Member Article

Budding North East entrepreneur launches ecommerce furniture firm

Aspiring entrepreneur Joe Nicholson, who works as a business manager for Billingham-based storage company Box Clever, has launched an ecommerce business selling furniture.

J. N. Rusticus sells ethically-sourced home and office furniture from around the world, says twenty year old Joe.

The young businessman travelled to India to source his first container of tables, chairs, benches, cabinets and cupboards, handmade entirely from reclaimed boat wood.

Now, Joe is planning trips to China and Indonesia to find more high quality products to introduce to UK customers.

Joe, who is from Sadberge near Darlington, said: “Getting the first container of furniture from India was incredibly exciting and made me realise that now I had a business and was ready to go.

“The website looks amazing and is supported by a targeted online marketing and social media campaign.”

He continued: “We want to bring high quality, ethically sourced hand-crafted furniture to customers here. Items that will enhance the look of their home and in many instances be a talking point.”

“For example, some of the dining tables are retractable so can be raised up and down with a winding mechanism – that’s not something you see very often here, but it’s a beautiful piece of furniture.”

Joe said the practical experience of running a business had helped him realise his entrepreneurial aspirations.

He explained: “With my dad running a successful transport business, I have been involved with the industry most of my life. It’s a sector I understand, so I knew my business idea had to involve logistics and fulfilment.

“I always wanted to do something on my own and the J. N. Rusticus idea had been forming in my mind for a while.

“Eventually, the aim is to bring in a container of furniture a month from a range of designers and manufacturers across the world.

“Travelling to India was an incredible experience and I was able to set up some meetings with great people.

“I chose the name Rusticus because it means rustic and rural in Latin and hopefully that reflects the ethos of the business as a supplier of beautiful, ethically sourced furniture from some incredibly talented craftspeople.”