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Longaberger Looks For New Life Outside Iconic Office Building

Wikipedia Commons
The building houses a massive atrium and includes a glass ceiling and heating elements in the basket's "handles."

Twenty years after reaching the peak of its popularity, the Longaberger Basket Company is moving out of its iconic basket-shaped building and looking for a fresh start.

In the 1990s, the Newark-based company made millions by selling its quaint baskets, many for hundreds of dollars apiece. Longaberger even spent $30 million on that one-of-a-kind office building.

Just as quickly as the Longaberger craze started, it stopped, and sales are now about 10 percent of Longaberger’s peak in 2000. By the end of this week, all of the employees working in that basket-shaped office will move to other company offices.

Related: Longaberger To Vacate Basket-Shaped Building By Week's End

For more on the company's rise and decline, WOSU's Steve Brown spoke with Kent Mallett from The Newark Advocate. Click the play button above to hear their conversation.

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