Why Brixton:
It all started in my home country of South Africa, in a small suburb called Brixton, where my father worked for a local meat packing company. He worked harder than anybody that I have ever met, sometimes 14 hours a day, making just enough money to support my mom and 3 siblings. I would hear him leaving our house for work in the early hours of every morning. Most of the time, he would arrive back home after our family finished dinner.
Then with 24 years of working and learning, gathering business experience in that meat packing company, my father had the opportunity to start his own business; A kosher butchery shop for the local Jewish population.
Throughout life, my mother and father taught me the importance of not wasting anything; from time to inventory to opportunities. Waste nothing. This basic precept informed and guided me through my high school years while I decided my future’s path.
After high school and completing 2 years’ service in the South African Military, I decided to go into the family business. Very quickly, I saw that cow hides, biproducts of the butchery business, were being wasted. It was then when I told my Dad that I would find a way to use those wasted cow hides.
When I turned 25 years old, I decided to go on vacation to the greatest country in the world: The United States of America. Like many before me, I stayed and to this day, I continue to tell everyone that "I’m still on vacation".
My first job in America was working for a jewelry company in Boston, Massachusetts. At 27, that jewelry company transferred me to Dallas, Texas to run their distribution center.
By the age of 30, I needed a change and a new challenge, so I set out to become a salesman in the leather furniture industry. Throughout 9 years of selling leather furniture, I was consistently the number one salesman at that company. This was my path and my passion. I was offered a General Manager position for that company on the 13th of February 2004. This position would require me to take a pay cut, but ultimately, I knew it would be where I could best serve the company. Fast forward 2 days, on a Wednesday, I am greeted at the door by the owner and his wife telling me that this position within the company was no longer available. No promotion and no discussion; I was lost for words. So, I asked for my sales job back and with a curt reply he said, “Mitch you just don’t get it.” I was fired! Then, he gave me the greatest advice I have ever heard in my life. He said, “Mitch, you can do this business a hell of a lot better than me.”
That was all I needed to hear. I was never going to work for someone ever again! In 2004, with my beautiful wife, we started and founded The Leather Sofa Company. Our mission was to build and provide the highest quality leather furniture anywhere, but at factory direct prices. After 16 years and over $100,000,000 in sales, we have achieved our goal of making the highest quality leather furniture in the world.
Fast forward again. Today, my son Seth, a recent graduate, has joined the family business just as I did years ago. At present, he and I decided to take a leap of faith in ecommerce. Seth has a vision to develop a simple yet elegant way to order custom leather furniture, locally made in Dallas, Texas. Seth and I call our new company Brixton Furniture, namesaked for where his grandfather was born and worked in the meat industry years ago. Our goal is to give the entire United States access to the highest quality and best styles of furniture, while being manufactured and shipped in less than 3 weeks with a guarantee that if you do not like your furniture, then you will get a full refund.
