A frequent traveler to Hong Kong, WOWchairs founder Ernesto Cohan was afforded
an insider’s glimpse into the country’s Kowloon region.
From the bird’s-eye view he enjoyed at a Kowloon’s well-known hotel, a fortuitous
encounter unfolded. Upon meeting a local furniture maker, he so admired the
craftsmanship of her designs that he ordered a set of her chairs to be shipped back
to his home in Miami, Florida. And thus the inspirational seed for WOWchairs was planted.

Back in the U.S., visitors to Ernesto’s home so loved the Louis XV chairs’ design and fabric details that the design-forward Ernesto’s mind started churning. Why couldn’t Americans luxuriate in the same fine furniture craftsmanship Europeans and Asians enjoy? In his subsequent trips to Hong Kong, Mr. Cohan pursued this idea with a passion. To that end, he arranged for a meeting with Ms. Freda Chen, the Hong Kong furniture shop’s second-generation owner, and her brother, Mr. Ky Chen. A resident of nearby Shanghai, Mr. Chen’s large furniture factory manufactures handmade pieces for some of the world’s top five-star hotels.

Bring together a design master, a furniture seller and a furniture manufacturer and ingenious sparks are bound to fly. Further conversations among the trio ensued, with an emboldened partnership resulting. Together, the threesome would develop a line of limited-edition chairs to be sold around the world, direct to the consumer. With its global Internet present, this collaboration would allow consumers around the world to savor the same top design and product quality that are usually reserved for custom-made pieces selling at several times the price tag.

“The idea behind WOWchairs.com is to present our clientele with as many fabric designs and colors as possible. At the same time, only a very limited production of each design will be produced, giving each piece a truly custom-made appeal,” explains Ernesto. “Once a limited run is sold out, we never make another chair in that same upholstery again.”

He goes on to point out, “Price point is another important issue for us at WOWchairs. We would like to offer a great value for what would otherwise be an unaffordable product for many. And that affordability extends to production time as well, since we keep an in-stock, ready-for-shipment inventory of every item we place up for sale.”

Assembly-line affordability and turnaround time with the look and feel of custom made—that’s the WOWchairs’ differentiator.