Every great brand has a defining moment: a single, sharp memory that encapsulates exactly who they are and what they stand for. For Gary Berman, the founder of BERMANFALK Hospitality Group, that moment lives tucked away inside a hotel guestroom drawer.

Whenever Gary traveled with his family, a familiar ritual played out. The moment they walked into a hotel room featuring furniture his company had manufactured, he would head straight to the casework, pull open a drawer, and point to the logo plated neatly inside. Gary recalls his teenage son—who is now the president of BERMANFALK—looking on, rolling his eyes with a classic, “Ah, dad, do you have to?”.

Gary’s response became a foundational pillar for the company:

“The name’s in the drawer, the name’s on the door. There’s nowhere to hide.”

It was a statement about pride, passion, and commitment to the product. To this day, Gary’s story serves as an extension of the brand’s beginning—a journey that transformed a small local business into an international leader in custom hospitality casegoods and seating.

The Early Chapters

Long before BERMANFALK became a trusted vendor for top hoteliers across North America, Gary Berman was building a foundation in business, marketing, and commercial manufacturing. He began his studies at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), focusing specifically on International Marketing. Proactive from the start, he landed a job at just 18 years old and successfully convinced his employer to help fund his part-time education.

Always pushing for the next summit, Gary later attended the University of British Columbia (UBC), where he graduated under the Executive Education Business & Marketing program. Remarkably, he was the youngest student at that time to have ever joined the accelerated executive program.

While pursuing his education, Gary stepped into the architectural lighting industry, eventually becoming a partner alongside Paul Falk and another associate. Together, they grew the manufacturing business into one of the largest companies of its kind in North America, with Gary spearheading sales and marketing. When a major multinational corporation purchased the lighting company, Gary and Paul exited the business. The major sale closed that chapter of Gary’s career, but it didn’t take long for the entrepreneurial spirit to pull him into a completely new arena: the furniture industry.

The Birth of a Brand

The roots of BERMANFALK stretch back to the early 1980s, beginning as a small, regional furniture shop operating out of a rustic barn. Recognizing its untapped potential, Gary and Paul purchased the business—then known as Legacy Furniture—and set in motion a transformation that would eventually result in the state-of-the-art manufacturing operation of today. In those early days, the company focused strictly on high-end residential projects, collaborating with premier interior designers before officially rebranding to BERMANFALK in 2002.

As the business shifted from a local workshop to a respected name in the premium design market, developing an identity with true longevity became the ultimate goal. Gary wanted a name that was memorable, distinct, and capable of illustrating exactly what the company intended to become. When their branding agency initially proposed concepts, Gary and Paul weren’t sold right away. They brought the options home to their families, gathering with their wives to look over the list of names. While the partners briefly entertained and laughed off variations like “FALKBerman,” it was their wives who definitively championed BERMANFALK.

Trusting their instinct, they locked in the name—one that Gary insisted on keeping fully intact in later years. From the very beginning, Gary and his team treated it as a true corporate brand rather than just a personal name, ensuring that the identity could grow, adapt, and outlast any single individual.

Every design choice behind the visual identity was meticulously intentional. Driven by Gary’s belief that a premium brand should remain grounded and humble, they avoided bolding the entire name—which would have created an overpowering aesthetic. Instead, they chose to bold only the “Falk” portion. This elegant contrast between BERMAN and FALK allowed the two halves to balance each other out, softening the all-caps wordmark while presenting a strong, highly professional profile that perfectly communicated a sense of quiet strength.

The Global Pivot

By 2007, BERMANFALK hit a major crossroads. Operating as a brick-and-mortar manufacturer in Langley, British Columbia, meant dealing with strict capacity ceilings and limited material access. To scale beyond these regional constraints, Gary made an incredibly bold decision: close down local manufacturing and transition the entire business to an offshore, outsourced manufacturing model.

To understand the magnitude of this milestone, one must understand the industry landscape at the time. Virtually no other furniture companies in North America were executing this strategy; it was an uncharted, high-risk leap. Yet, by stepping away from the limitations of a localized shop, BERMANFALK gained unlimited access to a diverse global labor pool and a vast array of specialized raw materials. Pulling this off successfully allowed a relatively small company to start rapidly building its brand reputation alongside major international hoteliers, positioning them to seamlessly deliver custom casegoods to 3-to-5-star hotel properties. It was the move that seriously launched BERMANFALK into the commercial hospitality sector.

Navigating this new, highly competitive landscape required an equally unique sales strategy. In those early days, Gary and Paul brought an entirely fresh, tactile approach to their presentations. They didn’t even own a digital projector; instead, their primary calling card was a beautiful, large-format portfolio book filled with detailed drawings and renderings that no one else in the market could replicate.

But Gary knew that while a drawing is powerful, physical proof is undeniable.

To stand out during high-stakes sales pitches, the duo traveled with heavy crates carrying fully finished pieces of furniture directly into design firms across the continent. It was a grueling presentation process—especially when hoisting those massive crates up the stairs of older New York City design studios without elevators. Yet, physically wheeling these complete examples of craftsmanship into a boardroom spoke volumes—proving not only their unyielding dedication to quality, but the extraordinary lengths BERMANFALK was willing to go for their clients long before an order was ever placed.

The People First Commitment

What originally drew Gary toward the hospitality industry was his deep appreciation for human connection. In the hospitality sector, the brand collaborates directly with owners, purchasers, operators, and visionary designers who care profoundly about the final product. Because everyone is so highly invested, BERMANFALK’s core values—reliability, people first, customer-centric, quality, and excellence—were easily understood, paving the way for the lasting, generational relationships we have today.

This people-centric focus is the true engine behind the company’s success. While product design and manufacturing capabilities are essential, Gary firmly believes that the ultimate differentiator is the team.

That commitment extends far beyond the boardroom, shaping a profound sense of global responsibility. When asked about his personal motivation, Gary doesn’t point to profit margins or sales volumes; instead, he looks at the lives connected to the business:

“The why is really about our deep feelings and responsibility to our staff and to their families. I mean, that’s a very big why. We wake up every day with an understanding that we, amongst the BERMANFALK family globally, are probably responsible for the livelihood of close to 200 people. They rely on us to be good at what we do every single day.”

The Lasting Legacy

Over nearly two decades of specialized hospitality focus, BERMANFALK has forged a reputation for excellence—one client and one order at a time—successfully manufacturing and delivering custom furniture for thousands upon thousands of hotel rooms across North America and beyond. The brand’s diverse portfolio spans from highly complex, ultra-luxury properties to intimate, design-forward boutique hotels, delivering signature quality and establishing unshakeable trust with every rollout.

Today, that legacy continues through a new era of leadership. Following a long-term, carefully constructed corporate succession plan in 2023, Gary Berman stepped back from day-to-day operations to let the next generation steer the industry-leading brand forward. In his current role as Founder & Managing Partner, Gary describes himself as “the guide on the side,” focusing his energy on providing a strong foundation, sharing vital lessons learned from past hurdles, and offering strategic insights to Aaron Berman (President), Daniel Berman (Executive Vice President), and the Executive Team as they take up the mantle as the new stewards of the brand.

Yet, no matter how much the company grows, the underlying core values remain exactly as they were defined decades ago: keep the relationships deep, respect your partners, always do exactly what you say you are going to do, and maintain that signature pride in the craftsmanship. After all, the name is still in the drawer, and the name is still on the door.