ALL GOOD THINGS
BY: CHRIS PARCHER, CONTENT STRATEGIST, MORTARR
There are a thousand clichés we could use to describe the virtue of patience. And all of them apply to Surfacing Solution, which sells a wide variety of products for walls, ceilings, wainscoting, and just about anything to cover surfaces and deal with acoustical problems.
Trends are notoriously fickle things, leaving as quick as they arrive. It was with one of these trends that Surfacing Solution began to make their mark on the industry.
“Tambour can be simply defined as flexible wood paneling,” says Jeramey Fistrovich, President and Co-Owner of Surfacing Solution. “It’s been around a long time, probably most famously in those old historic roll-top desks.”
Eventually, tambour became a commercial industry standard, used to create gorgeous wood coverings on walls (curved and straight) as well as wrapping poles and other unique architectural devices. But as with just about everything, tambour went out of style.
“It was largely due to the skyrocketing price of wood,” Jeramey explains. “But even stylistically, it became no longer fashionable in the commercial market.”
Despite being industry leaders in this niche, Surfacing Solution had already laid the groundwork for survival.
“We were the first in the United States to import bamboo wood flooring,” says Jeramey. “It really helped us evolve and stay afloat in the ever-changing market of commercial surfaces.”
Staying nimble with their products became a way of life at Surfacing Solution, a way which meant survival.
“Once bamboo flooring cooled off, we started focusing on real and faux-tin panels and providing for that rising demand around 15 years ago,” he says. “It’s allowed us to not only weather industry storms, but to continue growing as a company.”
Wisdom, however, is rarely found in abandonment. Even though tambour was no longer en vogue, they refused to give up on it, recognizing what many fail to: that styles, especially one so classic, durable, and versatile, are rarely gone forever. Pushing the product to the back of their catalog, they let it lay dormant, waiting for its day in the sun once again.
“Most other companies completely got rid of it,” Jeramey says. “We put it on the back-burner and even though we were focusing on other products, we never abandoned tambour.”
This robust selection of tambour includes the classic, locally-sourced, Solid Wood Tambour (in maple, red oak, cherry, and poplar), Real Wood Veneer and Metallic Tambour, and the recently-added Wire-Brushed Tambour Veneers, featuring red oak, white oak, and ash. And if there’s nothing there that catches a client’s eye, all they need do is ask and Surfacing Solution will find a way.
Impressive product line aside, it’s the understanding of that product and its potential that brings stability and success not only in the commercial construction and design market, but across industries and the business world. And it’s industry leaders like Jeramey, combining an uncanny ability to see the future with patience and dedication, that lead the way forward.
Because all good things come to those who wait.
