In order to really explain what is happening with myself and the business int the aftermath of Framework, I will first explain why I did the show in the first place.
I have always felt in my soul, that if given the opportunity to build whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, I could be successful, and not only successful but fulfilled and content. I think everyone is meant to do something, something we were created specifically to do. We don’t all find what that is, but I’ve always been grateful that I have, and that I figured it out fairly early on in life.
When I got the call from SpikeTV in March of last year, I was very skeptical for obvious reasons. I didn’t want reality TV to cheapen my craft, or even my dreams for that matter. When it all comes down to it, I really don’t trust that industry for being genuine. I weighed the positive and the negative, and I agreed to do it for one reason: I thought I had a pretty good chance to win. And If I did, I could take the prize money home and dump it into my business.
For the past 10 years or so, I have been focusing so much on designing and building, that I have had the tendency to let the other important things in the business slide, the main one of those being marketing. Although I’ve always known about where I stand, I had never really pointed all efforts to one consistent direction and committed to it.
After finishing the show in November, we decided to completely overhaul the website. This was a great way to create a narrative on who this brand is, and what we stand for. I always knew that I never wanted to compromise quality in any way, but the issue always was “do people really know the difference?”. Most of them do not, but I recently have come to the realization that it is up to us, along with every other handmade American furniture maker to educate them. We can’t expect to change the mindset that has been enabled and accepted for so many years just by simply doing what we believe in. We have to convey these principals and standards that we live by through the brand and the pieces we design and produce. I think it’s possible to create a furniture brand with life, color, soul, and character, without compromise. With the help of my friends, who do amazing photography, videography and web design (Cana Creative), we created a website that showcases the voice of our brand. While working on the website, I knew I needed to fill in a few voids. I’ve always loved building credenzas, and when looking at our furniture line it really showed. I started designing pieces to compliment our existing ones and to push myself creatively. I’ve designed 9 new pieces so far this year.
So to answer the question of what I am doing with the $100,000. I’m having a blast doing what I’ve always wanted to do. Along with new pieces came new photo shoots, and each one got a little weirder as we had more fun. I have to say, I love the fact that this business has grown as organically as it has. I have had my hand in every aspect, and although up until recently I thought this was a bad thing. I now know that its created something genuine. We came out with our catalog about a month ago, and it’s more like a coffee table book, it’s 76 pages of more than just furniture, its a story.
( click the image below to view the catalogue )
We were able to bring some of our pieces out to New York for Design Week a few weeks ago, and we really saw how we were stacked up with the rest of the people in the industry. We participated in the WantedDesign show rather than ICFF. I felt it was a good way to transition into the scene. It was full of new ideas and energy. We met a lot of great people, and we all walked away with a new perspective on the industry. Our product line stands apart in many ways compared to most. I've never designed with the masses in mind, but designed for myself, and those who wanted something truly different. I had been battling with whether or not to simplify my designs, cut out color, and sell to certain retailers that may not represent, or even get our vision. I came back, accepting that this company will be different, and once again being excited about it. Also, while out in New York, we signed a contract with DesignLush, an amazing showroom in Manhattan. I feel its important for people to be able to see, and touch our furniture, and now the east coast can. We will be announcing more showrooms in the coming months so stay tuned!! The past 3 weeks have been hectic in so many ways, but when I say hectic, it’s in great ways, there’s a lot of life, energy and new ideas around the shop these days.
