The Longaberger Company

The Longaberger Company was an American manufacturer and distributor of handcrafted maple wood baskets and other home and lifestyle products. The company opened in 1973, and its handcrafted baskets were a popular home decor item in the 1980s and 1990s.

Founded by Dave Longaberger, the family-owned and operated company used multi-level marketing to sell its products. It was one of the primary employers in Dresden, Ohio, before it moved in 1997 to Newark, Ohio.^[1] At its peak in 2000, it had $1 billion in sales,^[2] employed more than 8,200 people directly, and had about 45,000 independent distributors (called home consultants) selling its products directly to customers. Along with baskets, the product line eventually included wrought iron products, pottery, wooden lids, and other goods.^[3]

Its former corporate headquarters on Ohio's State Route 16 is a local landmark known as the Big Basket.^[4] Built to resemble the company's top-selling product, the Medium Market Basket, the seven-story edifice is a notable example of novelty architecture.^[5][6]

Longaberger was acquired in 2013 by CVSL, Inc., and closed in 2018. The following year, Xcel Brands acquired the intellectual property and relaunched the brand, expanding it to include home goods such as furniture, food, jewelry and other handcrafted products.^[7]

In 1919, J. W. Longaberger began an apprenticeship with the Dresden Basket Factory. After the company failed during the Great Depression,^[8] Longaberger continued to make baskets on the weekends. Eventually, he and his wife Bonnie Jean (Gist) raised enough money to purchase the closed basket factory and start a business of their own.^[8]

Dave, el quinto de los doce hijos de Longaberger, abrió J.  W.'s Handwoven Baskets en 1973. ^{[ 3 ]} A partir de 1978, la empresa comenzó a vender cestas Longaberger en ferias ambulantes mediante un modelo de marketing multinivel . Cada cesta, disponible en varios tamaños, estaba hecha a mano y firmada por el artesano. ^{[ 3 ]} En su apogeo, la empresa empleaba a más de 8200 personas, sin contar a sus consultores de ventas directas. ^{[ 9 ]}

Los Premios de la Academia , ^{[ 6 ]} los Premios Emmy , los Premios NAACP Image y otros han utilizado cestas de regalo hechas por Longaberger. ^{[ 3 ]}

In the 1990s, Longaberger commissioned NBBJ and Korda Nemeth Engineering to build an unusual headquarters on a 21.5-acre lot in eastern Newark: a seven-story building that would resemble one of the company's baskets.^[6][18][19] The 180,000-square-foot building, located along Ohio State Route 16 on the east side of Newark opened in 1997.^[3]

The building was difficult to design and build because the upper floors were wider than the floors below them; for example, the second floor is 20,000 ft² and the top floor is 25,000 ft².^[20][21] The basket handles weigh almost 150 tons and can be heated during cold weather to prevent ice from falling onto the building's glass roof.^[22]

The company stopped paying property taxes on the building at the end of 2014,^[23] and employees moved out in 2016.^[23]

In December 2017, the building was purchased for $1.2 million by Steve Coon, a Canton, Ohio-based developer who owns Coon Restoration, and his partner, Bobby George of Cleveland.^[18][24] By November 2018, the pair had put it up for sale.^[25] In 2019, Coon said the building had not sold, that he was planning to turn the building into a luxury hotel, and that he was working to have the building added to the National Register of Historic Places.^{[6][26][27][28]}

On October 20, 2019, Heritage Ohio –the state's official historic preservation organization –held the first tour of the building since its 2016 closing as part of fundraising efforts. More than 600 people participated. Executive director Joyce Barrett said "people were in tears and hugging each other" because "they were so happy to be back in the Basket."^[28]

In January 2021, the building was back on the market, offered for $6.5 million.^[6][26]

En 2025, el agente inmobiliario local Brandon Hess dijo que Coon tenía la intención de desarrollar el edificio, muy probablemente como un desarrollo de uso mixto, que tal vez incluiría condominios o tiendas minoristas. ^{[ 29 ]} En mayo de 2026, el edificio estaba a la venta por 8,5 millones de dólares, ^{[ 30 ] [ 31 ]} con la condición de que "tiene que seguir siendo una canasta". ^{[ 32 ]}

• Sitio web oficial
• Travel Channel: "Hecho en Estados Unidos con John Ratzenberger".

40°3′49″N 82°20′48″O / 40.06361°N 82.34667°O / 40.06361; -82.34667