Photo: Brady Street Futons - bradystreetfutons.com
Brady Street Futons
Brady Street Futons
“Lifetimes of people who come and go,” Kurt Bauer says of customers who tell him they were young students at Tamarack Waldorf School across the street. After 31 years in business Bauer is closing down Brady Street Futons.
Long a fixture on the corner of Brady and Franklin, Bauer traces the store’s history back to High Wind Futons, and then around 1993 Mark Richmond of Affordable Futons (based in Madison) coined the name Brady Street Futons.
Around 2000 Bauer and then-manager Jeff Benske were co-workers when both the business and the building came up for sale. Bauer reminded the landlord he had right to first refusal, and he transitioned into business owner. Benske agreed to stay on board until Bauer finalized purchase of the building.
Music connection
Aside from the futon business Bauer and Benske shared side careers playing original music; Bauer, first with the Rockin’ Bones in the Fox Valley and later with Peder Hedman Quartet and Tim Cook and the Riverwesterners. Benske has a lengthy resume that includes a current gig with The 5 Card Studs as well running his shop Top Shelf Guitars in Bay View. Likewise, longtime employee Dedrik Bornslaeger has roots in the local music scene.
Certainly, things have played out for Bauer. “Originally I wanted to have a job where I could take time off for music and not have my boss pissed at me.” He says he valued that autonomy and flexibility.
Future plans
“I just didn’t want to be in my ‘70s and have to do what I do now. It takes a lot of energy to close a shop,” Bauer says of the timing.
He plans to earmark a year to work on upholstery art pieces. Bauer credits his former seamstress Lisa Bowman as getting him through Upholstery 101. “One day she said I’m not going to do this anymore,” so Bauer took classes at MATC to learn to sew.
The first time he took the plunge was at Art Fair on the Square in Madison, his first juried art fair. By 11:30 a.m. he had sold out of everything he had for sale. The next day when folks returned looking for more and he had to tell them he was sold out.
Bauer said his plans include travel with his wife Amy and to continue playing music as well as extended bike treks around the state. Eventually he plans to take on commissioned projects.
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As for the clearance sale? “I’m not sure of our last day of business, it’s kind of open-ended,” he said. “But it won’t be long. If I’m open until the end of March I will be surprised.”
