Today we’d like to introduce you to Mimi Younkins and Mark Furman.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Mimi. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As a journalist once said:
“A 60-something Massachusetts couple changes careers at the height of the Great Recession, buys an 1850’s knife company in Ayer Massachusetts, repositions the company, and a few years later is in Hollywood!” Here’s our story:
When my husband, Mark Furman, and I bought R. Murphy Knife Company in 2009, we never could have imagined the ways the business would grow and the passion we would develop for it. That year, our accountant and friend had suggested the purchase as a simple business opportunity, but it quickly became so much more.
We didn’t know anything about knives or manufacturing, but the next thing we knew, we had fallen in love with the business and our product. When we purchased the knife company, it had a solid customer base, especially for industrial hand knives, as it was established in Boston in 1850 by brothers, Robert and John Murphy. It is one of the oldest cutlery manufacturers in America and one of only a handful that remains in business here today.
Thanks to Mark’s engineering experience and our marketing and sales efforts, opportunity has abounded. The new things we’ve been diving into have been so much fun. Repurposing old knives, designing new knives, and rejuvenating the business – we’re always excited to try something new.
As we progressed through the first several years of ownership, R. Murphy Knives especially came to fame for our unique oyster knives. The knives we’ve developed have become very popular with the industry, and as we work with more and more oyster farms across the country, press coverage has soared. Our knives have been featured in Cook’s Illustrated, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Playboy, Epicurious, Food & Wine, The Boston Globe, Imbibe, Wired, and Martha Stewart Living among others. At the 2014 Oscars, our knives were given as gifts in the celebrity swag bags! Later this year, you will see R. Murphy Knives featured in the show “How It’s Made” on the Discovery Channel!
It’s been really incredible to learn and grow with the company. So much so, that several years ago our daughter, Emma Furman, got her MBA and joined the team. She is an incredible addition and I don’t know how we did it without her. Now we are truly a family owned business!
We’ve especially loved getting to know so many wonderful people—authors, chefs, butchers, restaurant owners, people interested in sustainable food. We never would’ve guessed where this company would take us, but we’re so glad that it has.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Well, naturally we faced the typical learning curve issues associated with any new business. Although it was an old company, it was brand new to us. Mark learned everything about the knife manufacturing process and all the materials that go into it. Much of this he learned from employees who had been working there for 20 – 30 years! Being an engineer with an MBA helped a lot.
We had to start work on getting our name back out in the retail world. The previous owners had decided to rely on industrial knife sales alone. So, it’s been a big effort to bring the R. Murphy name back up to where it was decades ago for the consumer products, like kitchen cutlery and oyster knives.
Sometimes we have felt like a 160 year old start-up!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about R. Murphy Knives – what should we know?
R. Murphy Knife Company has been making knives in Massachusetts since 1850 for both industrial and retail customers – everything from mill knives to oyster knives to kitchen cutlery.
We specialize in making high quality knives using superior materials and traditional methods. All our knives are hand-crafted, meaning that every knife has an actual person grinding, heat treating, polishing and attending to every detail that goes into transforming a sheet of steel into a sharp, well designed knife. We make all the wood handles for our full tang knives in our wood shop. Plastic handles and turned wood handles we buy from other New England companies.
While we have decided to stick with the production methods that have made this company successful for over 160 years, we have also added some up-to-date technology to keep us on the cutting edge of knife design! In the kitchen, we’re partnering with award-winning chefs to create new tools, enhance age-old designs, and improve performance. These partnerships have led to the Wellfleet Oyster Knife, the Jackson Cannon Bar Knife, the Pitmaster BBQ Knife, and one of the best carbon steel Chef’s knives made in America today!
Since we are a relatively small manufacturer, we are nimble. Private label and custom colors are a big market for us as we require smaller minimums than most companies. We love to work with companies on custom designs. The Duxbury, Olympia and Chesapeake Competition Oyster knives, among others, have all been the result of collaborations with well-established American oyster farms. We’re proud to say that we have been awarded several patents for new knife designs in the past few years. That’s innovation!
What sets us apart is our attention to detail, use of the highest quality materials, cutting-edge design, and great customer service!
The entire R. Murphy team is proud to be part of keeping American manufacturing alive in the 21st century!
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There are so many people to thank – employees, vendors, supporters, customers, advocates, and many others – who love our rich history and fine products!
First a big thank you to our team on the floor, in the office, in shipping, and in sales and marketing. It took a little time, but we have assembled a good core of people who are incredibly dedicated to all things Murphy. Hard working people who really care about the quality of the product, getting it out the door on time, and providing terrific customer service. Needless to say, we couldn’t do it without them.
Others who have been instrumental in helping us get our name out there and leant their support in numerous ways – Island Creek Oysters, Island Creek Oyster Bar and all restaurants of that awesome team. Food52 is a great partner with whom we have developed lots of new products. The Grommet is also on our early list of supporters. Edible Boston falls into this category as well.
Chef’s Collaborative, through whom we have gotten to know incredible chefs from around the country, along with well-known authors and other sustainable food advocates. The Mass Restaurant Association, especially president, Bob Luz, has been an enormous supporter.
And we certainly cannot say enough about some of the area chefs and mixologists with whom we’ve not only developed popular new products, but have been lucky enough to become friends. Jackson Cannon, Andy Husbands and Chris Hart, Jeremy Sewall, Garrett Harker, Ed Doyle to name just a few. We love these guys!
Contact Info:
- Address: 13 Groton Harvard Road
Ayer, MA 01432 - Website: www.rmurphyknives.com
- Phone: 978-772-3481
- Email: info@rmurphyknives.com
- Instagram: @rmurphyknives
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rmurphyknives
- Twitter: @rmurphyknives
Image Credit:
Nat and Cody Gantz, Robyn Ivy, William F. Pomeroy
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