James Hector Carr worked in the shipyards during the day and built upholstered headboard frames at night, his wife Louise doing the sewing and decorative work. The two did this work out of their house in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle in the late 1930s. What started as this simple husband and wife team would become a large scale commercial furniture business by complete chance in 1937.
One of James’ headboard customers asked if he could make a restaurant booth. James and Louise took this project on and just like that the JH Carr & Sons furniture company was born. A few decades later James and Louise’s sons Jim and Jerry joined the company as well. From these early days, the family run business kept a strong focus on maintaining hands-on customer service, building and maintaining relationships with their customers over the years.
Through the next two decades, the product line expanded to include chairs in the 1970s and tables in the 1980s. Along the way, the company continued to forge and foster long-term partnerships with local communities. Following years of growth and a series of moves, JH Carr & Sons settled into the current location in Kent in 2000.
Moving into the 21st century, JH Carr continues to look for and implement innovative technologies that improve the quality of products and exceed customer expectations. The implementation of a dedicated engineering team and use of CNC machines for precision cutting are some of the ways JH Carr stays ahead of the curve on production techniques.
As of October 2019, JH Carr is owned by Legacy Companies Ltd. Under this new leadership, JH Carr strives to become a nationwide dealer. But even with all of this growth, the importance of relationships and dedicated customer service has never waned. James and Louise’s grandson Jim is an integral member of the team as a priority account manager, helping to ensure that the legacy begun over 80 years ago stays strong.
