Business of Home Podcast

When it comes to furniture companies, commercial design favorite Industry West is an anomaly. Since its launch in 2009, the Jacksonville, Florida-based, direct-to-consumer brand has been profitable. Husband and wife co-founders Jordan and Anne England’s bootstrapped efforts have led to a growth of nearly 70 percent each year—a rate that, Jordan says, shows no signs of slowing down. Now, the couple reveals the challenges of being an e-commerce early adopter, why they’re opening a SoHo showroom, and how they’re working offline to acquire new customers. This episode is sponsored by Fuigo.

Detroit-born interior designer Nicole Gibbons has been chasing her business goals—be it a PR exec, design studio, or television series—long before the paint dried on her new startup. After building the business model for Clare, an e-commerce paint company, she had to convince venture capitalists of the potential that exists in today’s “sleepy” home industry. Gibbons shares how she conceived of the idea for Clare, and what the design trade could learn from the startup community. This episode is sponsored by Fuigo.

The term ‘retail store’ isn’t in Ariel Kaye’s vocabulary. The founder and CEO of Parachute Home prefers to use “community centers” when referencing the digital-first bedding and bath brand’s physical locations. In true clicks-to-bricks fashion, Parachute is focused on cultivating its consumer community and providing value outside of just its European-made product. In this interview, Kaye shares how she built Parachute and its cult-like following, while also acknowledging the challenges of running a startup and the isolation that can come with being a sole founder. This episode is sponsored by Fuigo.

It’s a coming-of-age business tale that reads more tech startup than furniture manufacturer. More than two decades ago, Lovesac began as a zealous idea in Shawn Nelson’s parents’ basement. As of June, the company filed an IPO with a company market capitalization of more than $250 million. In this interview, Nelson revisits the merchandising mistakes, bankruptcy filing, and painful lessons learned along the way. This episode is sponsored by Fuigo.

Whether it’s preserving his iconic mannequin label or curating his next gallery exhibition, Ralph Pucci leads by one rule: “If everyone’s going left, I’m going right.” It worked in 1985, when Pucci successfully debuted the collection of designer Andrée Putman with no industry experience, and it continues to work today, as the company now boasts galleries in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. In this week’s episode, Pucci takes us through the remarkable timeline of Ralph Pucci International and reveals his visual merchandising secrets. This episode is sponsored by Fuigo.

Driven by KPIs and constant product launches, Schumacher operates more like a 128-year-old startup than a legacy brand. That’s no coincidence, explains Schumacher CEO Timur Yumusaklar and Creative Director Dara Caponigro in this week’s episode. The venerated fabric brand, which houses greats from Frank Lloyd Wright and Josef Frank to Miles Redd in its archive, remains confident in it’s identity yet understands that moving with the times is essential. This episode is sponsored by Fuigo.

Before becoming CEO of 1stdibs, David Rosenblatt spent more than a decade heading up an internet company that, in 2008, sold to Google for $3.2 billion. It’s no surprise that one of his first moves as CEO of 1stdibs was to upgrade the technology platforms. In 2016, he overhauled the business model to a commission one (from a monthly fee) and grew the offerings to include more new and custom, which he says represents the biggest opportunity. In this episode, he shares how he uses data to inform his decisions and why it’s working. This episode is sponsored by Fuigo.

Campion Platt believes China is the land of opportunity for interior designers and furniture manufacturers—but only for the next 10 years. In an exclusive story in the summer issue of Business of Home, the designer unveiled his collaboration with a major Chinese developer on a 10.7-million-square-foot complex comprised of a luxury design center, accredited design school, performing arts center, and more. Tune in as Platt reveals how he got involved—and why it may be in other best interest to follow suit.

Rob Royer launched Interior Define online in 2014, offering direct-to-consumer, customizable sofas at a middle-market price point. Veteran insight and early investment capital from Bonobos founder (and Royer’s brother-in-law) Andy Dunn helped the Chicago-based company gain early momentum among consumers and designers. Today, Interior Define, which has since expanded its custom offerings to multiple product furnishing categories, is on track to triple its sales for the third year in a row. The growth has some industry players questioning: Can this model work at the higher end? This episode is sponsored by Fuigo.

Fashion in the 1960s was not unlike the interior design scene is today. When Oscar de la Renta moved to the big apple from Paris, most clothing labels carried the names of manufacturers. “The designers were doing all the work in the back but getting no credit ... it was a very important transition time when the designers, the creators​,​ came into their own,” he said in an interview with Bunny Williams at the Design Leadership Network Summit in 2014. In this archival episode, the two iconic figures discuss what it takes to build a legacy brand, how to channel panic into creativity and the why collaboration is critical. This episode is sponsored by Fuigo.