By NICOLE VALICEK
FROM a garage workshop to a thriving business Trevor Cooke often wonders how a hobby went so far.
The Point Cook resident’s business TLC Upholstery was established in 2002 and recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary.
Mr Cooke started upholstering furniture as a hobby in the family’s garage after he’d taken on the role of stay at home dad to his son while his wife Louise went to work.
“I look back and think how did I get to this,” Mr Cooke said.
Slowly but surely Mr Cooke started taking his custom made furniture to local craft markets and that’s where he got a big break.
A director of a small Melbourne-based library fit out business approached Mr Cooke and soon after TLC started supplying small cube and tube Ottomans into Victorian libraries and schools.
“Over the next few years, aided by Government stimulus packages, this company expanded to become Australia-wide and we grew with them,’ Mr Cooke said.
Today TLC has two factories in the area that includes a showroom and supplies furniture to schools and libraries Australia-wide.
The business is so successful they still haven’t had time to celebrate their achievement.
“We were flat out busy, it came and went at the end of September… we will celebrate extra at Christmas,” Mr Cooke said.
One of Mr Cooke’s original products called the Sleeperstoolzzz, a stylish space saving bed in a box has been a big hit and quickly trademarked to sell in stores.
Mr Cooke credits the business success to the quality custom made products at a reasonable price.
