About Whitman Designs
I established Whitman Designs in 1993. After dedicating 10 years to the lighting industry as a lighting consultant, I found that many of my customers were asking for designs that were not available in the industry. Some times I was able to work in some custom designs within an existing lighting company but it was difficult and cost prohibitive. So I did the research on the materials and parts and soon after jumped in with both feet.
I kind of stumbled a little at first. I focused on selling my unique designs strictly wholesale to other lighting showrooms throughout Florida. Had great sales at first but I quickly learned that I needed a larger volume to make this work. So we expanded the location to offer a small showroom and started advertising in the local newspaper. We were off to an instant success.
The store continued to expand over the next 7 years to a point it made more sense to build our own facility. Within a year we did just that. I got a SBA loan to build a million dollar facility on Enterprise Ave. We enjoyed this location for many years and decided to sell it to move to a Downtown Naples location.
Which is where we are today 990 3rd Ave North. In the Historical Design District. This location has been our favorite because it's offered us the most foot traffic. It's also the most convenient to our customers and truly it's been the most profitable.
Over the years we continue to design and fabricate custom wrought iron lighting and furniture. But proudly we also now offer our own hand made wood furniture, antique cottage furniture , original paintings that I paint in a coastal style, and my most favorite all the blown glass designs you can imagine from my local glass blower Jeff McDougal.
I invite you to visit soon. There is something new and different created every day.
