Bridging the Gap

Sometimes manufacturers have trouble getting their products in front of the right end customers. When that happens, they turn to a professional go-between: someone who can promote their products and match them up with the right users.

“We actually market and promote the products that the manufacturers produce,” explained Josephine Burns, CEO of Gap Architectural Products. Her company specializes in representing exterior product manufacturers. “We typically start with specifiers, like designers, architects and landscape architects on the design and planning side. So we get involved very early in the process to help with whatever the project is that requires site furnishings or the products that we represent,” she said.

Gap Architectural Products represents Buy American manufacturers only. “I rep the best product manufacturers in the market,” Burns said. “Landscape Forms, one of my manufacturers, makes it a goal to use their integrated site furnishings to ‘create a sense of place.’  It's very rewarding and fulfilling work... spending time with creative people that care about the environment, and with manufacturers that design and produce beautiful, functional accessories for the outdoors.”

Before launching her own firm in 1994, Burns pursued several career paths, including teaching and cosmetology. “As a teacher, I had to have two or three jobs just to make ends meet,” she recalls. Today, she is grateful for the chance to pursue an entrepreneurial path. “You can create a vision and make it happen with smart choices, total commitment and a passion for success. I think it's one of the privileges of living in a democracy,” she said.

www.gaparchproducts.com