About Us
Sharlene Boyle has served as the Chief Creative of Beyond Borders since it was founded in October 2006. Rebekah Osborn has served as Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Beyond Borders during the same time. In the beginning, the mother/daughter duo worked with overseas factories producing typical designs of painted, "distressed" wooden furniture from Indonesia. As the company evolved, the furniture designs began to reflect the growth, giving way to different styles and more thoughtful pieces that didn't chase trends, but were classic, quality pieces that stand the test of time.
They were passionate, forward-thinking overseers of their precious business model, always desiring to reach a little higher. Growing steadily, they began to partner with factories in India and China as well and to source globally for accessories and accents.
The process of developing consistency in all areas of furniture production was a difficult one, so Rebekah developed a Beyond Borders factory on the island of Java, Indonesia and lived there for 6 years to help create the balanced staff and facility that could produce much of the full, rich furniture line for the wholesale company. The two owners drew inspiration from their travels, from nature, and from the various design eras and movements that have defined the human journey for beautiful furnishings.
Realizing that the greatest ideas can come from the most unlikely places, they continually added new designs with unexpected combinations of materials, shapes, and textures. The common, everyday medium became elevated when it was translated to furniture design. Similarly, they were drawn to natural materials, organic ideas, and handmade construction. The driving goal was to produce furniture that was comfortable, yet elevated and personal. They wanted their customers to be able to create living spaces with warm, approachable furniture pieces that "felt like home."
The owners are continually evolving and seeking to bring that special moment to each furniture piece they create. It would be difficult to describe the varied (and sometimes opposing) styles of Bevond Borders designs. The talented artisans in the Beyond Borders factories create elegant, vintage, classic, curvy pieces, and yet they also produce modern, clean straight lines, simple, unadorned furniture. There are French, Swedish, Spanish, Danish influences, but also included are fresh, beachy coastal pieces that are relaxed, and lifestyle driven. Always, the common factor is comfort and functionality...the pieces must feel authentic and warm-spirited, and they must contribute to the easy, beautiful life at home we all desire to lead.
Milestones along the way
MEET REBEKAH
Rebekah Osborn hit the ground running in the pharmaceutical industry as an up-and-coming specialty sales rep before discovering her love of "all things furniture" in her early twenties. After graduating from LSU in Human Resource Management in 2001 and starting out in pharmaceutical sales, she quickly realized that the lure of entrepreneurship was in her soul. Her passion was business, analytics, and operations manuals, and she accidentally stumbled on "furniture production" when she and her mother opened an import furniture store on a whim. "We both like furniture," they casually admitted, and in no time, Rebekah was traveling to Indonesia with a determination to gather the artisans herself to make designs for their retail store. The first retail store, 505 Imports, opened on May 5, 2005, which was not only the address of the business but also an eerie prophetic symbol (5/05/05) for things to fall in place.
The following year found her franchising the retail store concept and opening a second location in Sugarland, Texas. At the same time, she established Beyond Borders Imports, which was the overseas furniture company that produced the furniture for the retail stores. A third franchise location was later opened with a slightly different concept, and by then the furniture business was clearly imprinted on her being.
In 2006, Rebekah traveled to India and partnered with a furniture manufacturer there as well. The thrill of creating furniture that was totally unique and proprietary was a driving force for her and was not limited to one idea or location. The next few years involved traveling, sourcing, developing new designs and new business concepts, as well as marriage and starting a family. As time went on and all the businesses grew, it became clear that her strength was not just people skills from her human resource training. Additionally, Rebekah excelled in organization and the analytical side of business. Not only did she love to read operations manuals, but she was also skillful at developing and writing her own. But it was difficult to achieve consistency with the furniture production by writing "procedure manuals" and visiting Indonesia every 6 months. She and her family made a major decision to move to Indonesia, and she was "hands-on" with the manufacturing for the next six years. She had her second child in Bali, Indonesia, and life overseas was simple (though busy) and fulfilling. Traveling back and forth to the States, Rebekah began to see the vision for showing the furniture at US markets, such as Dallas, Tupelo, and High Point. In 2016 at Tupelo Market, she met a retail store owner who would first become a customer, then a distributor and later a business partner. Each encounter and experience moved the businesses forward, and by this time there were a total of six separate businesses. In 2017 she opened a showroom in Bali and soon obtained international customers which led to container distribution first to Australia and then worldwide.
A huge advancement was made in 2018 when Rebekah opened her own Beyond Borders factory in Java, Indonesia. No longer partnering with local furniture makers, Rebekah created a separate Indonesian company and hired a staff of over 100 employees. Greater uniformity was now possible, and those manuals came in handy. That same year, Beyond Borders opened a showroom in High Point market, creating more customers for the furniture production in India and India. The following year, Rebekah moved her family back to the States to further distribute the wholesale furniture products she had developed. An emphasis on retail was moving into the background, and she began to concentrate on the wholesale aspects of manufacturing and then marketing the products.
One of the biggest milestones was partnering with Michael Carey of Stock & Trade in 2020 to open a 185,000 sq ft wholesale warehouse in Rockford, Alabama. The umbrella company, Rockford Wholesale, was born, and Rebekah became the COO of that company. The facility houses the products of 7 different furniture and home decor companies, one of which is her own personal company, Beyond Borders.
Goods are trucked daily from Rockford to retail stores and designers across the United States. In 2020, Rockford Wholesale also obtained a 16,000 sq ft showroom on Main Street at High Point market, which put the furniture line in front of many more prospective retail customers. That showroom has now expanded to 24,000 sq ft and is open year-round; it briskly comes alive twice a year in April and October for the largest international furniture market in the world and for home inspiration at its finest.
In 2022 another huge milestone occurred when she and her business partner, Michael Carey, opened two retail stores which they called Jes & Gray Living. They desired to create a casual and cozy lifestyle concept that encompassed real life living - with kids, pets, dinner parties, and everything in between.
Although much of the furniture comes from the overseas factories in India, Indonesia, and China, specific new products are continually being developed specifically for the Jes & Gray brand. The groundwork is being laid for several more locations for Jes & Gray, so that story has only begun to unfold.
The adventure will continue with Rebekah at the helm of so many businesses. She is energized, driven, and inspired to keep expanding her knowledge and her experiences abroad and at home. Her growth and capacity for achieving excellence is staggering, and her dreams lead the way for more and more ground-breaking work in the field of furniture. We are all just along for the ride, but what an adventure life holds for those who are onboard the Bekah Convoy.