When looking for a place to call home, this piano sales business discovered the perfect location in Indianola. Learn why this local businessman loves living and working in Warren County.
(Warren’s Voice doesn’t just report the news. We are committed to building a thriving culture in Warren County. To do that, we need strong local businesses that support traditional values. This article is part of our series highlighting the local businesses that make our community great.)
When asked what he loves about living and working in Warren County, Andrew DeFord, the owner of De Ford & Sons Pianos, said,
The community and how safe we feel here as opposed to Polk County. The people here wave at you as you go by. The world feels like a smaller place here, yet a world that is still moving forward and growing and healthy. The friendliness of Indianola is reminiscent of my childhood hometown of Charles City, IA. This is where we want to be and raise a family.
The showroom for De Ford & Sons is now located near the townsquare of Indianola. But it wasn’t always. In 2016, DeFord, already a piano technician, saw the need for quality used pianos in the community. With the help of an investor, he began his journey toward building a thriving piano sales company. Describing his business, DeFord said, “We offer quality used pianos for sale at a reasonable price as well as tuning, piano lessons, and excellent piano movers we work with. We also offer value assessments for people who need/want to know what their piano is worth either for selling or insurance purposes.”
As the business grew, it became clear the company needed a permanent home. Describing their journey, DeFord said,
Our first store was in some spare rooms in a dentist office in Norwalk, IA. After gaining some traction we then rented a house in Des Moines and turned it into a showroom while renting out the upstairs to offset costs. This is when we also started offering piano lessons in our studio. At this point we realized the need for good, reliable piano movers. We started a moving business and eventually passed this on to our now mover, Stephen Novak of Novak Piano Moving. Business continued to grow and we moved out of the house in Des Moines and into a strip mall in Clive, IA. After three years there we needed a change and started looking for a place in Indianola, IA.
For Andrew DeFord, moving the company to Indianola was a priority.
The biggest reason for the move would be family. I had already moved my family to Indianola back in 2021 and with the growth of our other business, DeFord Piano Tuning, and the hours spent on the road, and then going to the Clive location to be in the studio that was starting to wear on me and my family. A 40 minute drive one way was just a lot.
In addition to being better for his family, DeFord loved the pro-business culture of Warren County. He said,
The regulations of Polk County were also starting to become wearing and annoying to our company and we wanted a smaller town feel. We wanted to take the next step of hopefully having set hours at our studio for showings and having the studio moved to only a 10 minute drive was huge in making those steps. I wanted to support our community and be a part of our local community.
De Ford & Sons Pianos provides Warren County with a unique service. The company boasts an inventory of quality, affordable pianos, giving Indianola and the surrounding communities a basis for musical culture and experiences. Owner Andrew DeFord said, “My wife and I have fallen in love with Indianola and want to stay here for the rest of our lives.”
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