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Tomorrow's Heirlooms

“Our craftsmen admire the furniture they’ve made with great pride. When Michelangelo finished the David, he stepped back and asked, “Why don’t you talk to me?” Our craftsmen feel the same about their works of art,” says 78-years-old Vito Ursini, founding partner of Interior Crafts, Inc.

The comfortable Interior Crafts cantilevereddinin chairs in polished chrome and sandy brown leather invite guests to sit for hours around the dinner table at the Calvettis' loft. The glassgrid table from Brueton, and the lithograph "Still life with Liz" is by Thomas Wesselmann.

Heirlooms are in the making at Interior Crafts, Inc.’s 200,000-square-foot furniture factory at West Cullerton Avenue on Chicago’s southwest side. Owned and operated by two generations of the Ursini family, Interior Crafts has created handcrafted museum quality furniture for more then 50 years. The line is known nationally among top designers for it’s custom work, timeless design, and innovative finishes. Displayed in their Merchandise Mart showroom, Interior Crafts’ furniture embraces centuries of sophisticated, global style.

Pride in the product has kept business booming for half a century, and keep it going for years to come. The company employs nearly 200 wood-workers, finishers, cutters, upholsterers, and seamstresses from around the world. Some have worked at Interior Crafts since it’s founding in 1951. For the past 15 years, the custom workshop has run an apprenticeship-training program for developing talent. “Our employees are part of a large family. Many call me Pops,” says Vito.

Originally from Bari, Italy, Vito worked as a woodworker and upholsterer at custom shops around the city. From the late 19th century to the mid 20th century, Chicago was a national center for furniture manufacturing. Production reached its height in 1920 when there were as many as 250 furniture manufacturers in the city. Right after World War II, when Chicago’s furniture manufacturing business was declining, Vito met his late partner Jerry Seiff while working at Tapp DeWilde Furniture Company. When it went under, Vito and Jerry started Interior Crafts above bowling alley on Milwaukee Avenue on Chicago’s near west side. Jerry handled sales and Vito managed the factory.

Today, Interior Crafts claims to be the nation’s largest workroom producing custom-made furniture. Vito works side-by-side with daughter Emily, 41, and son Michael, 48. Emily is head designer of Interior Crafts and oversees the company’s 10, 000-square-foot Mart showroom.