Our Story
What is now RAD Children’s Furniture started in 2004 in a garage in Los Angeles. In these early days, Radomir, who had enjoyed a varied and successful professional life, was enjoying work as a relationship coach and published author. Looking for ways to stay active, Radomir found the physical nature of woodworking appealing and embraced the hobby (and all its tools) with enthusiasm, quickly filling his home with his furniture designs. At that time, Radomir’s wife, Antoinette, an associate at RIE® and a trainee at the Pikler Institute in Hungary, was leading RIE® parenting classes. Upon hearing that her husband was building furniture, parents from Antoinette’s RIE® classes started requesting furniture and climbing structures for their children that were built to include certain educationally developmental specifications. With a nod to his name “RADomir”, RAD Children’s furniture was born.
Over time Radomir’s pieces became so popular with parents and caregivers, that he found he could not keep up with the demand. Just as he began looking for help, John showed up.
John had a decade under his belt as an audio engineer for television, yet he often found he preferred to work with his hands and enjoyed embarking on creative and handyman projects during his time off. Before Radomir and John ever met, John had already made his first Pikler inspired climbing triangle in celebration of his daughter’s first steps. Excited by the opportunity to contribute his woodworking skills to other young families, John started helping Radomir between TV shoots. As RAD Children’s Furniture continued to grow, John made the conscious choice to step away from the entertainment industry and put his efforts full time into creating environments that enrich and empower young children.
Since then, Radomir and John have worked to grow RAD Children’s Furniture through the addition of new products, investing in state-of-the-art equipment, refining their processes, and optimizing their production. Together, they’ve nurtured the growth of a small and passionate team of in-house craftsman, and an ever-expanding community of RAD Children’s Furniture families and educators.