San Francisco Mart to Award Platinum Passes

Furniture World Magazine

The San Francisco Mart will award Lifetime Platinum Passes to Calvin Kessler of Kessler Industries and Barry Lazar of Lazar Industries. They will be honored in a ceremony at noon on January 16 at the San Francisco Mart's Tenant Market Luncheon. The SFM Lifetime Platinum Pass is presented to manufacturing executives and sales representatives who have distinguished themselves through years of service in their careers in the industry, and who have demonstrated long-term support for the San Francisco Mart. When Cal Kessler's wife asked for a set of cast aluminum dining furniture that he couldn't afford to buy, he used his skills as an Air Force maintenance officer to make it himself. He gathered some scrap aluminum from his base's salvage yard and, with the assistance of some helpers in Juarez, he used a Mexican furnace to bend the shapes he wanted. While he was at it, he made a couple of extra sets that he subsequently sold to other officers. In 1960, Kessler resigned from the Air Force and founded Kessler Industries, Inc. American Furniture, a major El Paso store, became a key customer and others followed. Kessler began making boudoir chairs, which they first exhibited at the SF Mart in 1960. The company expanded as an OEM, listing Lane and Stanley as major clients then and now. Half of Kessler's current volume is under its own brand name and half is through its OEM service. Kessler Industries now has 500,000 sq. ft. of production space in El Paso and Juarez with 1,500 employees. Kessler operates its own trucking company; makes its own boxes; owns a water-based paint company; has a successful architecture and construction firm; and owns a retail furniture outlet store in El Paso, as well as Appliance World, which sells new and distressed appliances. Kessler has been brand name exhibiting at the Mart for 42 years. Cal Kessler feels a showroom with mixed merchandise works best for his line, so he has encouraged Dal-Marko, Stein World and Coleman of California to join Kessler in the space. Kessler's wife, two sons and a daughter work in the business, and many of his original group of employees are still with the company. Barry Lazar represents the classic case of the son of a furniture retailing family who went out on his own as a young man and made good. Lazar's father owned stores in Southern California, giving him early exposure to our industry. Lazar joined Morris Furniture, an L.A. case goods company, as a sales rep in January 1959. He first worked the San Francisco Market in 1961 as a sales rep in Morris's 8th Floor showroom. He worked his way up the Morris organization to the position of sales manager, eventually becoming a shareholder in 1970. Lazar became intrigued with opportunities in Asia and was the only American to visit the first Taiwan Furniture Show, which was held in 1976. That opportunity gave Lazar the chance to start up Habitat Furniture Company, which featured imported and domestic products. In January 1984, Lazar founded Chair Design with the help of his wife, Rochelle, and began producing upholstered Parson dining chairs to round out his imported wood chair line. Later that year, he first showed the Chair Design line at the SF Mart. The line expanded rapidly into a full contemporary chair line. In 1989, Lazar established a factory in North Carolina to service its growing East Coast customer base and opened its first High Point showroom that same year. With the introduction of sofas and sectionals in 1991, the Chair Design name was changed to Lazar Industries. Lazar Contract was launched in 1993 to serve the hospitality industry. Lazar believes his success comes from identifying and serving a customer base motivated by design and choice. He credits the many people who have contributed to Lazar Industries over the years. "We have been and continue to be blessed with a wonderfully committed and talented group of folks whom we love to work with," he says. Three years ago, Lazar sold majority interest in his company but retains the title of CEO, working closely with Stacy Marillo, Lazar Industries' president.