BARSTOOL

Mikhail Ivanovich Darafeev, born in 1928 in Russia, lived in a small village near the Turk-Iran border. He became a blacksmith at a young age and responsible for supporting his family. In 1950, Mikhail and his family emigrated to New York City, where they began a journey that would lead to the Los Angeles. Mikhail married Antonina Pustobaeff and in 1953, their first son, George, was born and later their second, Paul.

During this time Mikhail used his garage to create rattan furniture however after a falling out with a partner he took a job at Atlantic Quality Furniture where he began an illustrious career with a broom while studying all aspects of furniture production. Soon he was operating the equipment and later he became a foreman, running the entire woodworking shop. Wanting more, he borrowed $500 and started a chair frame company which became the start of the now famous Mikhail Darafeev Company. His first order was 50 chairs and his staff consisted of himself and a few relatives. But his reputation of  quality spread and with it a solid customer base so that in 1960 he moved to a larger facility in Montebello, California.

By 1964 Mikhail Darafeev Company was producing hardwood frames and components for nearly every major furniture manufacturer in Southern California. His largest customer was Beelner & Thomas, a major manufacturer of office furniture.

In 1969 Darafeev bought property in Baldwin Park, California with state-of-the-art  equipment placing himself in direct competition with the likes of General Furniture Corporation. But his customer base had Benedetti, Sheffield Chair, Milwaukee Chair, Flintridge Furniture, Birchcraft Furniture, Fairchild of California and Crown City Furniture.

His sons George and Paul began working in the factory while attending school, but in 1973, when Mikhail passed away at age 45, George 19 and Paul fresh out of high school, began running the family business. They sought a new identity in a niche market, not by supplying products to other companies, but developing their own quality furniture. Oddly, only one single barstool was designed and it was not intended for commercial production. But the unique design of that lone stool soon made it their most sought-after game-room product. It birthed an entire collection of poker tables, combination game tables, poker chairs, club chairs, bridge tables and bars, making them a primary supplier of luxury billiard industry products.

George and Paul continue their father’s tradition, designing some of the worlds’ finest custom-made game room furniture; each piece expertly constructed with a blend of old world craftsmanship and modern engineering.

Today, the Darafeev product line consists of Barstools, Spectator Chairs and Benches, Game Sets, Bars and Back Bars, and Pub Tables. All made from genuine hardwoods and high-grade materials.

When you select a Darafeev barstool it comes not only with the rich hardwood and durable upholstery you see, it also comes with a history; a story to tell as you sip a drink atop one of  Mikhail Darafeev’s stools.

5075 Edison Ave
Chino, CA 91754

Phone: 909.613.1818
Fax: 909.627.5119
Email: info@darafeev.com

This entry was posted on July 23rd, 2009 and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.