History

My family has dealt in antiques for four generations, so my appreciation for them has grown from my very early years. Three previous generations owned antique shops and in 1975, while attending a local junior college, I, too, took a part-time job in an antique shop. I quickly realized that there was something about working with antiques that I really liked. I not only enjoyed acquiring and selling them, but I began to appreciate the challenges of restoring antiques to their original condition. My passion for restoring antique furniture grew so rapidly that it overshadowed my pursuit of an art degree and 1978, I opened Bausman and Father as sole proprietor. My adventure had begun.

Many ask about the name. It was my mom’s idea. The purpose was to create an attention-grabbing name that would stick in potential customers’ minds. There was also some talk about my dad coming into the business after his retirement. At the time, retirement was not a word that seemed like it would apply to Dad very soon and today, two decades years later, Dad and retirement have still not met. So now I simply answer the question saying that initially, the name was about marketing. It gave an established-sounding name to a young business. Even today, when browsing in the Yellow Pages, one finds the name Bausman and Father does set me apart from the others in the trade. In 1985, Sunset Strip Furniture Stripping was purchased, enabling us to strip furniture in-house rather than sending it out.


For more than a quarter century now, Bausman and Father has built a loyal and varied customer base. It is working with many of these fine people and the spectrum of antiques they bring to us that has made these years such a great adventure. I am thankful for their business and their confidence. With the next generation of Bausmans now growing toward adulthood, perhaps the company name and mission will ring true well into this century.

Since 1975 over 5,00 chairs have been refinished.