Diamond Sofa Berkley Tufted Chair

Tawny Lam and Kevin Yip pooled their business smarts in 1992 to create leather upholstery importer Diamond Sofa, based in Commerce, Calif.

The business took off, and so did their personal partnership. Now married 10 years and with three children, the outgoing Lam, 37, is vice president and chief financial officer, and the soft-spoken Yip, 40, is president and marketing director.

"I am the yin and he is the yang," Lam says. "We complement each other and combine our energy." She oversees the warehouse and the national sales force, while he supervises marketing (Web site, catalog, advertising, promotions, sales tools) and operations.

Lam is a graduate of Cal State/Los Angeles with degrees in finance and marketing. Yip's Family owns Maxim's Mattress, a local wholesaler they studied as a business model. "We thought of finding a niche and decided to do sofas on an import level," Lam says. "There was not much imported furniture (in 1992) like the way it is now, or too much competition on the promotional price front. We introduced luxury items at promotional price points."

While never abandoning its promotional base, Diamond this year has stepped up some leather grades. Today, the couple co-owns a leather upholstery in Thailand with a leather-savvy college friend who manages its 435 employees. Diamond also has a partnership in china, where 125 workers produce its microfiber and leather-match promotional seating.

The company, which sells to Top 100 stores and independents, across the Americas and Europe, moved into an expanded 150,000 square-foot warehouse in Commerce in May.

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