The operations for Urban Ashes used to be scattered. The Ann Arbor-based reclaimed wood firm had a corporate office on one side of town, a prototyping facility on the other side of town, and outsourced its manufacturing to Brighton. That all changed last fall. The 6-year-old business consolidated its operations into one building adjacent to the home of
Leon Speakers on Ann Arbor's south side. It now has 3,000 square feet of work space and a symbiotic relationship with
Leon Speakers to help it grow its business.
"Now it's all in-house (manufacturing) and in one location," says Paul Hickman, founder of
Urban Ashes.
And Urban Ashes growing. It has added two new products on top of its original offering of picture frames made of wood reclaimed from deconstructed Detroit homes. Now it is also producing home goods and furnishings for businesses, such as tabletops made from reclaimed wood for restaurants.
Urban Ashes has hired five people over the last year to keep up with its production, including four ex-felons. It is also looking to hire two people to add to its staff of seven employees. They are all striving to keep product in the company 225 retail locations across North America.
Urban Ashes has also grown its revenue significantly. It has doubled its sales in each of the last three years and is aiming for an even loftier goal this year.
"Our goal is to triple our sales," Hickman says. "We're going to come close. I'd like to add two more people this year sooner rather than later."
Source: Paul Hickman, founder of Urban Ashes
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.