NFIB

Keeping Customers on the Edge of Their Seats
03/ 27/ 2002

by Lisa Waddle

A small Alpharetta, Ga., company is working to repair some seats of power in the White House.

No, they didn't have anything to do with the ballot chaos over the recent election. The 23-year-old The Refinishing Touch was hired to repair and reupholster 60 pieces of furniture from offices in the White House's working West wing.

"I'm very humbled by this job," says Mario Insenga, owner. "I've worked in five-star hotels and on museum quality furniture, but the White House is an American icon. I'm so proud of this opportunity."

Insenga brought one chair from the Vice President's office to his workshop for repair, an antique French mahogany chair had been accidentally broken in two pieces during the Clinton administration. The rest of the company's work is being done inside the White House, to eliminate downtime in the offices.

Although honored by the prestigious nature of the White House job, Insenga doesn't usually do residential work. Instead, most of his customers are universities and hotels. What sets his company, found online at http://www.therefinishingtouch.com, apart is its ability to do it all — refinish and reupholster furniture, as well as to provide fabric. The company uses environmentally-friendly waterborne materials that are odor-free, non-toxic and non-flammable.

"Furniture isn't a throw-away item anymore because we've depleted our forests," Insenga says. "More people are looking to recycle and conserve their furniture, and do it in a way compliant with the environment." Because Insenga's refinishing process is non-toxic and on-site, it eliminates the need to take guestrooms out of use for an extended period of time. Rooms restored in the morning are available for use that evening.

---

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2001 issue of MyBusiness Magazine, NFIB's member magazine.

Small Business Sound Off
Does this story hit home?  Share your story with us