CNNMoney.com Dispatches Reporter to NWA

A reporter from CNNMoney.com was in Northwest Arkansas recently to develop a story on the area as an “unsuspecting” hotbed for small-business startups.

 We understand James + James will be a prominent part of the piece. The Rogers-based furniture maker was founded in 2011 — out of a two-car garage — by millennials James Smith and James Eldridge, both former John Brown University students.

Smith was unemployed and started the venture by investing in a Skil saw, wood and stain.

Today, the company’s headquarters is a 7,800-SF shop in Springdale, Eldridge and Smith have 20 employees and build handmade, custom-designed furniture for local and national customers.

Smith said 15 percent of the business is Arkansas-based, but the company has delivered product to all 50 states, rattling off burger joints in New York, pizza parlors in Iowa, even offices in Wall Street.

Driven by e-commerce, Smith said the company — which did about $300,000 in sales in 2012 — is on track to do more than $1 million this year.

“It amazes us every day, too,” he said.