Our 44 Year History
Designing And Delivering Furniture For Small Spaces
Meet One Of Our Earliest "Delivery" Vehicles ... The 1924 Rugby Station Wagon
Rugby Vehicles Were Built From 1923 to 1928 By The Commercial Division Of Durant Motors In The Town Of Leaside, Ontario.
The Station Wagon, Otherwise Known As A “Depot Hack”, Was A Utility Vehicle Used To Taxi (Hack) Guests Between Hotels And Train Stations (Depots).
Affectionately Referred To By Aficionados As A “Woody” The Rugby Wagon Is One Of The Earliest Versions, And Certainly A Precursor Of Our Modern-Day SUV (Suburban Utility Vehicle).
Acquiring The Rugby Circa 1972 While Operating On Toronto’s Queen Street West, As The Foam ‘N’ Fabric Shoppe, One Might Wonder … What Could Such A Vehicle Possibly Have To Do With “Furniture For Lofts and Condos” ?
Well … We Had A Lot Of Fun And Certainly Drew Considerable Attention By Delivering Modern European-Style Furniture In An Antique Truck.
Young Children Would Cry Out And Clap With Glee As The Rugby Came Around The Corner.
Strangers Would Offer A Friendly Wave As It Passed By.
Traffic Of All Kinds Would Respectfully Stop To Let This Slow-Moving Rumbling Vehicle (Top Speed About 20 – 25 Miles Per Hour) Pass Ahead Of Them.
Police Constables Would Stop It In Disbelief (And Of Course For A Closer Look).
The Line Of Carriage Horses In Front Of City Hall Would All Turn Their Heads In Unison To Investigate This Strange Rumbling Sound Of The Rugby’s Low RPM Lincoln 4 Cylinder Motor As it Approached From The Rear.
Best Of All Customers Were Shocked And Totally Pleased When The Rugby Appeared With A New Foam Mattress.
Driving The Rugby On The Streets Of Toronto And Going To The Theatre In It Was Truly A Unique Experience. Unfortunately We Had To Stop Leaving It Parked Unattended On The Street Because Someone Tried To Set It On Fire.
Fortunately It Survived The Small Flame-Up and Our “Woody” Was Fully Restored in the 1990’s.
It Has Been On Display At Various Local Venues Including The CNE, Featured On Television And In Movies.
Currently The Rugby Is Fully Operational But No Longer Placed On Public Display.
Durant Motors Inc. Was Created By Its Then CEO William (Billy) Durant In 1921 Subsequent To His Departure From General Motors.
While The Rugby And Durant Companies Are No Longer In Operation, Leaside Lives On, Was Amalgamated By The Town Of East York And Eventually The City Of Toronto. It Now Forms A Part Of Toronto’s Many Mid-Downtown Neighbourhoods.
A Fateful Trip To Europe Circa 1972
How Europe Influenced Our Future
Our Venture Into Furniture For Lofts And Condos All Began With The Foam Mattress
In fact mattresses were often made of DSQ Series packaging foams.
On a visit to Europe it was discovered that people on “the other side of the pond” had embraced high quality foam mattress technology many years before. Europeans recognized the incredibly superior support and the many health benefits offered by high quality foam mattresses.
At the time some European hotels did provide spring mattresses, but only to satisfy American tourists who considered foam mattresses as “camp pads”.
Well as we can see today, Canadians and Americans alike have come a long way and now realize that foam mattresses are far superior to those made of spring.
Our Very First Sofa Bed ... A Major Canadian Innovation
THE CONDO SLEEPER One
Propelled by the exciting and pragmatic designs and technologies of the European furniture industry, another innovation we brought to Canada was the CONDO Sleeper One.
Although originally driven by an intriguing Belgian design discovered in a Parisian furniture shop that sold high end furniture, we further developed the concept and voila the CONDO Sleeper One was born. It has not significantly changed over the years and in fact today some of our clients still own their 40 year+ original purchase. A further testament to the quality in our Furniture For Lofts And Condos.
Furniture For Small Spaces
The Euro-Lat "E-Series" Sofa Bed
Based on many years of experience with compact European Design another of our innovations was to develop a collection of furniture with small footprints to accommodate placement in limited spaces.
We coined the phrase … “Furniture For Small Spaces” which later went on to be popularized by many other companies as they followed our lead in supplying Furniture For Lofts And Condos. In fact the concept of small spaces was so foreign to some Torontonians that curiousity brought them to see what they expected to be “miniature furniture”. Once they understood the European design concept we all shared a little chuckle.
It was a challenge to produce an easily deliverable product yet maintain the extremely high quality standard we were known for.
The North American approach was to build robustness by over-sizing products. This wasn’t an issue until space in new construction became more limited. We met that challenge head on and the “E” Class Upholstered Seating System was born. This was a truly modular system of sofas, sectionals, lounges, daybeds, sofa beds, chair beds and other convertible sleepers which could be easily disassembled for delivery access if necessary.
Today, customers come from across Canada to find high quality customized seating products to fit their needs. Whether it’s an issue of space, accessibility, orientation, support or even a medical need we can tailor a personalized solution for you.
As Designers & Builders Of Condo Sleepers . Daybeds . Sofa Beds . Chair Beds . Pouf Sleepers
“If You Can Imagine It … We Can Probably Do It”