History
Anthony Lawrence-Belfair has a unique story built on old world traditions for over four generations of family. In the early 70’s Anthony Lawrence took over his fathers company in Greenwich, CT and changed the name from Joseph Calagna & Sons, to Anthony Lawrence. His passion for this field naturally led him to grow the company into one of the top upholstery shops.
Anthony was very fortunate to be able to have his wife, Marie, working by his side through this journey. In the mid 80’s, their son and daughter; Joe and Lana joined the company as it started to grow through word of mouth.
Craftsmanship
Not only did Anthony have a full family behind him, he was surrounded by other great talents such as Joe Santora and William Maranese. These men were instrumental in the development of Joe, Lana and Joe’s wife, Amy. This now generation of upholsterers were fortunate to have such knowledgeable teachers. In 1996, Anthony Lawrence acquired Belfair Draperies. In the summer of 1997, the company moved from Greenwich CT to New York City. The growth of Anthony Lawrence has been a steady climb since, Moving from a 10,000 Sq foot space to 25,000 square feet on 23rd street, to now 60, 000 square feet in Long Island City.
In 2001, Anthony and Marie retired and left the company to Joe and Lana knowing they would expand the company and keep their traditions alive. In 2013, Lana passed away and Joe was left to move the company forward. On August 18th, 2014 Joe moved the company to a 60,000 sq ft workroom/showroom in Long Island City, NY with its own in house frame shop and over 200 floor models.
Tradition
The space is new, but the traditions remain the same. Currently, Joe has his wife running the curtain department and his niece working along side her. Both daughters, Jackie and Samantha are working in various roles keeping the family business traditions on course as they hope to make the same marks on the company as their father.