Bass & Bennett Buying and selling Co. brings distinctive furnishings from world wide to the Pittsburgh Strip District

A lifelong journey takes Matt Bass and his business, Bass & Bennett Trading Co., to a store in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, where he sells unique furniture and home accessories from around the world.

“We travel around the world and find one-offs or one-offs,” says Matt Bass, who founded Bass & Bennett Trading Co. in 2019 and is now a co-owner of the company.

The store sells furniture and home accessories from India, Mexico, Africa and elsewhere, he said.

“Not only do we bring the products back, but we also try to understand the history or origin of the product,” said Bass. “So we also bring stories and pictures with us.”

Bass, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Software Research, said he has been traveling all his life and that travel remains the main driver of his business.

“The selling part was the least of the motivation,” he said. “It was especially when you were traveling to look for and learn something. It gives you the opportunity to meet people and learn things that you wouldn’t if you stuck to tourist attractions. “

Bass started the company as a wholesaler, working from a warehouse in Tarentum.

The company currently has a retail location on a farm in Moon Township. With the Strip District location opening in January, Bass said the Moon location will be used as a venue for special events and barn sales.

The new location in the Strip District at 1900 Smallman Street across from the terminal will be a “perfect location” for the business, Bass said.

“There is no better, high-traffic area than the Strip these days,” he said.

The 4,300-square-foot site was once a warehouse, Bass said. The company is currently working to restore the building to its original style using exposed bricks and a concrete floor, he said.

“We really like the history and character of the building itself,” he said. “It’s really good for showing the kind of things we have.”

Bass said he hopes to have a rooftop terrace where the company could host events and showcase patio furniture. The company has hosted chefs, wine tastings, yoga classes, and other community events at the Moon location – something Bass said he wants to continue on the new storefront.

“We love the community aspect,” he said.

After all, Bass said he would like to have three locations in the Pittsburgh area.

Selling unique furniture and home accessories in Pittsburgh is his way of bringing back a little bit of his global travels, said Bass, who lives in North Side.

“Most of the time I travel alone. I come back and try to convey the things I see and the experiences I’ve had to others. Bringing artifacts back is like bringing people into my world and letting people experience what I experience, ”said Bass.

Julia Felton is a contributor to Tribune Review. You can contact Julia at 724-226-7724, jfelton@triblive.com, or on Twitter.