“We travel around the world and find one-of-a-kind or
few-of-a-kind items,” said Matt Bass, who founded Bass & Bennett Trading
Co. in 2019 and is now the company’s co-owner.
The store sells furniture and home decor from India, Mexico,
Africa and elsewhere, he said.
“In addition to bringing back the products, we try to
understand the history or origin of the product,” Bass said. “So we bring back
stories and pictures as well.”
Bass, an assistant teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon
University’s Institute for Software Research, said he’s been traveling his
whole life, and travel remains the main impetus for his business.
“The selling part was the smallest motivation,” he said. “It
was, number one, when you’re traveling, having something to look for and to
learn about. It gives you an opportunity to meet people and learn things you
wouldn’t if you stuck to tourist sites.”
Bass began the company as a wholesaler, working out of a
warehouse in Tarentum.
The business currently has a retail location set up on a
farm in Moon Township. With the Strip District site set to open in January,
Bass said, the Moon site will be used as a spot for special events and barn
sales.
The new Strip District location, at 1900 Smallman St. across
from The Terminal, will be a “perfect location” for the business, Bass said.
“These days there’s no better high-traffic area than in the
Strip,” he said.
The 4,300-square-foot site was once a produce warehouse,
Bass said. The business is now working to restore the building to its original
style with exposed brick and a concrete floor, he said.
“We really like the history and character of the building
itself,” he said. “It really lends itself to showing off the kinds of things
that we have.”
Bass said he hopes to have a rooftop deck where the business
could host events and showcase outdoor furniture. The company has been hosting
chefs, wine tastings, yoga classes and other community events at the Moon
location — something Bass said he’d like to continue at the new storefront.
“We really love the community aspect,” he said.
Eventually, Bass said, he’d like to have three locations in
the Pittsburgh area.
Selling unique furniture and home decor in Pittsburgh is his
way of bringing back a bit of his worldwide travels, said Bass, who lives in
North Side.
“Mostly I travel by myself. I come back and I
try to convey the things that I see and the experiences I have to others.
Bringing back artifacts, it’s like bringing people into my world and letting
people experience what I experience,” Bass said. Courtesy: www.triblive.com
