Children’s furniture exporters and husband-and-wife team Shawn and Aimee Fu have a long history in the youth furniture business.

And while they built their careers on exporting goods from China to the United States, the pair developed a strong affinity for American-style children’s furnishings.

“My wife fell in love with these beautiful products—she likes Amercian-style kids’ furniture so much,” said Fu. “So we were thinking, ‘why don’t we bring these good products to children in China?’”

So, they opened GraceKids in late December 2013 in Dalian, a seaside city in north China.

The Fus saw a need in the Chinese market for a store catering to the youth market as more parents realize it makes more sense to purchase furniture made for children rather than trying to repurpose adult pieces for children’s rooms.

Currently, the store carries products by Maxtrix, and the couple plans to attend the High Point Market to connect with other American youth furniture resources to expand their offerings.

“We wish to learn from U.S. colleagues and cooperate with them to develop this market in China together,” said Fu. “We also welcome those in other kids’ products—bedding, rugs, wallpaper, lighting, accessories, etc.—to join us. We already have nice products from Matrix in our store, and we wish add more fine products to our store.”

The Fus also have plans to expand to other areas of the country, opening additional locations throughout China. As parents themselves—their daughter Grace, the store’s namesake, was born last year—they have a strong appreciation for the nursery and youth furniture business.

“We feel kids’ furniture is a kind of business that so meaningful,” said Fu. “We take it as our career for life. It is not only furniture that we provide to children, we provide them a space that they live in every day. It is so important to children.”