For a generation, a handcrafted Longaberger basket is something of a home decor showpiece.
Dave Longaberger founded the company in 1973, and by 1975 had hired his daughter Tammy to work there. When Dave died in 1999, Tami took over as president and CEO.
In 2001, a book that Dave Longaberger had written was finally published, and Tammy went on tour to promote it. That’s when I met her.
At the time, the Longaberger company was at its peak, with thousands of employees making all kinds of home decor products,
They even built a company headquarters building in Ohio that looks like a giant Longaberger Basket.
So here now, from 2001, Tami Longaberger.
Some time after our interview in 2001, the Longaberger Company’s fortunes began to slide. Tami stepped down as CEO in 2015, and Longaberger ceased operations in 2018. The company’s brand was revived a year later by another comp[any.
As for the distinctive basket shape headquarters building, Longaberger moved out of it in 2016, and it was sold to developers in They’ve tried to turn it into a luxury hotel, but at present those plans are still on hold.
Tami Longaberger is 60 now, and works with a venture capital firm based in Washington, DC.