Michael Felix

Los Angeles, CA

Michael Felix is a handcrafted furniture company that designs and produces upholstered goods in Southern California.

Michael's career in furniture began as a young man working for Elite Leather, the furniture factory his grandfather founded in 1959 in Chino, California. He tagged along with an experienced sample-maker, helping out where he could on the factory floor, and all the while absorbing the entire operation with a curious and fascinated mind.

To this day, Michael Felix believes that studying is no substitute for hands-on experience. He produced his first designs for retail clients of his family’s factory before striking out on his own and moving to New York in 2010. A friend tutored him on the basics of Instagram and digital marketing, and from there Michael launched his personal brand in 2012 with production commencing in California in 2013. The first sale was shortly thereafter, Michael was firmly back out west, and the company was well on its way.

To expand his business acumen, Michael balanced daytime design and production with night classes in Pasadena. His business grew steadily even with the eventual sale of his family’s factory. Between finding a new production facility, juggling fabric suppliers, and dreaming up novel designs, Michael Felix certainly has had his hands full, yet he and his team continue to create extraordinarily unique and revered designs built to last.