Wanda Luna, Owner & Director, Universal Furniture Design, LLC.
Faith First, Then Hustle: Universal Furniture Design
BY BETH ILAGAN
Wanda Luna is the owner and director of Universal Furniture Design LLC, a minority-owned company established November 30, 2013. The company’s philosophy is to provide quality products, superior workmanship, exceptional service, affordable prices, a reasonable time frame, and loyalty regarding furniture design and manufacture.
Her company’s services include furniture reupholstery, furniture restoration, furniture refinishing, drapery, manufacturing of furnishings, and custom furniture. It also includes pickup, delivery, and installation.
Its primary customers are hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, medical facilities, and also private residences. Most of their work involves custom furniture, reupholstery, and draperies for local casinos and restaurants, with the majority of their business referrals coming from repeat customers and word of mouth.
Commons Club Lounge at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
Wanda is also a board member of the Hospitality Network Board and has been its Vice President for Development. She is also the Vice President of Administration for The Hospitality Industry Network (NEWH). Her strength is in furniture marketing, sales, and design. She loves meeting with clients to discover their ideas and needs and put those on paper to execute a product that the client desires.
“I love the process of meeting clients, getting to know them, their vision, and seeing our shop manufacture it to the actual end product.”
Wanda, a Christian born and raised in Honduras, immigrated to the United States when she was nine years old. Her first job in California involved working for a military contracting company assisting military families’ move from different assigned locations. In 2009, she met a friend’s friend who offered her a job as a sales representative in an upholstery company in Las Vegas. In 2012 (at the age of 31), she moved to Las Vegas and found her passion in designing/making furniture and home accessories.
After learning the ropes of the furniture manufacturing business, she decided to open her own furniture shop in her partner’s garage. Then, she bought a house and moved the business into her garage. She moved three more times from her garage, a 1,000 sq. ft. space to a 3,000 sq. ft. area, finally to an 8,000 sq. ft. warehouse located at 2960 Westwood Drive in Las Vegas.
Custom Upholstery by Universal Furniture Design, LLC.
A person with a strong faith in God, Wanda firmly believes that God is always looking out for her. “God guided me all the way through. I moved here not knowing what I wanted to do, and I am thankful for the person who hired me because she saw something in me that I didn’t know I had. At the end of the day, it is important to be a good person, and things just fall into place. You have to also believe in yourself—that you can do what you set out to accomplish.”
Custom Upholstery by Universal Furniture Design, LLC.
Her expertise is listening to customers and putting their desires on paper as a design. “I just fell in love with the furniture industry and learned that I was good at it. I love talking and interacting with people and seeing the whole furniture manufacturing process.”
She places her spiritual aspirations above material or business aspirations. Being the owner and CEO of her company, she is very aware of being responsible for making her company succeed to provide work that can help others. “If they don’t eat, I won’t eat either.” She treats her employees as her own family. “We go through the same struggles together daily and work as a team.”
Custom Upholstery by Universal Furniture Design, LLC.
As a person, Wanda has always been self-sufficient but deeply acknowledges the help and loyalty that God, family, friends, and employees provide. She has the tenacity to succeed not just for herself but also to help others and contribute toward the greater good. Wanda brings a sense of awe and wonder to everything. She has a very uplifting spirit and has the vision and the determination to bring each project to fruition. Wanda is highly energetic and has a strength of purpose and a gift for networking and organization. As a visionary with a lot of courage, she pushes things beyond what is expected. She has the drive and determination to fulfill her life’s aspirations.
During the recent 2020 pandemic, her company not only survived but did even better in terms of sales. “It’s all about keeping a positive relationship with your customers and loving what you do.”
Her continuing challenges are labor shortages—needing more employees, and finding skilled workers. “The process of making custom furniture can be very tedious and stressful. You’ve got to hustle to do things, meaning working day-in and day-out and at the same time believing in yourself and your capabilities. You have actually to do it and see results, and then you know that you have succeeded.”
Her favorite thing about her career is the process of meeting the client, getting to know who they are as a person, the vision that they have, and seeing the entire process of manufacturing the item from a shop drawing to the actual end-product. The final prize is seeing the client satisfied and happy with the product they have ordered.
Custom Upholstery by Universal Furniture Design, LLC.
Wanda learned how to “hustle” or work energetically from her mother, Hilda Luna, who (as a single mom) raised three kids on her own. She is 63 years old, living in California, and is Wanda’s inspiration to move forward against all odds and overcome challenges. She is the main reason why Wanda is such an enterprising entrepreneur!
According to Wanda, the latest trend in furniture design is mid-century modern design … referring to the iconic styles of the 1940s-1960s. It prioritizes simplicity and functionality over clutter and details. Mid-century modernist interiors feature more decorative elements, pop of color, bohemian accents, and organic shapes. “It never goes out of style and always comes back. They may have changes in fabrics, palettes, and colors, but the retro-look is always active and remains in style.”
Wanda’s vision for Universal Furniture Design is to have their own building where she will have separate areas to display furniture, accessories, and draperies; have a more extensive warehouse; open a retail store of furniture and furnishings; and the ability to distribute products to other states and globally as an online business. With her keen ambition, patience, discipline, perseverance, leadership and organizational skills, and the ability to coordinate and structure projects, I do not see how Wanda Luna will not succeed in anything she sets her mind on. For sure, she will always get things done!
Watch out for Wanda Luna and Universal Furniture Design, LLC!
Universal Furniture Design, LLC
2960 Westwood Drive, Unit 12
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 485-0129
www.ufdlasvegas.com
Commons Club Lounge at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas