WHEN NOTHING BUT THE BEST WILL DO 

FELINE FURNITURE 

 

Written and photographed by June Grayson 

 

 

	Pity the poor pussies with nothing to do all day. No 

wonder they claw the drapes and scratch the furniture while the 

people of the house are away. 

If this is the way your cat lives, you definitely have a disadvantaged cat. You need a "kitty klimber" in the corner of 

your living room -or maybe several of them scattered throughout  

your home.

Linda and Dave Brinkman say that their company, the AMERICAN CAT EMPORIUM, (A.C.E.), produces the ultimate in cat furniture. They are selling it as fast as they can make it. 

Their color brochure illustrates more than seventy cat toys and furniture designs where cats can perch, play, and sleep. 

A.C.E. is the largest of the six American cat furniture companies. Their friends sometimes refer to them as the owners 

of the largest "cat house" in America. 

Humor aside, cats mean money in the bank to the Brinkmans.  

Their business has grown more than 50% annually since they 

started eight years ago. They expect to reach one million  

gross yearly sales within a few months. 

The Brinkmans meant to form only a "sideline" business, 

one that Linda could manage while she stayed home to raise 

their children and Dave kept his full-time salaried job. They knew their market before committing themselves, one 

of the first rules for business success. Dave had spent 

fifteen years in the pet industry, starting as a teen-age

clerk in a pet store. Linda has a bachelor's degree in home 

economics and a master's degree in nutrition. Before their 

marriage, she worked as a quality control specialist in a 

multinational food company that makes pet food. 

Dave identified an underserved market niche - quality cat 

furniture. "We thought we could design a better product and 

provide better service than the other companies already in the 

field," Linda explains. 

They started with four workers in a small factory in McHenry, Illinois, in 1980. Outgrowing that plant in one year, 

they moved to a 20,000 square foot barn in Elburn, Illinois, 

where they had room for 15 employees. 

Within two years they grossed $100,000 and Dave had to quit his job to help Linda manage the business. 

Their latest expansion? Last year they bought out another  

pet supplier in Wisconsin and merged the two businesses into 

one factory in Camp Douglas, Wisconsin. 

Their smallest product is a $1.50 toy with a bell inside of

a carpeted cardboard box. Their largest piece of furniture is acomplicated climbing post four feet wide and six feet high that

retails for $179. Natural bark-covered branches serve as upright  

supports for carpeted perches, tunnels, and nests. 

Janet Hospodar, the owner of the Geneva Pet Depot, Geneva, Illinois, has four of these big climbers, as well as many  

smaller variations, in the bright and airy cattery where she  

breeds her champion American wire-haired cats. "Cats are just  

like people," Hospodar says. "If they don't have something to  

do they will get bored. They like to climb and claw. Without  

the cat furniture, my cats would be climbing the walls." 

Dave is the company's creative designer. Linda interprets his designs and makes them work. She trains the staff and 

supervises quality control. Dave buys the supplies.  

They have a hands-on management style for every step of  

the business. "Almost 97% of pet products are now imported from Taiwan and are cheaply made," Linda observes. "We produce customhandmade products so we have to provide top-notch quality and  

service." 

A.C.E. is the only company making rustic furniture. They buy hardwood tree branches, in good supply in Wisconsin  

because the branches are smaller than those used for firewood. Oak, cherry, maple, and especially birch branches make  

attractive designs. They discard bug-infested or rotten wood. They buy residential grade carpeting - mill ends and 

samples in all colors and prices - from a Georgia carpet factory. 

The amount of carpeting in a design determines the final price. Staples from pneumatic air-driven stapling guns that  

deliver 120 pounds of pressure join the different components. 

"You don't realize how well our furniture is put together until you try to take it apart," Linda says. 

Two full-time truck drivers in two trucks owned by A.C.E. 

deliver the finished products to distributors as far east as  

Florida and as far west as the Rocky Mountains. 

They do not sell directly to retail customers, but most pet stores either carry or can order their products. 

They market their business through regional manufacturers' representatives and trade shows. "For the big shows, we close 

the plant and take the whole family on vacation. Why do you 

think the major show is held in Tampa, Florida, in the spring?" 

Linda laughs. 

They use the "shoestring" management style. "We always 

operate on a cash basis. We buy new equipment when we can pay 

for it in cash. That way we never have to spend money servicing 

debt. In fact, the owner of the company which we bought last 

year said he just got tired of trying to pay the interest on 

his Small Business Administration loan,"  

The future looks "purrfect" for the American Cat Emporium. 

"This is a recession-proof business," Linda thinks. "We 

started during the economic downturn of 1980-1981 and succeeded from the start. When people cannot afford luxurious vacations 

or expensive hobbies they can still afford to have a cat." 

Demographics is also on the side of cat suppliers. "Ten  

years ago, the pet distribution in the United States was  

two-thirds dogs and one-third cats. Now it is estimated to  

be 45% dogs and 55% cats - and still shifting," Linda explains. 

"As more women work, the percentage of cats can only increase. You can't leave a dog at home alone for long. But you can leave your cat alone for as long as three days if you have  

to," Linda says. 

At least you can if your cat can frolic the time away on  

cat furniture from the American Cat Emporium. 

 

 

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