Snohomish County office furniture sellers see economic uptick

  • By John Wolcott For The Herald Business Journal
  • Friday, July 31, 2015 5:04pm
  • Business

One sure sign that Snohomish County’s economy is gaining strength: Small- to medium-sized businesses are buying office furniture and cubicles again.

It’s a trend seen by Bank on Us Office Furniture Installation in Arlington and Everett Office Furniture in Everett, businesses that specialize in office furniture and installation.

“I’d say the number of small- and medium-sized businesses in the county is growing,” said Bank on Us co-owner Bob Watkins. “They’re adding employees and they’re frustrated because they can’t find the help they need to build cubicles or equip offices for the increased staff with a quick response. They can’t sit around waiting but they can’t find the help they need either.”

Watkins owns Bank on Us with his wife Lisa and they have been organizing space and installing office furniture in Snohomish County for more than 20 years.

Everett Office Furniture is a mid-priced retailer, not handling a lot of high-end furniture or the budget pieces but targeting the middle market that accounts for most of his business.

“We sell more new than used furniture but we like to buy from businesses that are closing or want to get rid of excess furniture. Sometimes chairs wear out but desks will stay in good condition for a long time so people get a good value,” Brian Hollingshead, who owns Everett Office Furniture said.

Bank on Us and Everett Office Furniture have a friendly relationship. When the Watkins need furnishings, one of the places they go to most often is Everett Office Furniture, which also has its own installation crew.

“Bob has his own set of customers but when we get busy we refer him to one of our customers, he buys the furnishings from us and gets the work done,” Hollingshead said.

The businesses compete with larger suppliers in Kent and Tukwila. The recovering economy has increased the number of businesses who need help with furnishings.

Bank on Us regularly receives calls from businesses hiring new employees, moving to larger offices or setting up a new business and want help planning office layouts, finding the right furniture, setting up advanced filing systems and making business environments comfortable and attractive.

“Furnishing businesses is a technical business but, fortunately, Bob has an unusual gift for being able to look at an office space and visualize how many cubicles are needed for various numbers of people and plan the whole layout in his head, then he finalizes the layout on paper with measurements,” said Lisa Watkins about her husband.

“Working together we’re able to help businesses in planning how space will be used to make employees comfortable. We don’t just move furniture, we handle the whole office layout process, whether it’s a couple of cubicles or 100 or more.”

In addition to Bank on Us, the Watkins run River Rock Inn bed and breakfast in the wooded hills south of Arlington.

One part of their business is handling internal moves.

“One client with more than 500 employees wanted to bring a smaller group of employees together to work on a particular project for six months,” Lisa Watkins said. “We moved furniture, packed boxes, computers, chairs and accessories to a new temporary work area for their project.”

The Watkins also move executives with expensive office furnishings when the business wants the care of a professional office furniture specialist rather than a traditional moving company, she said. Bank On Us serves a 50-square-mile area from their Arlington base.

To reach Bank On Us Office Furniture Installation, call 360-403-3117 or find them on Facebook at bankonusinstalls.

To contact Everett Office Furniture, call 425-257-3242 or visit www.everettofficefurniture.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.