The Orleans is a Harlee original and is one of the most popular futon frames in the line.

 "My father was well respected and liked in the furniture and waterbed industries," said Leichter. "Because of this, dealers would listen to him when he said they should try this or that. He would go into our regular furniture store customers and convince them to give him a little floor space for a futon product, and they would. That's how we made the transition from waterbed products to futon furniture. It's actually been seamless," he said. With the shrinking of the waterbed sales, many of Harlee's customers have become sleep shops who carry flotation, innerspring, and futon furniture. "During the waterbed boom times we were the generic company everybody used for those types of products. Now we are trying very hard to transition into a company that people look to for design leadership. We want futon industry, and our customers specifically, to understand that what we offer is not just a 'me too' futon frame but something they can get from us that gives their store a unique product for their market," said Leichter. Harlee has been moving in this direction for almost three years now and has experienced its share of futon design knock-offs. "At first it was frustrating to go through the design and R&D process and have a competitor knock-off our futon design," said Leichter, who added, "But then we discovered that very few of our dealers would drop us for a copy that lacked our quality and delivery just to save two or three dollars. The years we've spent building our reputation as a quality vendor with a commitment to innovative futon frame designs have paid off." Woll added that the company now views the knock-offs as a compliment and a confirmation that Harlee is the design leader.

To back up this commitment Leichter and Woll promised a program that would offer four to eight new futon arm styles per show, and with four shows per year they're talking sixteen to twenty-four new futon styles per year.

"This is an ambitious undertaking, but we have made the assessment and the decision for our company to move in this direction," he said. "Our plan meets several needs at once," added Woll. "We can give large customers futon furniture that suit their needs and also give smaller specialty futon stores unique products that will allow them to easily differentiate themselves from their competitors. Its the best of both worlds for them," he said. Leichter added that this was the company's philosophy. "We won't cross that line. What we design and build for the bigger dealers will not go to the smaller ones, and vice versa. We won't make the mistake some of the other suppliers have and neglect the smaller specialty futon shops. Those stores will be around for the long haul," Leichter said.

Harlee is also bringing a new oak futon frame line to market in January.