about


History
The Apartmento brand started in 1994 as a retailer of interior accessories and imported French furniture.

Throughout the nineties, the emphasis moved steadily towards furniture. The previous owner began by importing Canadian and Australian furniture and, frustrated at the fussy designs then available, began designing his own furniture to sell under the Apartmento name.

This led to current owner, Stuart Bowman, joining the company in early 2000. As a designer and craftsman, Stuart drove a tighter furniture focus and established Apartmento's vertically integrated structure (design-manufacture-retail).

Nearly all Apartmento furniture is designed and manufactured in-house, giving the company unprecedented control over all aspects of the process. For Stuart, this was the only way to satisfy his creative ideals without compromising on quality or design.		Stuart Bowman

Stu completed his Bachelor of Product Design before moving to Sydney where he lived for 10 years. He worked as Philips' in-house designer before joining KWA Design Group as managing partner, working with international brands such as Nokia and Philips.

Stu returned to New Zealand in 1997 and established a factory to manufacture his own furniture designs. This led to a partnership with Apartmento and his eventual acquisition of the whole company.

The company moved its manufacturing facility to a larger factory in 2002 and a Wellington showroom was opened in 2003.

Stuart remains actively involved in the business and continues to design all new Apartmento pieces.
Stu