How a former chef, David Mawhinney, switched to carpentry and bolstered his business during the pandemic.
The following written content by Tanisha A. Sykes, Andrea Kramar
After watching his then two-year toddler plop herself onto a printer in his and his wife Aimee’s bedroom each morning in 2017, David Mawhinney, founder of Franklin+Emily, had an idea for a more comfortable solution.
“I decided to build her a little chair, just so that she’d have somewhere to sit,” says the former professional chef. When friends asked where he bought the chair Mawhinney, 44, knew he was on to something.
At that point, Mawhinney, a chef for 12 years, was ready to pivot. “I didn’t see myself owning a restaurant and kind of wanted a change,” he explains.
That’s when he switched careers to furniture design. Today, Franklin+Emily creates children’s furniture with sustainability in mind.
Here’s a breakdown of how Mawhinney’s startup is not only surviving, but thriving, during the pandemic:
Doing the research
Mawhinney found several gaps in the market. “People wanted to get rid of the disposable furniture in their homes,” he says.
They also wanted, “great materials, a sustainable design, and a lifetime of value, something that wasn’t available.”
Many parents buy those plastic chairs that eventually break. Like in his own abode, Mawhinney discovered that people wanted furniture that looked good, fit their home’s aesthetic, and was gender neutral. “There are a lot of people out there with that same mentality and, that’s the market we’re trying to crack,” he says.
Spreading the word
Aside from piquing the interest of dinner guests noticing a Franklin+Emily prototype at the Mawhinney home, “we started giving away the desk set to friends with kids in the age groups that we were looking for,” says Mawhinney. “Their kids were in the Pre-K to 9-year-old age group, so we got constant feedback to make our products better.” Read more from USA Today.
