. Three years ago, Braskie and five other master craftsmen joined forces to form the New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association. Their goal was to achieve national recognition for members and the State of New Hampshire, increase sales and create a formal apprentice program. The project was so successful that the members, who now number 24, found it began to dominate their lives. Enter the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.