NAME: Jonathan Sowter
COMPANY: Vietnam Furniture Resources
POSITION: Founder & CEO
LOCATION: Thuan An, Vietnam
The thrill of selling a piece of furniture made with his own hands launched a youthful Jonathan Sowter on an adventure that has mushroomed into a major enterprise. But it was even earlier, while he was still at school, that he first realised what he really wanted to do for the rest of his life.
“I was just 12 years old at school when I made my first piece of furniture, and it was better than everybody else’s in the class,” Jonathan recalls. “I realised it was something I was good at and really, from then, I’ve known that’s all I wanted to do. So I left school and got a job in a furniture company and I realised I wanted to be a furniture designer, so I went off to university and did furniture design and craftsmanship. That’s really all I’ve ever done.”
It offered a journey from England to India to open a furniture factory for his employer, and from there, he ventured to Vietnam to do the same. It was in Vietnam that Jonathan found his niche, with an opportunity to strike out on his own as a craftsman and entrepreneur.
“I’m the Founder and CEO of both Jonathan Charles Fine Furniture, and Vietnam Furniture Resources,” he explains. “Jonathan Charles is the furniture brand – it’s my father’s first name actually – and Vietnam Furniture Resources is the manufacturing facility.”
This story is from the March 2021 edition of The CEO Magazine Asia.
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This story is from the March 2021 edition of The CEO Magazine Asia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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