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UpCountry founder Terry Iwaskiw opened the first UpCountry location in Toronto, in June of 1990. That store, located at the corner of King Street and Sherbourne Street, was just 2600 square feet in size and is located a few blocks from our current flagship store at 310 King Street East. One of the first furniture stores on King east of Sherbourne, UpCountry helped create an area now known as the downtown furniture district.
Shortly after opening, UpCountry began selling unique upholstered sofas and chairs designed in house and made in Canada, a practice that continues to this day. Always innovative and dynamic, the UpCountry look began to be synonymous with the leading edge of design trends as reflected in Canada's home and style magazines. Frequent mentions in the editorial pages of many of these magazines helped create a reputation for the store as a place to find interesting stylish and innovative furniture and accessories.
Another important part of the building of the UpCountry reputation is the close relationship between UpCountry and many of the top television and feature film stylists in the country, who rely on the store as a resource for their furniture and accessory ideas. On any given day, UpCountry pieces are out on rental for photo, film or video shoots. Some of the biggest films of the past 10 years feature UpCountry furniture pieces prominently displayed.
In late 2007 UpCountry was forced to reorganize under new ownership. The new owner has a long history as a supplier of UpCountry and was responsible for many of the unique furniture lines the store sold over the past decade.
As this new beginning dawns for UpCountry, the company finds itself returning to its roots. Plans are underway to introduce new and exciting collections to the store. New furniture lines designed in house or with the collaboration of known designers will be available exclusively to UpCountry customers. In a reversal of the trend of almost all its competition, UpCountry is featuring more Canadian made product in a shift away from imported overseas made furniture.
Customer service and quality are now just as important as the products we sell. As it has always done, UpCountry will continue to evolve, never resting on its laurels and never stopping in its search for excellence in products to offer to the Toronto market.
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