From Mod-Chic Chairs to Virus Barriers
What Plexi-Craft an upscale furniture factory in the Bronx has, the city wants: Acrylic resin skills.
Installing a protective barrier this month at the Ukrainian Museum in the East Village of Manhattan.Credit.James Estrin/The New York Times
By Hillary Chura
Dec. 18, 2020
For almost 60 years, Plexi-Craft Quality Products in the Bronx has been turning out chic, mod-looking coffee tables, chairs and even tissue boxes, made with crystal-clear acrylic resin. But when the coronavirus struck in March, its factory, the city’s last surviving acrylic furniture maker, temporarily closed.
But something unexpected happened around May. Doctors, banks, hotels, downtown office buildings and restaurants started contacting the company with requests for shields to keep their workers and customers safe. Now Plexi-Craft is busier than ever, shaping its acrylic resin (also known under brand names like Lucite and Plexiglas) into transparent barriers that