About

Our Story

In the wake of the Financial Crisis, on a Monday in February of 2009, the owner and founder, Rod, found himself jobless. By the end of that very same week, he had articles of incorporation drawn up with the state of North Carolina, pulled together a couple loans and filed the paperwork to open his own furniture store. Just a couple months later in April 2009, Unfinished Furniture of Wilmington first opened its doors with only Rod and one staff member, Larry. The two of them were working overtime, barely rubbing pennies together, and working seven-day weeks, selling products both in-store as well as online, continually building the business up to where it is today.

rod

Rod

Founder & Owner

larry

Larry

Sales & Internal Operations Manager

Two years later, in January of 2011, the team of two became a team of three when Stella, Rod’s beloved dog, became our PR manager and mascot

stella2

Stella

Public Relations Manager

Business continued to grow over the next few years. In the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the store's sales boomed with quarantined folks eager to redecorate their homes.

The UFOW work family continues to grow as well so that we can continue to offer what everyone deserves...top notch customer service in a timely manner.

Lauren

Lauren

Lauren Abernathy is a senior at UNCW, graduating in May of 2023. She came to us in July of 2022 with the desire to get away from a desk job and be out on the floor selling and communicating with customers. Having never been in the industry, she has excelled with learning the e-commerce side as well as learning about every different piece of furniture we have and the finishing process as well. When she is not with her work family, she spends her time with her 11-month-old puppy “Penny”, who is pictured above.

Daniel

Daniel

Daniel Seamans joined the team as an E-Commerce Specialist and Social Media Manager in 2022. He brings quite a bit of experience in customer service and communications to Unfinished Furniture of Wilmington after spending 20 years in the TV news industry and another 5 inside public schools. You might say he never meets a stranger. He’s also the Human of a rescue pup named “MrWink” who loves sleeping, eating, and listening to his dad talk about his daily adventures in the unfinished furniture world.

From day one, our commitment has been to deliver customers an exceptional shopping experience. Going above and beyond to surpass your expectations is our mantra, and we take pride in offering exceptional customer service. Our dedicated team is always at your service, working tirelessly to help you achieve the desired look in the most cost-effective way possible.