C&E Furniture continues family tradition
For more than three decades, the Winnington family has been synonymous with C&E Furniture. Nancy and her brother bought the business, then located in Selbyville, and together ran a successful furniture business for many years. After graduating from college, daughter Katie came on board and with her, the family legacy began to pick up momentum.
A lot has changed since the 1980s when the family first took over the business; last year, the family decided it was time to hand the reins to Katie, who would become the new owner. With new ownership came a new host of decisions on how to redefine the business to fit Katie’s personal design philosophy. That was when Katie decided that it was time for a move.
She picked Fenwick Island. The open showroom was prime for renovation, and since C&E has always catered to both Maryland and Delaware customers, the location appeared ideal, especially since shopping in Delaware is tax free – a boon for those buying big furniture items. With the help of her family, Katie set to work renovating the showroom: painting the ceilings, installing lighting and flooring and putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls made the space her own.
Next was the tag line. C&E had a tagline of “Creative and Elegant” but Katie wanted something fresh that spoke to her customers in a clear voice. She settled on “Distinctive style with a creative touch.”
Says Katie, “We feel it’s better suited to what we do here.” While they will always aim to please their existing customers with the pieces they have come to expect from C&E, she also wants people to know that they are expanding their inventory in hopes of broadening the customer base.
Looking around the store this is evident: there are the beachy blues, yellows, and whites in patterns beloved by those who make the coast their second home. But there are also pieces that are hip, even a bit modern, for customers to sink their style teeth into. Mingling classic pieces with the creative influences of modern design rounds out the showroom's offerings.
Walking around the space Katie has created, there is a lot to see, and shoppers will find themselves drawn to several of her pieces. The inventory also changes weekly, and now C&E has a growing focus on custom designs. The love of design and an intuition for picking appealing items is likely to draw quite a following in C&E's new location.
Much has changed in the last year for the family business, but you will also find many things about C&E remain the same. The same friendly staff is there to greet customers and assist with style choices. Visitors will get the same quality service and custom order capacity that they've come to expect from C&E. And, of course, they still stand behind the name that has been there for more than 30 years, C&E Furniture.
C&E kicked off its grand opening Memorial Day weekend.
For more information call C&E furniture at 302-581-0132 or go to cefurniture.com.
