What started as an interest has now become a business. Tarik Yousef is the master woodcrafter behind T.Y. Fine Furniture. Each piece of solid wood furniture is designed by Yousef from the ground up.
“We have custom furniture, which is kind of where we started, and we have our furniture collections,” he says.
Most of the collections are based on platform beds, which became Yousef’s niche over time, and build out from there. He also designs and crafts dressers, side tables, rocking chairs and coffee tables to round out his collections. The Enso collection is his oldest with his Modern being the newest and most popular. The side tables from the collection were even featured in a Rice Gallery exhibit on modern tables.
Yousef has also crafted a number of unique custom items including coffee tables, desks, rocking chairs and bookcases. Paying the same careful attention to his collections, he takes the time to personally meet with clients and execute every detail.
Over 90 percent of T.Y. Fine Furniture is made from cherry wood.
“People love it because it matures with age so the wood tone actually gets darker,” Yousef says. He also works with black walnut, maple and some more unusual options like white oak.
“All the wood we use is generally local,” he adds.
Yousef says their production process is unlike anything one would see at any other store, and their finishing process is totally proprietary. T.Y. Fine Furniture has their own blend of wood finish that is actually 100 percent certified food-grade organic. Instead of selecting stains and chemical colorings, customers choose natural wood tones that fit their style.
With their special finishing technique, Yousef says,”One of the biggest things it it becomes maintainable.” Customers are investing in a true heirloom-quality piece of furniture that can last for generations.
Yousef has been woodworking ever since he was young, but about 10 years ago while in college he decided to start making furniture. Interest grew and more and more people starting asking to buy his pieces, prompting him to create the business.
When he graduated from college, Yousef thought about going full-time into furniture, but ultimately choose a position utilizing his major – mechanical engineering. He spent four years as an engineer with Honda, “I saw a lot of parallels with what they do with the business,” he says.
He left the company about four years ago to hand-craft his furniture full-time, knowing that the time was finally right.
Recently T.Y. Fine Furniture went from primarily an internet retailer to opening a brick-and-mortar location at 106 E. Moler St. in Merion Village on June 29.
“A lot of it came from customers just asking for it over and over and over again,” Yousef says as to why they opened a showroom. “Columbus is a little bit more of a traditional furniture buying market.” Customers want to see furniture in-person before they buy.
Their biggest challenge since opening the store is a good problem to have – they are trying to keep up with demand. Yousef says he made a batch of 10 to 15 modern bed frames that sold out before he could even finish them.
For more information, visit tyfinefurniture.com.
