Rheda... where? You’ve probably never heard of our home town. Rheda-Wiedenbrück has a population of 48,000 and is located in North Rhine-Westphalia – at the heart of the East Westphalia-Lippe furniture-making region. More furniture is manufactured here in the area surrounding Gütersloh, Herford and Bielefeld than anywhere else in Germany. Furniture has been an important part of people’s lives here for generations and they’re passionate about it. There are also probably more upholsterers, furniture makers and seamstresses in our region than anywhere else in the country. Some of the best of them work at COR.
Our company was established in 1954 by Helmut Lübke and the Prince of Bentheim- Tecklenburg. When the royal co-founder quit the company in the nineteen eighties our family became the sole proprietors of COR and managed the company themselves. That automatically made us far-sighted, depend- able and committed to outstanding quality, because we are proud to have our name associated with our bespoke furniture. We also ensure that our customers get a personal service when a product isn’t one hundred per cent perfect. (It even happens to us occasionally.)
More often, though, our customers contact us after many years – sometimes even decades – to ask if we can refurbish a piece of COR furniture for them. They may ask us to renew the cover on a chair that has become thread- bare through use. Or to change the upholstery of a Conseta sofa that has been handed down to the next generation so that it looks like new again. We can do that. And whenever possible we comply with customer requests. It’s part of the COR spirit.
In case you’re wondering, our name isn’t Westphalian. It’s from the Rome region. COR is the Latin word for heart. It was chosen because the royal co-founder’s coat of arms featured three hearts – a fortunate coincidence because, over the years, we’ve realised that COR has more to do with heart and passion than we’d ever imagined possible. People follow their hearts when it comes to furnishing their homes. And the furniture we build makes a house feel like a home. That’s how it’s always been – and always will be.
