Echo is a furniture line from Link Outdoor that, at the end of the day, is all about respect for fine materials.

It’s made of plantation-grown teak, polished stainless steel and solution-dyed acrylics.

“It’s what you’d expect to find on a yacht,” says Eugene Freeland, who founded the firm in the middle of the Great Recession of 2009.

He started out with Doug Levine as his furniture designer, and hasn’t looked back.  Furniture frames are manufactured in Southeast Asia, with finishes and cushions added in Dallas.  In four short years, revenues have doubled and the employee count is now up to 16.

The designs are minimal, modern – and comfortable.  They may use traditional palette, but they work within some bold patterns for an ironic, light touch.

“Everything else in the market is very heavy,” he says.  “Ours have thinner members and lighter colors.  We slim it down, and make it sexy.”

For the sectionals, they’ve removed the teak to reduce the pieces down to stainless, which can be powder coated.  “By taking it off, you don’t have to worry about the teak weathering or changing colors,” he says.  “And the metal is good, long-term.”

There are 50 pieces in the Link Outdoor product line, with about 2,000 manufactured annually and offered in 19 showrooms coast-to-coast.  The company is the exclusive manufacturer for Christian Liaigre and Holly Hunt outdoor products as well.

Levine may be inspired by the mid-century modern look, but Freeland likes to challenge his design team with new ideas.  “For a director’s chair, I told them I wanted a dining chair you could fold,” he says.

And they came through in spades – minimally, of course.

For more information, go to http://www.linkdesignsolutions.com/

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