[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Today's episode is one I know so many of you have been curious about because we are diving into what it looks like to step beyond client work and into product development.
I'm joined by Callie, founder of Supply Showroom, a boutique fabric and wallpaper showroom, which is the hub of Austin's design community and whose reach extends well beyond Texas. It's truly one of those spaces that is worth the trip whether you're local or flying in. They've also been a longtime partner of Design Camp, generously hosting our campers each year for a welcome breakfast and private tour, and we'll be back with them again this August. You can learn more at Design Camp. Cowley has a front row seat to what makes a textile or wallpaper collection successful and just as importantly, where designers tend to get it wrong. We're talking through the real investment required to launch a line, how to think about memos and distribution, what showrooms actually do behind the scenes for the designer, and how to approach this as a long term business decision, not just a passion project. If you've ever considered launching your own textile or wallpaper collection, this episode is going to give you a much clearer picture of what it takes to to do it well.
This season is presented by Laloy, the family owned home textile brand known for its innovative craft and meticulous design. At High Point Market this spring, Laloy just debuted Rain a rug collection with a new and rare construction along with a fresh season of rugs, pillows and wall art in collaboration with Rifle Paper Company. See everything new at loloy rugs.com that's L O L O I rugs.com and follow Loy Rugs on Instagram and TikTok. Hello Cali. Welcome to the show. I'm so exc to get to chat with you live here on the show. Well not live live but so that everyone can listen to the chit chat that we have behind the scenes.
I am so honored to have you. I've been the biggest supply fan for so long. Really since I mean I remember I was in Austin when you guys opened and so it's so cool to see just like your trajectory where you all all are now. Not just like here in Austin but what you mean to the industry as a whole.
[00:02:15] Speaker B: No thank you and thank you so much for inviting me. Hello to everyone and it's also a dream come true to be able to chat with you and hang out and get to spend time with you because I was thinking about you this morning. Like we've actually been working Together in some capacity for over the last four years. But you and I don't ever get to spend a lot of time together. So it's a treat to get to spend an hour and change with you this morning. So thank you for having us on.
We feel like old friends and old business partners and it's great to like, catch up together.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: Well, I really appreciate what you guys, you know, pitch to talk about on the show. I think it's so clever because it is so relevant. And I do think that the concept of your own line, whether it's textiles or wallpaper, it. It kind of feels like the next, you know, notch in someone's belt as a designer. You know, if you're not going to open a retail store or an e commerce store, you're like, what else could I do? And it would be like product in a different way. And I do think that that is like a common avenue for people to take. So I love that you're like, girl, let's break it down. Like what it actually takes to do this. So for anyone who may not be familiar, can you walk me through your background and also what led you to start supply showroom?
[00:03:35] Speaker B: Sure. So I am originally from Texas. I'm from a small town called Fredericksburg right outside of Austin. I went to ut, so kind of born and bred here in Austin. I moved to New York right after graduation. My dream was to live there and I wanted to be a magazine editor. So I started out in the home world. My dad is a builder and my grandfather was a builder and we moved six times when I was a kid because my mom, I think is an interior designer.
She. She just didn't wear that as her official title. But she loves to buy houses and renovate them. And luckily my dad was an active member in that. That cause. But so I have always loved the home world. I was a market editor for Metropolitan Home. I helped start Martha Stewart's like younger version called blueprint.
After sadly 2008 when the magazine world really diminished. I kind of hopped around to different magazines before they shut down. O at home Domino were some of my favorites.
I am a product lover and I got to cover like the home world in that capacity and went to all of the market shows, Quebez and ICFF and got to go to Milan and just any home show I was covering it. So that's kind of where my love of product came from.
After 2008, I shifted in back into interior design and started a design firm in New York. Moved back to Austin in 2013 and quickly found that all the great resources that I had available to us in New York were not available in Texas.
Was looking around for other options and thought that, hey, this is probably the best idea is just to bring those things to Texas and start supply in 2015. So selfishly, I open supply to help myself out as an interior designer. But today I'm no longer doing interior design and just running the good old showroom. So it's been 11 years and I can't believe it's gone by so fast.
[00:05:47] Speaker A: It does feel like it's just been a blink. That is crazy. We have such a similar, like, upbringing story of like, what her parents were doing. Mom was, I think she was an interior designer. She dabbled in it, but never like, made it her profession. And I was sure I was going to be a magazine editor just like every rom com of the 90s. I was positive.
And then I ended up on a different path after graduating. But that's so interesting and I love that you grew up in Fredericksburg. Like, you are about as local as you can get in Austin these days.
[00:06:22] Speaker B: I'm definitely a hick from the sticks for sure.
[00:06:25] Speaker A: You sit at such an interesting intersection between the designers and product development.
How do you define your role in the showroom today when we're talking about like, you're just out here running supply, but especially as more designers are exploring product lines of their own, like, where do you feel like your role comes into that?
[00:06:47] Speaker B: Yeah, so I think really that a showroom has really evolved, especially in today's day and age, because we don't have a lot of magazines that are out there showcasing brand new product. We are really the first stop for designers to see new product from around the world. And kind of like we see ourselves as pushing the trends in the interior design world.
And I think also for designers who are being pulled in like a hundred directions, they're designing houses, they're building their own brands, and then they're actually thinking about, you know, what could be next for their development.
They don't really have time to like shift through all these options. And we're a place, you know, for them to like shelter their, or facilitate their growth or like their ideas into realities.
So we're actually like a translator between their vision and then executing kind of like their next dream and their next evolution of their, their careers.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: I am seeing more and more interior designers express interest in launching wallpaper textile collections as an additional revenue stream because things are feeling different than they did during the COVID boom. And people are like, okay, what. You know, I'm at my capacity when it comes to taking on projects.
What are other things that I could expand into? And that feels like such a natural step for people. When designers first come to you, what are they actually asking and about launching a line, and where do you think that they're, like, most misinformed or what do you think that they're, like, missing in their comprehension of what comes next?
[00:08:41] Speaker B: Yes, it's funny. I think we get designers reaching out to us, thinking that they're asking about how to launch a wallpaper or textile line. But really, I think what they're asking is like, hey, is this a good idea?
Will I make money doing this?
And it does definitely sound like a scalable, passive revenue stream. But I think it's really neither of those things at first.
There's a lot of misinformation about the amount of time and kind of attention that is required to designing, developing, scaling, selling, problem solving.
And I don't really think it's just like a passive income stream. It's definitely an active.
In a. It's a job. It's a complete other job. So the designers who are thinking about it in that way and thinking about it like a business, those are the going to be the people who are going to be successful at launching, you know, a business in a. A line of wallpaper and fabric.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: I think that, you know, I have a wallpaper collection with chasing paper, and that was amazing and an incredible experience because a larger brand came in, they had all the systems set up and ready to go. I provided the designs, and that was wonderful.
However, I think the avenue for a lot of designers, they want to have more creative control over the actual product. What, like, the tactile options are the applications of it? And with that, it. It does mean that you're starting more so from scratch. You're. You're figuring out the infrastructure yourself because you're making those decisions. And so I can definitely understand that. It seems like it's a quick. I come up with the designs, and then it just goes. But then there's this whole element of, like, marketing it and, like, keeping it relevant and making sure that, you know, it didn't feel too trendy, and if it did, you know, and it had a really great three years, what. What happens the three years after that?
At what point in a designer's business do you think it makes sense to even consider launching a product line? Is it something you recommend early on while you're kind of setting up your different business structures? Or do you think once a firm is more established is when it really makes sense?
[00:11:17] Speaker B: Yeah, I definitely don't think that this is something that you start when you're setting up your business as you know and as you teach in all of your design camps and in your consulting. Like that initial business startup of your interior design business is intense and all of the logistics and the background of setting up all of those processes and procedures is very complicated. And until you are working like a well oiled machine in that department, I would not ever even think about designing and developing wallpaper. I think it's fine if on the weekends you want to be sketching out ideas and you have a great sketchbook to like look back at at a certain point in your career when you are have a little bit more time and flexibility.
But I would not start with that once. Also, I think it's important for you as your own interior design brand to develop kind of like your style and your point of view.
We really say like, hey, once you get that point of view, a consistent client base, people who are coming to you saying like, oh, could you help me with this? Or what do you think about that? Or where did you get this? That might be the signal that in time that you're ready to do your own thing.
I also really recommend looking at the market and seeing like, hey guys, is there a gap here in this section? Am I doing something differently that is not available in the market and does your audience want that? So there's multi steps along that way to get to that end product line and I definitely don't think doing it until you are developed as a designer, we should even start thinking about that.
[00:13:12] Speaker A: Yeah, or you have the support staff to be handling the interior design side of things to allow you the capacity to definitely start focusing on that. So when you look at the designers who have done this really well, what do you feel separates a successful collection from one that maybe struggles to get traction?
[00:13:36] Speaker B: I think the biggest difference is the successful ones treat it like a separate business and the ones that struggle treat it like a creative project.
The people who really understand this like the collection is like its own little baby. They've hired someone to take care of it, they've set up processes and procedures to make it run on its own.
And maybe they're even hiring their own marketing person to work on only that line. They've thought about distribution, they've thought about, I didn't also setting up enough money to actually invest in creating that line and also continuing to develop it over time.
And it's like the designers who are consistent with developing products are going to be the ones who are the most successful over time. So it really is a person who's very disciplined and thinking of it as a completely separate identity than their interior design business as well.
[00:14:50] Speaker A: How should designers be thinking about positioning their collection in such a saturated market while still, like, staying true to their brand identity?
[00:15:02] Speaker B: I was thinking about Dennis Scully from the Business of Home. He always says, not another wallpaper line.
And I think, like, there is always going to be room for somebody else for another wallpaper line because there are people who are tapping into something that they haven't seen, and also people who have established their own brands. Like, I love the idea. Idea of someone developing a brand and having their clients come to them for that. That certain thing. And then, you know, this wallpaper or fabric line is an extension of that, and that's what their clients want. So on that point, though, if your brand is, like, too safe, though, and it's like, too much like other things that are out in this market, I think you're not going to stand out and develop yourself as, you know, an individual perspective. But if you have a clear point of view and you are positioning yourself as something unique and different, I think there's plenty of room for all of that.
I do think that right now, as pattern and color are becoming more and more popular, you know, pushing the line a little bit of an extension of. Of who you are, I think would definitely help you stay stand out in this market.
[00:16:26] Speaker A: Well, and I think that's something that Supply does so, so well. I mean, if you have not made the trip to Austin to go to Supply, you have to. It is a visual wonderland. It is the most inspiring space. But the collections you've curated, it is so different than another showroom. It. It is color and pattern and just magic and whimsy. And then you guys have your amazing collection of, you know, more solid options as well to pair everything together. But I do.
At the top of the show, you said that you like to think of yourselves as, like, setting trends and leading trends. And I just absolutely feel that so fully, because I saw even here in the Austin market, what we were doing 11 years ago, and then where we are, and it's like, yeah, everybody was following supply. It just took them a little while to get there.
[00:17:26] Speaker B: Exactly. I knew it was plumbing. But even to your point, though, like, there are so in our mix, because we're really known for color and pattern, and I think that's what our. Our Instagram and outward appearance looks like. But we also have many designers who are very minimal and very, like, quiet. And there are a lot of people, I think, in that range who are pushing the boundary when it comes to either textures or subtleties that, like, people can use in other spaces. Their house, like, every room doesn't have to be crazy and wild and colorful.
You can, you can transition from something loud to something soft and quiet. And we definitely have a lot of brands that are more neutral and more reserved because I think that's also part of a great mix is having something loud and something quiet.
[00:18:20] Speaker A: Absolutely. That's the nuance and the layers that make a home feel so special.
[00:18:26] Speaker B: And I would say some of our, like, even in our top five, so we have the loudest brand and then we have the quietest brand. So it's nice to know that there is something for every, everyone in the wallpaper and fabric world. And that's why, you know, I definitely do encourage people to think outside of the box if they are wanting to do their own line. Like, yes, you. If you don't love color and pattern, maybe you. You figure out something, you know, to put out in the world that's quieter but more refined or quieter or more organic. Right. There's definitely different venues for designers to go into.
[00:19:07] Speaker A: And as far as feeling like, oh, not another wallpaper line, I.
I just find that such an interesting concept because to me, wallpaper is art. And that's like, are you going to tell people to stop making art and, or.
[00:19:21] Speaker B: Or fashion too?
[00:19:22] Speaker A: Right. Well.
[00:19:23] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Another floral print dress. No one has ever said that ever.
[00:19:27] Speaker A: Right.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: I'm still buying them season after season.
[00:19:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:30] Speaker B: In another color and another pattern, Right?
[00:19:32] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
So in that vein, from a cadence perspective, how often should designers realistically be launching new collections or refreshing existing ones, you know, with a new colorway to stay relevant?
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Yeah. So I would say, like, after that first big launch, a few things need to happen. Even before you're thinking about that next launch, you need to think about, are you marketing it? Are people specifying it? Have you sent those memos out? Like, it is a huge investment. And I know we'll talk about those numbers in a bit, but that initial launch is months and months of work and lots of, lots of dollars that go out into the world. And for many months, you will not hear a peep because the sales cycle in the interior design world, as all of your designers know, is very long.
We usually say three to six months before you can even expect your first sale.
So to be even thinking about a next collection before that time and before you have any money coming in is a hard pill to swallow.
But we definitely do recommend like at least peppering a couple of new patterns or new colorways in after about, you know, the eight, eighth or ninth month mark, because you want to stay relevant and you want your name to keep popping up at the top of the list of, of new things that are in the showroom.
And you can also develop, you know, multiple things at the same time and hold those couple of colors or patterns back and then just say, and we've added two new colors to this because once if someone sees like, oh, it's a new color and then they'll go back to your line and revisit the entire thing. So I would say that like, consistency is very important if you're developing because if you wait too long, you know, then there is, people start forgetting about you and there's someone else who's launched a new line. So just like a, a light pepper, you know, every six to 12 months is really important. And I think that's like when you're starting out thinking about that investment post, that first launch down the road is an important budgetary state that you need to make sure that you're keeping track of because you want to stay relevant because that's the way people find your line.
[00:22:08] Speaker A: Okay, so let's talk numbers. When a designer is budgeting for their first collection, what are the primary like cost centers that they need to understand going into it?
[00:22:21] Speaker B: Yeah, so this is where things get really very real very quickly.
I think most people dramatically underestimate, you know, what it costs to actually bring a collection to market.
The big costs are around sampling strike offs, getting that product to a place where it's sellable. And that's even if, like having to hire, you know, a graphic designer to help you lay out the repeats.
And you mentioned like working with chasing paper. Chasing paper, like they would have an entire team that would help you once you've developed your line. So I know that if you have built out your name like you did and you're, you're a brand that someone wants to partner with, it's a different story. But if you were building this from, from scratch, you actually have to find that graphic designer who's going to help you lay things out in an appropriate way. Or it could also be your printer.
I know that we, we work with our lovely printer 22 and they will hold your hand along the way.
It definitely costs money just as much as Your graphic designer. So just the development of the pattern into a wallpaper or to a textile costs a lot of money. But the biggest cost is going to be your memo and your sampling.
Um, we also definitely think about the time that this takes, and that's actually an expense that you need to think about as a designer who's probably billing by the hour. You should also be bill billing for the number of hours that you're having to put into this as well. So it is not a small side investment. This is creating an entire other business and actually having to pay for that. Almost like the inventory of all of those memos as well.
[00:24:15] Speaker A: Right. Because I think that a lot of people are like, great, I'm going to do this product line and then, you know, we don't print it till it's ordered. So, like, I don't have this overhead cost. But that's absolutely not the case. That's the case after you've, you know, successfully received orders. But you have to, like you said, you have to have the memos up front to have that. Plus all the test prints. I mean, we went through, even with chasing papers, amazing team. And I have a graphic design team on my staff. Even with that, we went through six or seven iterations of the printed versions testing it, and they're getting printed on huge rolls. It's not like, oh, here's a little tiny swatch. You're looking at huge things.
I'm just wondering, Callie, do you have like a ballpark number that you're like, hey, you're gonna need to expect this to be a hundred grand off the ground. Or like, do you have any sort of concept of that?
[00:25:11] Speaker B: No. Yeah, I would say, like, for a small collection. And we typically launch, like, the first collections are around 25 to 30. SKUs is what we have recommended to people, like, start in a manageable form. So it's a robust collection, but it's not going to put you under. But it can range anywhere from depending on your time, you know, six to $25,000 just for that initial launch.
So that is like the time of the graphic designer, the strike offs, and then printing all those memos. And then your time as well is
[00:25:49] Speaker A: built on top of that, plus the postage of sending those out, the PR that goes associated with it, like, everything.
[00:25:57] Speaker B: Yeah, I didn't even add that in there because that's. I would say an additional $25,000 on top of that for that launch. And that's probably what, six months of PR and marketing and postage. I mean, postage is supplies, number one expense because we ship everything to our designers for free, which we all know that's not free. Right. Someone has to pay.
And I know we'll talk about this later, but the interior design world has somehow gotten into their mind that memos are free, that you get them free from all of your favorite showrooms across the US but someone is actually paying for that and they cost between two and six dollars a memo. So just look at, I would say, every memo that you have in your library right now and multiply that by six bucks and you know that someone has made that investment in that product for you.
[00:26:54] Speaker A: Yeah, that's like your biggest cash cow. You're sitting there on a library working.
[00:26:59] Speaker B: Why don't sometimes I always think like when with insurance, I'm like, should I, you know, add extra money for all these memos? Like we don't, you know, we have an alarm system for, for supply too. But I don't think anyone's going to break in, just try to steal our, you know, 50,000 memos. But if they knew how much they were all worth, they would.
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[00:28:00] Speaker A: This year, Laloy is pushing beyond what's familiar. Each new textile collection starts with an exploration of materials, crafts, textures and pattern and is championed by a passionate family led team. A new season of rugs, pillows and wall art is in stock now, a testament to the loy's belief in the power of original, enduring design. See them all and connect with your local Sales rep@loy rugs.com L O I rugs.com Are you running your design firm with a patchwork of tools? Materio brings it all into one intuitive system. Finally, try it
[email protected] and get 50% off your first month as an Interior Collective listener. That's G E T M a t t E-R-I-O.com do you typically see designers start with wallpaper or textiles first? And is there do you have any strategy to for an advantage of one over the other?
[00:28:57] Speaker B: Yes, definitely. I would say most designers start with wallpaper.
It's. There's a reason for that. It's because there's a lower, a little bit lower barrier to entry.
It's like you are not having to spend as much time on the creation of the memo. So everything is printed so you can have all of your information printed on the back of your wallpaper sample for fabric, it's definitely more complicated. The fabric is printed, and then you have to ship that off to a memo making facility. You're having to create all the backers for your fabric, and then you're going to have to hire a team to cut and staple and assemble all of those memos. So that's a much longer process and a much more expensive process. So that's where the wallpaper samples where I was talking about before are generally, you know, two to three bucks a memo, your fabric is getting up into the 6 and $8 price per memo. And it's just the time that it takes. Cause you have to hire then this whole other team that's processing and creating those memos. And that takes between six to 12 weeks, really, because it's very laborious. If you think about cutting and surging and stapling. And then you have to design every backer as well and have those printed.
It's like 14 things have to go into that one memo. So I definitely recommend starting with wallpaper, getting traction with that. And the first question that once you send that out is from a desire, it's gonna be like, does this all also come in fabric? And you're like, yes, just wait a second.
It's coming. That's the other thing that we also recommend. It's like, start with the wallpaper, see how it is doing in the market. And then as you're developing your fabric, release that fabric six months later. And then it's like a whole new thing for someone to go back to look at your wallpaper line as well.
[00:30:55] Speaker A: When it comes to the size of a launch, would you advise starting with like a tightly edited collection or going broader? From the beginning, I think you said somewhere around 25 SKUs, but in my brain, that 25 SKUs is probably six patterns and four colorways. Or you're saying it's 25 different, original, unique patterns.
[00:31:18] Speaker B: Oh, yes, I definitely. I. I recommend starting tight and also just like a smaller bite off at the beginning so you don't have to like invest your whole life savings in this. This line, but we generally say, like five patterns, and then you're offering that in either four colorways or five colorways, and really, that's a great place to start. Or you're, you're launching it with those four colorways and then you're launching that, that fit colorway six months later to remind people.
So keep it tight and manageable, too.
[00:31:55] Speaker A: Okay, Callie, so you've walked us through kind of the surprise or just unknown costs of memos. Talk to us about how critical memos actually are to these products that are being specified and sold.
I don't think designers always understand, like, the operational side of them. Can you walk me through really, what the role memos play in the success of a collection?
[00:32:22] Speaker B: We have a saying at supply, it's called no memo, no sale.
So memos are everything, and they're the entire sales engine, like behind your collection.
Designers use the memo to sell to their clients. So if they don't have it in their libraries, they're not going to be able to pull it for a project and they're not going to be able to, to sell it to their client. So I think where designers are get tripped up as they think, like, oh, I'm just gonna, I'll just have to order 50 of these and then, you know, it's gonna go out and I'll get some orders in, in six months or in three months, and that's all I'll need. It is a constant reorder. So. So we actually are pretty strict with our memo requirements from a new launch, and we require 50 memos of each SKU before we can either even start marketing it at all. So. And those go quickly as well because we send it out to our top clients who we think matches kind of that design esthetic, and then we launch a website and anyone is able to shop.
So it is, I think the cost behind that and the thought process is about the timing to get that memo into your hand, because those memos can go very quickly. And if it usually takes between 4 to 12 weeks to reorder those memos as well, because your printers have other people that they're working with and getting memos out for. So it's. It's almost like setting a calendar alert of knowing where your memo inventory stands and knowing when to reorder so that you're never having a loss or you're lacking a memo, because without that memo, you're not going to be able to get a sale.
[00:34:23] Speaker A: So when it comes to memos, is there any profit margin built into it or like, as people are ordering them and let's say they get charged or like, no matter what, if that was $6, like, that's $6 out the door in hopes of a sale.
[00:34:38] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a great question. So I knew that we have some designers who sell memos to retail on their website, and that's kind of been the standard, I think, across the board is if they have a shoppable website, retail people will have to pay to get their wallpapers or fabrics. Obviously, for showrooms, we require our designers to give us those memos because that's their investment into supply. We're investing in other things, and we'll talk about that in a bit. But there's not really a situation in the interior design in the trade world where a designer will pay for a memo. They may help you out with shipping. Hopefully we have other designers who have a shoppable website with a trade login where you get a free memo, but then you have to pay for shipping. And that's another thing that you have to think about in terms of the price of that memo. So for every memo that gets shipped out, if that memo is between two and eight dollars, you're spending at least ten bucks on that package to ship out. And then you also have to take into account, like, how is that memo arriving for us, creating, like, a beautiful presentation upon receiving that memo is very important. So we spend a lot of money on a branded box with beautifully branded design, tissue paper with a ribbon with the notes. Like, so you will, as a designer, will want that as well, because you want it to be special and to stand out, because all day long, interior designers are getting boxes and boxes and boxes of samples and memos from people across the world. And how do you make your special?
It's by spending that extra money on the presentation of how it arrives. So, yeah, I would think that it would be probably about 20 bucks per memo that gets shipped out.
[00:36:43] Speaker A: Wow. Okay. Thank you for, like, the perfect segue into. My next question is having our designers better understand what does a showroom, like supplies supply actually take on in terms of marketing and sales and distribution of a designer's line? So, like, I have to supply you with the memos, but then what. What is supply or another showroom investing? Like, back into the brand? How much marketing are they? Should you expect a showroom to do for you? Obviously, each showroom is different. Supplies marketing is so fire. I love it. You guys are the key. Cutest. I love following you on Instagram.
But, like, what should you expect from a showroom versus only carrying your wallpaper on your own website?
[00:37:32] Speaker B: So I, I can only speak for us and I know that we are kind of different in this way and hopefully this is why so many of our wonderful vendors and designers love to work with us, is that we see marketing as a corporate critical component of our showroom. We have an in house marketing team who helps us with all of our Instagram and then we have emails that are launched out for launch dates and we have a magazine that we also make every month and we really, we have different tiered launches. So we would say like a tier one launch is someone who has gotten us all those 50 MaaS. They've given us beautiful content of them either painting their inspiration or photos of them working together, like how they curated their collection.
And they've given us inspiration behind the patterns and the colorways and maybe about them and stories. And also we're now requesting videos of our designers and vendors either talking about themselves, talking about the collection, videos of them painting, and then we combine all of those assets into a marketing email that goes out on launch day. That's coupled with an Instagram post on the same day.
Also, what our sales team, and right now we have a sales team of seven people, they are pulling those memos before the launch date, packaging them for their tier one clients and sending them out without them even having to ask what I spoke about earlier, where they are. They're reviewing the clients who like whatever this color and pattern or this style is. And so they're sending two of them in advance so that they have it on launch day in their inbox without even having to ask.
And then for smaller launches, like for the colorway refreshes or maybe it's a change of ground, it's going from wallpaper to fabric or fabric wallpaper or we're now offering an untied two.
We definitely do like an Instagram story or our reps will send out an email that's personalized. Like just hey, wanted to let you know, this is available in this, this and this. So it's not as big of a launch across all platforms.
But everyone is letting them know, is
[00:39:56] Speaker A: there such thing as like a manager or a rep for a designer who's looking to launch this that would then like negotiate them into Showro or as the designers who are coming to you directly. Callie, like, what's the best way for someone to start like wrapping their head around this and what does that onboarding process look like from your side?
[00:40:22] Speaker B: Yeah, so I would say that the majority we have an email that people send to and it's. I believe it's just showroomupplyshowroom.com if for submissions and they just submit like, hey, here's my website, blah, blah, blah. Or they can also just send it in the mail. We receive submissions different ways. I also get submissions, you know, via Instagram. They can reach out to us directly and our marketing gal will point them in the right direction. So it comes in the mail, comes via email more directly. And really for us to make a an educated decision is we're looking at what we currently, currently have in our representation and seeing if it is a hole that we're missing. So I never want for our vendors to compete against each other. I want them all to have a very clear lane of, of their style and representation. And so if you are a designer out there and wanting to get into our showroom, I would definitely take a look at our pattern mix and our product mix and see if there's something, you know, that you have that could be different from all of those. And once we find that unique new thing, we generally start off with like a get to know you call and just I want to know more about the inspiration behind the line.
And I usually ask for a set of memos to be sent so I can look and feel in person.
And then if I feel like it's something that I want to investigate further, I bring in really our sales team and be like, hey, is this something that you see could be working in your territory?
We definitely have salespeople all across the US who are working with very different clientele.
To be honest, I thought when we were moving to Texas that everyone here was going to like southwest styles and like burnt oranges and you know, I don't even know brand, you know, Texas cowboy stuff. And it's so feminine. Like Texas is very feminine. They love floral, they love color.
And so we definitely skewed more that way as we've learned our market. But now that we are really working with markets all over the U.S. like, I do feel like we are bringing in brands that could be used in the Northwest and even in the Southeast or even la, which is a whole different piece that we're still trying to figure out.
[00:42:54] Speaker A: But yeah, talk to me about what a designer should be looking for as they evaluate the right fit for their brand, price point, long term goals, when they're selecting what showrooms to like, pitch to.
[00:43:12] Speaker B: Right.
I always say that you need to find a showroom that you align to because definitely there are not.
Showrooms are not all the same. And I, I think that's actually refreshing. There are showrooms who like to be a certain style and they have a bunch of brands that fit within that same style.
And then there are showrooms like us that like, they want to represent a wide varying range of styles so that people can just come like as a one stop shop. Like I'm doing a mountain home, I'm doing a lake house, and I'm working on, you know, a tutor in Houston. Right. So like you can get something for each one of those places at supply. But if you like, you know, English cottage style, there are lots of showrooms that just sell only those brands. And so I think figuring out what those showrooms are that are out there and figuring out where you want to be in that mix is really the, the first step in that, in like finding whether or not that that showrooms brand aligns with your vision as well.
[00:44:23] Speaker A: And this is probably a dumb question, but can designers have their collections at multiple showrooms? Like you could shop it to multiple showrooms?
[00:44:32] Speaker B: Definitely.
So showrooms traditionally have been based in territories.
So Texas is our territory for the majority of our vendors. Now as we have expanded with more salespeople, we are taking on more territory for a lot of our vendors.
But there are territories definitely in showrooms in the northeast. There's like the Florida showrooms, there's the California showrooms, and then there's really us kind of just in the middle. So if you wanted to as a brand, you could say like, hey, I want to be in New York, Florida, Texas and California. And you could go to five different showrooms for that.
[00:45:14] Speaker A: Got it. But you wouldn't be at multiple showrooms in the same city.
[00:45:19] Speaker B: No.
[00:45:19] Speaker A: Got it.
[00:45:20] Speaker B: It's only like you stick or it's really the state. I would say you'd be in one showroom for the whole state.
[00:45:26] Speaker A: Wow. Okay. And then can you talk to us about the typical fee or commission structures designers should expect when working with a showroom?
[00:45:35] Speaker B: Yes.
So you're looking at anything, and I'm only speaking about ours, but I'm going to give a general range. From 20 to 40% of each sale will go to the showroom. And that is all dependent on like the level of service and how involved they are in your sales and in your distribution. I would say the more full service, high touch showrooms will be on the higher end of that range because they have massive teams that are actively selling and marketing and supporting their lines. So like for us we definitely are on the higher end, but it's because we, we have a whole marketing team. We have, you know, a team of eight salespeople and we have an entire memo team that's shipping and packing, we have a fully shoppable website. So all of those things cost money, right?
[00:46:24] Speaker A: Where do you most often see designers go wrong when they try to manage production, marketing and sales without the right partners in place?
[00:46:37] Speaker B: I think when you're launching that product line, I think what designers haven't thought about is you're not only launching the product line, you're, you're launching a production company, you're launching a logistics company, you're, you're also doing marketing, you're doing sales, you're doing customer service.
So all of those things are very critical in your success. And like one misstep along those ways can turn a designer off.
So it's like when something starts to suffer, everything falls apart really. And for a designer, I know it's a interior designer as one, I used to be one and as you were as well. If you buy from a brand and something doesn't show up, gets lost or it shows up and it's incorrect, the speed at which that showroom or that brand fixes the problem for you is critical in the ability for you to make another sale with that line. So you can wrong an interior designer once, but if you don't fix that, then they're going to find someone else to source from. So that is the most critical that we try to convey to all of our designers is like you have to be a team member of ours. We're very customer focus. Like for us, we offer white glove service with all of our designers who shop with us. We want to solve any problem from you, we want to make your life easier. And anything that makes a designer's life harder, they're going to go look elsewhere to source product. So for us it's like keeping those designers happy and taken care of is a critical component to the success of your line. So if you're not able to respond quickly or respond to us quickly, you, your line is going to suffer.
[00:48:38] Speaker A: Because running a design firm is already a full time job, do you think it is realistically possible, feasible for someone to layer a product line on top of that if they are a one person show or, or do you think it's absolutely going to require either hiring a person or a team on the design side of things to keep that so you can be that one person show or do you think even just from the Product line perspective in itself, even if you're not doing interior design as well. It is not a one person job to have a product line and you're going to need to staff up either way.
[00:49:22] Speaker B: Scenario number one is you're a designer doing interior design and you're adding this new product line to your mix.
I do not think that a, you're going to be successful by doing it yourself without hiring someone to manage it. Because we have other interior designers who also have their, their own lines and they've had to answer emails at all hours of the night on weekends. You know, solving these problems, it's hard to stop your day job to go do something else.
So I would recommend if you were into your designer to find a really amazing partner to help you run that business side. They just need to be available to answer questions and to also put in orders. Because if you think about being an interior designer, when you place that order online, you want that showroom to be ordering that product immediately. Any delay in that is setting back the lead time.
So if you're like, oh my only place orders on Friday and that person ordered it on Monday, that's a whole other week that they're not getting their product and they don't know about that. They think the lead time is four to six weeks. Now it's actually five to seven weeks. So you have to be on top of placing those orders with your printer immediately.
So I think that's the best solution if you're an interior designer wanting to keep working doing interior design. But if you wanted to just quit interior design and do this on your own, it's I think it's totally possible. It is a job that one person can do on their own. Hopefully they're also very creative with marketing and have a lot of connections with the press world and also know how to like be a TikTok star.
There are multiple hats that you're going to have to wear.
[00:51:13] Speaker A: So if you enjoy that, sure, I
[00:51:15] Speaker B: think it's a feasible job for an individual.
[00:51:19] Speaker A: Okay, so for a designer who's seriously considering launching a textile or wallpaper line, what is the one piece of advice you would give them before they take that first step?
[00:51:32] Speaker B: I would say get brutally honest about the why you want to do this. Not like it sounds like fun or all my friends are doing it, but like, what is this role going to play in your business? Is this like a brand play? Is this another like revenue stream? What is your long term growth strategy? Because once you're clear on that, I think it Changes how you approach the rest of the things. This investment, you're pricing, your partners, your expectations with time.
I'd also say, like, don't romanticize it. It's like, it's an opportunity. It is a business, and you have to think about that and all of the complexities that come with that.
So I would just be really clear on why you want to do it and then build it like a business and not a side project.
[00:52:25] Speaker A: What is exciting you most right now? In the world of tech sacrifice styles and wall coverings, where do you see opportunities that designers might not be fully tapping into yet?
[00:52:37] Speaker B: Well, I. We tapped on this. We tapped into this a little bit earlier, and I'm just, like, very excited where the design world is going right now. There was a. A while during COVID that everything felt very safe and, like, neutral and minimal
[00:52:55] Speaker A: and all one note.
[00:52:57] Speaker B: And now I see this huge shift into, like, individual spaces that look really layered and they're super personal, and people are actually designing their homes with the things that they like and not thinking about, like, the resale value. Right? So people want texture and color and pattern and pattern on top of pattern. So it makes me excited for what we're doing at Supply and Pushing. So, um, I'm just super jazzed that everyone has decided that they want to live with color and powder in their life. Because once you do one room in color Empire, every other room feels so sad.
[00:53:37] Speaker A: You know, it's funny. My first house was very white, and, like, then I added a layer of, like, wainscoting and like, a, you know, sea salt blue.
And then my home, now the Tudor, it's like every single room has wallpaper or, like, saturated paint of some point. And something I remark on frequently, actually, is how at our first home, I was always thinking about how I could redesign that space. Like, I was always thinking about, like, oh, let's switch around the furniture, or, you know, maybe it was something more permanent. But since we've been in the tutor and, you know, I designed it once, and everything was had texture and pattern and wall coverings or, you know, more intricate textiles. I never think about redesigning it. Like, it feels like home, and it feels finished. And I think that that is something that bring. That textiles and wall coverings bring to a space. Like, it completes it and makes it feel grounded in a way that those minimal spaces never didn't, at least for me, from someone living in the city
[00:54:48] Speaker B: searching for something and you didn't know what it was.
[00:54:50] Speaker A: Yes, exactly.
[00:54:51] Speaker B: What it was was, you know, color and pattern in a design space that was, like, fully finished, and that's what you feel like. Oh, my gosh. It really makes a major difference to have it all done.
[00:55:04] Speaker A: I know that historically, the pendulum swings. So it's like everything super minimal and white and neutral for a while, and then it's like, okay, layers and layers. Layers, English cottage, granny chic, or very modern graphic versions of that.
Do you have reservations or hesitations or just insight to. Is that pendulum swinging back to minimalism anytime soon? And how does that make you feel as someone who lives in color and pattern and whose brand is built on that?
[00:55:41] Speaker B: Great question. I. Even in 2014, when I was thinking about opening supply, my father, who is a builder, was very cautious, and he was like, I tore out a lot of wallpaper in the 90s. Callie, is that. That's what he said.
He's like, are you sure you want to do this?
And I'm like, hell, yes. More is more. But no, I don't feel. I mean, I know that there will be a time that people will come back to maybe more safe spaces without all of the color and pattern, but there is something, I think, happening there. Zeitgeist, about people, like, leaning into personal style and really wanting a reflection of that in their home.
And so I hope that that is being taught to children of the next generation of, like, this is what it feels like to have a. Of sense space that reflects you and your personality and your family.
I know that always is the shift to, like, kids who grow up in houses with a lot of color and pattern tend to only want white walls, but they always come back around. Like, they. There's a point in their. In, like, even in their 30s, they're like, I want what my mom had. And I love. As an interior designer, like, I love seeing that evolution with clients that I had. Maybe it was their first house that I did for them that was very neutral and calm, and then their second house was like, why do I have all this beige stuff? I want to go, why? Like, my mom had all this cool stuff all over the house. I want some more of that stuff. So I know that even if there is a brief time that people maybe will revert back to more minimal interiors, they'll always go back to, like, wanting more and wanting something that reflects them in themselves.
[00:57:27] Speaker A: Are there any designer collections that you think is a great example of building their business in, like, a really smart, sustainable way?
[00:57:41] Speaker B: Yeah, of course I'm biased. And because some of our most successful vendors that are also interior designers that we brought on Counterpart Studios is one that's owned and operated by Andre Scheleron. And so Stacy Bain.
Andre is the interior designer and Stacy runs the business.
So I know they both are active in the business, but they have a person who is dedicated to just the logistics and that makes them extremely successful.
Lookseek Collective is owned and operated by Lillian Steckle. And Lillian has a person on her team that only handles the wallpaper business.
And then Annie Downing, she has Adi. She has also hired someone who is only operating the wallpaper business and then also doing all of her marketing. So it is, it is a designer who has thought, hey, this is what I'm doing. I want to build a business. I'm going to hire a person or my partner is going to be that person who is going to run the day to day and they, that's what makes them successful and that's why we sell so much of it.
[00:58:49] Speaker A: So I love that list. Those are such personal faves. I have to give Annie Downing a particular shout out because she is absolutely my favorite follow on Instagram. And I tell her all this time I am still looking for my end to become her best friend because there is not, there's not a thing that she posts that I do not feel entirely aligned with and inspired by. If you are not following Annie Downing, you must follow her. I will make sure that all of those collections are linked in our show. Notes for everyone but Annie, I love you. Please be my friend.
[00:59:24] Speaker B: I'm ditto. I think her list for for best friends is really long.
[00:59:28] Speaker A: I. I can see why, but I'm going to start inching my way up because I just enjoy her so much and she just feels like such an authentic good person that I morally align with and also aesthetically drool over. So anyway, Annie Downing, I love you.
Before we wrap, I would love to get a quick pulse on the business.
How many people are on your team today? I know you broke down kind of your departments, but I'd love to know, like, what does that mean fully and what does the structure of supply look like? Because every time I come into the showroom, you guys have taken over another adorable bungalow. You guys, this showroom is so cute. This historic bungalow. But now it's like a historic bungalow village of supply Supply on West 6. So. So where are you guys at? People wise, how many buildings are you in? And kind of how do you break down the departments? Totally.
[01:00:24] Speaker B: So right now we are at 24 people, which blows my mind.
We have, we occupy three little bungalows in Our bungalow village. Now I'm calling it the supply village.
So we have the showroom, and we have a showroom manager and an assistant who handles all of our kind of like inbound sales and clients who should come into the showroom.
We have a memo house that has three to four people, depending on the day, who are doing nothing but organizing, packing and shipping memos. So we have a little like workhouse room of these women who are just running around in circles like a machine who are packing and shipping out all of your beautiful memos.
They are unbelievable. And I don't know how they are so organized, but I'm in awe by all of them. So we also have. We probably send out about like between 50 and 100 memo boxes a day, which is amazing.
[01:01:22] Speaker A: Plus whatever you're pulling for appointments that are in house.
[01:01:25] Speaker B: Totally. Yes, exactly. And then we have our back house, which is like all behind the scenes, our logistics. So we have a team of people who are handling all of your invoices and our pos. And then like shipping is a whole nother thing, as you know, in this day and age. We have a person who is helping us doing all logistics on that side. And then we have a vendor coordinator who works with all of our wonderful vendors and she is updating pricing and getting launching new collections. We have a marketing team who is working nonstop every day on Instagram emails and promotion of all of these beautiful brands. And then we have our amazing sales team. So right now we have eight people who are pushing product across the US and maintaining and building relationships with clients and yeah, our merry little family down there on West 6.
[01:02:24] Speaker A: Okay with all of that. Firstly, just like, congratulations. That's. That's wild. I know what it feels like to stop and be like, wait, did I just say that number?
[01:02:34] Speaker B: That's.
[01:02:35] Speaker A: That's an amazing number.
And just I know I can speak for all of Austin when I say thank you for what you brought to our community. You are so community based and just like the happiest, most welcoming community leader for creatives here. But I know that it express extends way beyond just Austin, even from the perspective that you guys always host our design campers. And that's. Those are. That's designers from literally every continent on the planet who have come minus Antarctica. I'm still waiting for a designer from Antarctica to come to design camp.
But with that incredible empire you've been building, what is your role in the business day to day at this point?
[01:03:16] Speaker B: Well, so I'm the CEO, so I am overseeing everything. I wear A lot of hats throughout the day. I oversee the sales. I'm very involved in marketing and operations.
But really, you know, what I want to be doing more is, like, developing strategy around where we're going and what's next for us. And my favorite part is the product. So that's also my job is to continue develop. We have our own line, the Supply Collection. And so it's like working on that and also just interacting with all of our vendors and answering questions from them and helping us be a better partner to all those people.
We want to be the best showroom that vendors work with, not only and the best showroom that clients work with as well.
So it's like figuring out what our pain points are and making those all better.
[01:04:13] Speaker A: Okay. And finally, anything exciting coming up for supply? New collections, collaborations, things you're designing or working on. Just projects you can share with us. Yes.
[01:04:23] Speaker B: I mean, every. Like, I feel like there's a new launch every week, which is super amazing. But we have one of our favorite exclusive designers. Her name is Sarah Gordon. She is launching her third collection with us in the next couple of weeks. And it is a stunning collection. I can't wait for you all to see it.
And then I have found this amazing Ukrainian designer that has been just. She was an artist, and she's been dying to make wallpaper. So we are making wallpaper with her, which I cannot wait. This fall that's coming.
And then also, big use, like Quirkus, our favorite Australian designer. He's launching a huge collection in the next couple of weeks. And then our supply collection, we're launching a new one in the fall. So I'm retired just talking about those things. But lots of beautiful things are coming down the pipeline.
[01:05:16] Speaker A: Okay. And then finally, finally, where can our listeners find you? Learn more about Supply Showroom. I know you guys have been doing lots of events out and about. I know y' all were just at High Point. You're always out at Round Top. Talk to us about where someone can experience supply, whether it's in person, online, or at, like, industry events around the country.
[01:05:35] Speaker B: We have been everywhere this year. If I didn't get to see you, I hope I get to see you next year. And we were in Palm Beach. We did a Round Top pop up. We were in High Point. We went to Cancun for the CNEXT event. I don't know if any of your designers have been to that as well. We are headed to Design Social's Salt Lake City pop up in June. So please come see us. There. If there's any designers out west, we're hoping to get into a few in the fall and I will let you know once we're off that wait list, but I'm always inviting people to come to Austin. If you're here ever on a weekend and you want to pop in, please let us know because we're happy to open it up for designers who are in town for, you know, fun and for football games or whatever is going on. But hopefully this summer will just be a little bit quieter than our insanely busy spring. But we hope to see y' all this fall somewhere out and about.
[01:06:32] Speaker A: Amazing. Kelly, this was so helpful, super informative. I personally learned so much and as always, it's just so great to chat with you. You are such a pillar in this community and it's just amazing to watch what you've built and so exciting to think about what you have brewing in that genius creative brain of yours.
[01:06:55] Speaker B: Well, means so much coming from a genius and creative like yourself. And I'm so glad that we've gotten to align so many times over the past couple of years and I can't wait to continue our partnership. And what an honor to be included in this. Thank you. Thank you. And I love getting to hang out with you and hope to do it in real life sometime soon.
[01:07:16] Speaker A: Yes, we'll go post up outside of Annie Downing's house and we can force
[01:07:20] Speaker B: our friendship upon her. Yes.
[01:07:22] Speaker A: Perfect.
Thank you, Callie.
I will talk to you soon and we'll see you at Design Camp.
[01:07:27] Speaker B: Thanks so much.
[01:07:29] Speaker C: Take care for more in depth analysis of this interview, including exclusive downloads, examples and more. Don't forget to subscribe to the Interior Collective on Patreon. We are building an amazing private community of interior designers and industry experts open to candid conversations and answering questions. Join us on Patreon in the show notes or at patreon.com/forward/the interior collective thank you so so much for tuning into this episode. Producing this show has truly been the honor of my career and I cannot believe I I get to have these conversations.
[01:08:03] Speaker A: A big huge thank you to our
[01:08:05] Speaker C: production team at Idyco Studio and Quinn made. Your contribution literally makes this podcast feasible and the biggest thank you to you our listeners. Your sweet notes, DMs and reviews mean so much to us as we work to keep our show free and always accessible.
[01:08:22] Speaker A: Until next time, I'm Anastasia Casey and
[01:08:25] Speaker C: this is the Interior Collective, a podcast for the business of beautiful living.
[01:08:30] Speaker A: A very special thanks to our presenting sponsor, laloy, the makers of Thoughtfully designed rugs, pillows and wall art crafted with a commitment to ethical production and timeless style.
