Q&Q With West Avenue Furniture

Small businesses not only add value to our local economy, they also provide support to community organizations, resources local initiatives, and vision for our community’s future. West Avenue Furniture, formerly Riley’s Real Wood Furniture, is stellar example of a small business in action. Learn more from Vice President, Katie West, below.

How long have you been in business and what drives you to serve our community?

As a small family-owned local business since 1978 (formerly Riley’s Real Wood Furniture), we are passionate about supporting our community. We know the battles and struggles of owning a business and want to give our patronage to our neighbors. We also hope to open our showroom space to the community for events such as art openings, educational opportunities, and other ideas yet to be explored.

What sets West Avenue Furniture apart as a local business?

An important element of our store is that all of the manufacturers we work with have been carefully selected to align with our values.

For instance, we care about the environment. Furniture should be made with sustainably harvested wood and sustainably produced leathers and fabrics. We believe that this is critically important for the environment as well as developing countries. We curate our showroom with manufacturers producing furniture as close as possible. Proudly, we can say that nearly all of our furniture is made in America and half of those items are made in Oregon. Beyond that, quite a bit of the Oregon-made furniture is produced right here, in Eugene. We’re supporting other local businesses, leaving an even smaller carbon footprint.

Another value of ours is that the furniture we carry is of the highest quality. Because of the excellent caliber of what we sell, we can confidently say you will not find our furniture in a landfill with the other million tons of “fast furniture” that end up there every year. The furniture at West Avenue Furniture is skillfully constructed by true craftsmen, made with the finest of materials, and is expertly styled with timeless design.

What is it about Eugene/Springfield that you enjoy the most or what do you enjoy most about what you do?

We really appreciate the sense of camaraderie in Eugene/Springfield within the business community, which has become very evident since joining the Chamber. There are many places that do not have that same feeling and so we consider ourselves very lucky to be part of this amazing group of businesses and people.

Has another business become an unexpected companion/partner?

What is awesome about being a local business is that we have commonality with all other small local businesses in town.  We’re all essentially trying to solve the same puzzle: how to succeed in Eugene/Springfield, OR. We may have slightly different versions of that question, but we’re all in this together. When we look out for each other and give each other our business, we all succeed.

How has your collaboration with the Chamber impacted your business?

West Avenue has recently joined the Chamber of Commerce and the connection to our business community that it offers has been fantastic. We have done business with multiple local businesses due to networking and connecting through the Chamber. Beyond the networking, we’ve had many great learning opportunities provided by the Chamber, made possible by spotlight speakers, resources on the Chamber’s website, hosted workshops, and other opportunities. Having only been a member for a few months, we’ve already seen great value in joining the Chamber.