After 35 years working in the furniture industry, Shawn Gilmore knows what type of furniture business he wants to create — one that offers high-quality, hand-crafted furniture at mid-level prices in a good geographical location. Gilmore also wants a place where he can indulge his love of art and music and occasionally cater to non-profit organizations for events.

At Route 20 Sofa Company in Nelson, Gilmore believes he has found what he has been seeking.

Route 20 Sofa Company sells handcrafted sofas and recliners, chairs, ottomans and tables; as well as local artwork, French soaps and handmade candles.

“My goal is not to be a department store of goods, but to specialize in key home components,” Gilmore said. “The concept is to help customers choose what they really need, what they want — what fits the requirements of their home.”

Gilmore is known by many residents of the Cazenovia-Nelson-Fenner area as one of the previous owners of Johnny Appleseed Farms and Furniture in Erieville, which closed last September after more than 40 years in business. The Route 20 Sofa Company building, in fact, located at 3208 Route 20, was once a Johnny Appleseed warehouse.

Gilmore took the old 60,000-square-foot warehouse, spent four months emptying and cleaning it, then called in Cazenovia contractor Nick Borsellino to help him refinish the interior, add some walls and old barn beams and turn it into his new business.

About 90 percent of the furniture Gilmore sells is made in the U.S., mainly in North Carolina, but much of it is made in New York state, he said.

“Everything in her is very custom,” he said. “If you like, you can take it; if you don’t we can alter it any way you want.”

The alterations he offers are not just for size, but also for the fabric — Gilmore has reams of fabric styles hanging in the store, offering customers just about any furniture finish they might want.

Eventually, as the store grows he hopes to have an upholsterer working on-site and to also add oriental rugs to his offerings, he said.

“This is just a start-up,” Gilmore said. “Like all businesses, I hope to grow this.”

But furniture is not the only home decoration offered at Route 20 Sofa. Gilmore is also an artist, and his art — which he paints in the store with recycled household paint — not only hangs on the walls of the store, but is also for sale. In addition, there is a piano in one corner of the store on which Gilmore, who is also a musician, will play after hours.

The entire space is arranged for multiple uses, he said. One use he also plans is to offer the store as an event space for non-profit organizations. The next meet and greet of the Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of Commerce from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, will actually be held at Route 20 Sofa.

“I’m very excited about this; this is fun,” Gilmore said. “It merges lots of parts of my life together in one building.”

Despite the multi-faceted uses of Route 20 Sofa, Gilmore said his philosophy is to keep things simple. The furniture is all “simple, well-built goods that just endure;” furniture purchased at Route 20 can be picked up, delivered or shipped anywhere; while the soaps, candles and artwork offered as home decorations are all handmade, quality items.

“The goal here is to not make anything complicated, but insanely customized,” he said.

Route 20 Sofa Company opened in January, but the entire month of February has been the “grand opening” for the business, Gilmore said.

The store is open Tuesday through Sunday and closed Mondays. For more information, call 815-4112 or go online to route20sofacompany.com.

Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].