excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral . please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable independent third party sources . april 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message the longaberger company longaberger s old headquarter building modeled on a giant longaberger medium market basket . type public traded as jrjr predecessor cvsl founder dave longaberger headquarters newark ohio united states key people dave longaberger products baskets vitrified pottery wrought iron wood crafts and other products for the home . parent jrjr networks website www.longaberger.com the longaberger company is an american manufacturer and distributor of handcrafted maple wood baskets and other home and lifestyle products . it was one of the primary employers in the area near dresden ohio with more than 8 200 employees and 1 billion dollars in sales . started in dresden the company is now headquartered in newark ohio . a family owned and operated business the longaberger company was started by dave longaberger in 1973 and was overtaken in 2013 by cvsl inc. it is currently led by john rochon jr the son of the john p. rochon founder and chairman of jrjr networks and richmont holdings . there are currently fewer than 75 full time and part time employees . approximately 30 of those still make baskets . a combination of a recession and changing tastes in home decor combined to send sales which peaked in 2000 at 1 billion to about 100 million in 2012 . 1 longaberger used direct marketing to sell products . the company had approximately 45 000 independent distributors called home consultants in the united states who sold longaberger products directly to customers . the old longaberger corporate headquarters on state route 16 is a local landmark and a well known example of novelty architecture since it takes the shape of the company s biggest seller the medium market basket . 2 the seven story 180 000 square foot building was designed by the longaberger company and executed by nbbj and korda nemeth engineering . the building opened in 1997 . 3 the basket handles weigh almost 150 tons and can be heated during cold weather to prevent ice damage . 4 originally dave longaberger wanted all of the longaberger buildings to be shaped like baskets but only the headquarters was completed at the time of his death . citation needed the company stopped paying property taxes on the building at the end of 2014 and as of july 2016 intended to relocate all remaining employees to offices in nearby frazeysburg . 5 on may 5 2015 it was announced that tami longaberger who had led the longaberger co. since her father died in 1999 had resigned as chief executive officer and director of the company . 6 contents 1 history 2 see also 3 references 4 external links history edit in 1919 j.w. longaberger accepted an apprenticeship with the dresden basket factory . although the dresden basket factory closed as a result of the great depression he still made baskets on the weekends . he and his wife bonnie jean longaberger gist eventually raised enough money to purchase the closed basket factory and start a business of their own . 7 one of j.w. and bonnie s children dave opened j.w. s handwoven baskets in 1973 . starting in 1978 the company began selling longaberger baskets through home shows using a direct marketing model . each basket is handmade signed and dated by the maker . citation needed it was announced in february 2016 that the basket building would be closed and remaining employees would relocate to longaberger s manufacturing plant in frayzesburg ohio . 8 see also edit novelty architecture references edit tim feran april 25 2013 . april 25 2013 . the columbus dispatch http www.dispatch.com content stories business 2013 04 25 longaberger new owner seeking more direct sales companies.html . missing or empty title help sullivan mary ann . longaberger company home office . art history webmaster assoc. retrieved 2008 01 08 . the longaberger company . longaberger facts & features . retrieved 2012 11 26 . zurcher neil 2008 . ohio oddities 2nd edition . cleveland oh gray & company publishers . isbn 978 1 59851 047 8 mallett kent july 8 2016 . longaberger empties famous basket building next week . newark advocate . usa today . retrieved july 13 2016 . mallett kent may 5 2015 . tami longaberger resigns as company ceo . newark advocate . retrieved 5 may 2015 . the longaberger company . the history of the longaberger company . retrieved 2008 01 08 . http www.whio.com news news national iconic longaberger headquarters close nqy6q ecmp whiotv social facebook 2014 sfp external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to the longaberger company . official website the travel channel john ratzenberger s made in america . world collectors net longaberger information and message board coordinates 40 3 49 n 82 20 48 w 40.06361 n 82.34667 w 40.06361 ; 82.34667 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title the longaberger company & oldid 739579126 categories novelty buildings in ohiocompanies based in ohionewark ohiodirect sellingmulti level marketing companieshidden categories pages with citations lacking titlespages with citations having bare urlsarticles lacking reliable references from april 2014all articles lacking reliable referencesall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from july 2016articles with unsourced statements from april 2014commons category with local link same as on wikidatacoordinates not on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools 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