Exploring Life & Business with Mike Ackerman of Ackerman & Sons Furniture Workshop

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Ackerman.

Hi Mike, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m the 5th generation owner of Ackerman & Sons Furniture Workshop.

I’m a Denver native, growing up in central Denver near DU. After college I worked in advertising as an art director for 10 years and learned to apply creative thinking to problem solving in different situations. I joined the family business in 2008 and had to learn a whole new set of skills – including how to work peacefully with previous generation – my parents. My wife and I now own the business and are doing everything we can to make it a successful and worthwhile place to work for ourselves and our employees.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Every small business experiences some amount of struggle – they almost all boil down to economic changes and staffing. I learned everything from my father, watching him make difficult decisions when there was a downturn in the economy or when there weren’t enough skilled craftsman to do the work. In 2008, customers stopped calling or coming in, so we ran out of work. Keeping our valued employees paid and on staff was paramount to our business. We kept everyone busy cleaning up our building, painting the walls and reorganizing the workspaces. In 2020 and 2021, we did the same thing – replaced old, broken machinery and expanded our footprint.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Ackerman’s specializes in craftsmanship – upholstery, refinishing, and repairs for every type or furniture. Our staff is trained in the old-world techniques that my family has passed down for generations, but that doesn’t mean we’re stuck in the past. We are constantly testing out new finish technology and cutting edge machinery to keep up with the latest furniture manufacturing trends.

The short version is that our family has been in the furniture business for five generations in America – my great-great-grandfather started the company in Minnesota in 1895. My parents moved to Denver in 1970 and started our business here in Colorado.

The more interesting story is in the details:

I’ve tracked both sides of my father’s family history back to the Luxembourg / Germany area in the late 1600’s and both families were in the furniture business – mostly cabinet making and repairing. Both my paternal grandmother’s and grandfather’s families immigrated to America in the late 1800’s – to neighboring rural areas in Minnesota. My great-great-grandfather had to provide for his family and took a job with his neighbor who was Lakeville, Minnesota’s undertaker. After months of sweeping and general labor, he built a beautiful coffin for display in the shop’s business window. Hand-hewn walnut, tufted red velvet, etc. – you get the picture. After that, nobody wanted to bury their loved ones in pine boxes and our business was born through the art of craftsmanship (and casket making). After a year or so, they were able to lease the building a few doors down on main street and get back to what they’ve done for generations. Fast forward 130 years and we still maintain the level of quality and care that went into that first casket.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I am a huge believer in luck! Luck led me to my first job, which gave me the opportunity to meet my wife, who put me in the right place to be where I am today. I hold fast to positive thinking in every situation and to me, that’s making luck a reality.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ackermans.com
• Instagram: @ackermanandsons
• Other: info@ackermans.com