Larkspur Upholstery

LARKSPUR UPHOLSTERY

BY AMY AINSLEY

The idea of starting a business can be exhilarating and terrifying.

When Bre and I started our own business, we felt both.

We started Larkspur Upholstery after being laid off the same day in April 2022. That night, Bre and I met for margaritas and decided we weren’t finished upholstering.

We had a passion for designing beautiful furniture that preserved each piece’s memories.

We also share a love for gardening and the outdoors, so the name Larkspur comes from the flower of the same name.

These flowers are true biennials, reseeding themselves over and over, always coming back as long as they receive a little bit of care.

That felt like a perfect metaphor for our business.

45 days later, Larkspur Upholstery was born.

In the beginning, we were two women with a dream, and we knew we had the expertise and excitement to grow.

Larkspur has come a long way in a short amount of time, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of the Lincoln community. We’re so grateful for everyone who believed in us, and we’re excited to see where this journey takes us.

A grant that changed everything

As a small, bootstrapped business, we are constantly looking for ways to scale up faster.

Productivity sort of taps out when there are only two people reupholstering and sewing, and we wanted to add more people so we could start our apprenticeship program.

We had our eye on the LaunchLNK grant for quite some time, and when we found out we received it, we were ecstatic.

I burst into tears, wild excited tears, and immediately called Bre.

We had worked really hard for it and honestly kind of thought we blew it, so it was an amazing, amazing night.

The $20,000 grant is going to cover payroll costs for employees we hire this year and helps us bridge the gap a little bit when our productivity dips during training.

It’s also going to help us buy some supplies for our new upholsterers, like workbenches and tools.

We’ve got two apprentices in the shop by now – one is full-time and the other part-time.

One of them is already producing, so this money has definitely changed where we’re going with our business.

The more people we can train and hire, the more pieces we can create for our community.

A place that believed in us

The LaunchLNK grant was a game-changer for us, but it wasn’t the only form of support we received in the early stages of our business.

I can’t imagine a better place to start a business than Lincoln. The community is so supportive of entrepreneurs, and we felt that support from the moment we opened our doors.

Whether it’s the Chamber of Commerce, the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development, or any of the networking opportunities or groups, we learned so much in the first two years just by joining these groups, asking questions, and reaching out.

There are people at the Chamber and LPED who are gifted in their ability to match people’s needs and offerings.

I can’t get over how many people have worked hard to help us in Lincoln, and I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather have my business be.

I want to give a special shoutout to everyone at the Chamber and LPED, as well as all the members of the Small Business Advisory Council.

They all had a huge impact on our startup journey.

Every single person took the time to get us hooked up with the right people, signed up for the right programs, and always told us about programs that would save us money. If business owners aren’t leveraging those relationships, they’re missing out.

We’re so thankful for the support we’ve received from this community, and we’re excited to see how we can continue to grow and give back.

We had our eye on the LaunchLNK grant for quite some time, and when we found out we received it, we were ecstatic. I burst into tears, wild excited tears, and immediately called Bre. We had worked really hard for it and honestly kind of thought we blew it, so it was an amazing, amazing night.

The greatest gift

As a business owner, the biggest challenge we faced is finding the funding and location to get our business off the ground.

It can be terrifying to be an LLC and have to sign a personal guarantee for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It’s stressful, and it creates scaling problems.

But the support we’ve received from the Lincoln community has made it less scary and less terrifying.

Our greatest win to date, aside from winning the LaunchLNK grant, was designing the Union Bank lobby and employee break room downtown.

For me, it was a big job, one of our first really big jobs, and we pulled it off by the deadline. It looks fantastic, and we’re both really proud of it.

Every time I’m downtown, I find myself wandering over there to take a peek at it again.

We also have many residential customers, and when we’re working on their furniture, especially if it belonged to a family member, it’s emotional for them.

When I see someone else cry over preserving their grandparent’s chair or their mother’s chair, it makes me emotional, too.

Connecting with our clients and making them happy is honestly why we do this every single day.

It’s a valuable thing to be able to hold on to your older family’s things instead of throwing them away, keeping the memories and keeping them out of landfills.

Bre and I started Larkspur Upholstery with a passion for creating beautiful furniture that’s designed with precision and care.

Like the flower, we’re excited to continue to grow and flourish with the support and care of our community.