In one form or another Barbo Furniture has been in existence since 1934. Two Norwegian brothers, George and Kearny Barbo, learned the trade and started the business. It was closed for WWII. After the war ended they reopened the business. In the early 1950’s Kearney died and George closed the store, not wanting to run it without his brother. But George stayed in the furniture business, refinishing, restoring and making custom furniture from his home shop. In 1978 after “retiring” from his job doing touch up and repair for a local furniture store, the business was reorganized when George’s son Chris began working more in the wood shop with his dad. In the early 1980’s Chris was working full time in the business and late in that decade his wife Holly began working there too. In 1999 the third incarnation of BarboFurniture opened in downtown Bellingham, WA.