About Us
His Story:
Jeffrey Karges MA, MFT
Jeff received his Business Management Degree from Western Kentucky University. Afterwards, he began a Master's in Personnel Relations while also working as a Assistant Professor of Communications. From his work experience in factories, Jeff knew that helping people address personal issues not only provided relief from emotional pain but also resulted in more productive workers. While completing his first Masters, Jeff was convinced by a professor to expand his training/education and seek a graduate degree in Psychotherapy. Jeff was accepted into the prestigious Fuller Seminary's Graduate Program in Psychotherapy, specializing in Family Systems and Therapy. While attending Fuller he became an adjunct professor in communications.
After graduate school, Jeff spent 5 years in private practice in Pasadena. About this time his mother's cancer was escalalting, so at the advice of the company's counsel, his Dad came to visit and ask for help with the family business. Initially Jeff and his wife felt it was best to stay in Pasadena and continue his career. However, in June of 1982 the doctor called with the news his mom's death was inevitable and at the most she would live 6 months. At this point he and his wife worried about the impact her death would have on his Dad and the company. (His mom and dad became boyfriend/girlfriend in grade school and then were married for 40 plus years.) On September 4th, 1982 he began his second career at Karges Furniture (Jeff worked summers at Karges in his teens). On November 30, 1982 his mom Thelma passed. Needless to say, Jeff and his wife were very thankful they had returned home to Evansville.
_
After leaving Karges Furniture, Jeff and his now family of seven, moved to Long Island NY to do interim C-level work for mostly family businesses. At the same time, Jeff was doing guest appearances on the Home Furnishing Network show "Haven" with Joy Philbin. Haven ran for 3 seasons and then became the seedling of today's HGTV. Likewise, Jeff appeared in numerous live satellite AM shows where he was asked numerous on the spot questions by major market hosts about all aspects of the home. As a Renaissance man, Jeff knows and love furniture and finishing like very few people in the world. He later started a company that made the sofas that are currently on the Oval Office. They were originally done for Bush Jr. in 2001.
One "interim" C-level job lasted for over 8 years. During this time, Jeff completed an MBA Certification from Syracuse University's Martin J. Whitman School of Management. He is a lifetime member of the Center for Entrepreneur Management and the USA Today Business Advisory Board. He is a graduate of the world renowned Crosby Quality College and implements gain-sharing for his clients. In 2005, Jeff and his wife decided to move to North Carolina to follow the "Mini-Cooper" (their first grandson name Cooper Jeffrey). Upon moving to NC Jeff and his wife purchased a small upholstery manufacturing company.
Jeff's "Family" Story: A Familiar Story of Sibling Rivalry
My great grandfather, Albert Ferdinand Sr. started my family's business in 1886. He was from Alsace when occupied by the Germans, hence he was Albert Ferdinand Karges (not a very French name). His middle son, above, fought in WWI, was a POW and thought to be missing. He fortunately returned, attended the Wharton School of Business and realized one thing...he hated business but loved designing furniture.
Then came WWII. After that war, my dad came back with the knowledge that wood technology training was the secret to future quality production. Thus, he attended University of Michigan's special program on wood technology so he could return and do what it was he loved...manufacture quality furniture. He did just that.
Now it is 1982. As the youngest of Ed Jr's 4 kids and the most educated, we were very close. He had been my best man in my wedding. We shared a common interest in finishing and quality improvement. Indiana law required liquidation if a large stockholder dies without a succession plan. My dad had put large amounts of stock in my mom's name. As a result of my mom's cancer, the attorneys and my dad came to me explaining that my 2 older siblings were not interested or educated enough to run the business. Though hesitant, (as the youngest of 4) I left a private practice in SoCal and came back. My dad and I worked up an agreement that would reward me if I was successful and by 1990 give me majority control. I can still hear my wife begging my dad to reveal these details to the other kids. She feared they would blame me and hate me instead of realizing it was initiated by my dad and the attorneys. Ironically, this is very predictable when you understand "family systems" and the rules/laws of how family businesses always work. I was too close and too emotionally attached to see it.
In 1986, the syblings started receving their checks for their stock but their anger and many say extreme envy of their "baby" brother was alive and well. Like a love triangle, they did not want to be CEO, but they also did not want me to be the CEO. Upon arrival in 1982 there were 60 employees with about 5 weeks of order backlog and my first job? Yes, layoff 15 people. Understandably, the company was leaderless as my dad was preoccupied with his great loss of my mom. Hard decisions had to be made as the company had lost over 67% of its market share. We were headed South and fast. Most everyone hated my decisions and ideas, including my dad. Against their opposition I forged on. By 1990, we had turned around the business - we employed approx 150, business grew threefold, and the backlog was now 13 months. However a bad storm was brewing: my success was now a point of jealousy for my dad. At the same time I had done some stupid things in terms of moving ahead in areas where I had counted my chickens before they hatched. Ignorantly relaxed, I was blindly confident the attorney's "irrevocable" buy-sell was solid. My mother, God rest her soul, had elected to make my brother-in-law the Executor of her estate, which gave him control of her company stock. Behind my back, he called the Board meeting and had me removed as CEO. My dad? Present but his envy kept him silent.
Eventually the company had to sell in 2014, and then the parent company sold out again in October of 2024. Sadly in 2014 all of the great employees and craftspeople along with the factory were replaced.
_