Pinellas artwork manufacturer completes $13.5M facility expansion

A Pinellas County artwork manufacturer plans to expand its footprint nationwide following a $13.5 million expansion of its corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility . 

Largo-based Wendover Art Group, at 6465 126th Ave. N., celebrated a 69,000-square-foot addition to its 130,000-square-foot facility with a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday. Now with nearly 200,000 square feet of work space, the company hopes to increase production of its signature artwork, mirrors, wallcoverings, lighting, textiles, sculptures and more. Its work can be found in hotel, office buildings and apartment complexes. 

About $2 million of the total project came from Pinellas County’s Penny for Pinellas employment sites program, a release states. That program is dedicated to supporting local business growth and creating high-wage jobs. 

The expansion includes vital improvements like enhanced loading dock access, rear loading manufacturing space, a showroom and a new stormwater drainage system, according to the release. It’s an investment that also supports the continued expansion of Wendover’s luxury portfolio, its owners say.

In 2022, Wendover acquired Lowcountry Originals — a South Carolina-based manufacturer of hand-forged lighting, bed swings, mirrors and sculptures. The following year, the company added two more artisanal brands to its portfolio: Kevin O’Brien Studio, a textile maker renowned for hand-dyed velvet pillows and bedding, and Friedman Brothers, a 120-year-old manufacturer of decorative mirrors and furniture accessories. 

With the latest expansion, Richard Forsyth, CEO of Wendover Art Group, says the company can now double its manufacturing capacity out of its Largo home. The company employs about 300 people, but hopes its growing portfolio of products sold across the globe will attract more potential employees, customers and high-end products that can be folded under the Wendover umbrella. 

“The Pinellas County Employment Sites Program was essential to moving forward with this major expansion,” Forsyth says in the release. “By helping us enhance and upgrade our meeting spaces to world class quality for our team member experience, the (employment sites program) is directly supporting our ability to provide the space to move Friedman Brother Mirrors, build one of the only custom glass shops in the US, and relocate Kevin O’Brien Studio’s luxury soft goods workshop.”