DT reader Jason spotted this article in the LA Times today. Apparently, there's a mom in town who taught herself woodworking so she could make her own modernist-style furniture for her kids' rooms.
The Bertie Box has a freeform cutout lid in the shape of a bird that adds a nice touch of color. No word in the article what the prototypes looked like. She calls her little at-home business Mod Mom Furniture.
So she built some prototypes for family and friends and then created a website to show them, "just so I could get into some stores," says [Kiersten] Hathcock in her garage workshop in L.A. To her surprise, she began receiving inquiries from as far away as Italy, France and London. Her plywood toy boxes such as Bertie Box, $250, shown here, began selling. Now she's having a hard time keeping up with production. "I'm booked through July."
Hey! Design Public, which has advertised previously on Daddy Types, just started selling ModMom Furniture last month. They have a Q&A with ModMom on their blog:
What I wasn’t prepared for was the online design world somehow finding my unfindable website. I was BLOWN AWAY by the power of the internet and the design blogs. Frankly, it hadn’t even dawned on me that someone in NYC would be interested in what I was building.
Mod Mom Furniture: Children's furniture made by a mom [latimes]
What, not even one link to your previous, um, musings? :) You're funny when you're passive-aggressive. Heh.
Yeah, hmm.. Mod Mom Furniture... that does sound familiar...
are you feeling guilty for roasting her before, or proud because she's stepped it up?
[I'm sure those aren't the only two options -ed.]
Let's say I want that Owyn toy box. I can go through Design Public (which is almost certainly a drop ship deal) and pay $495. Or I can spend 5 seconds on Google and go to her Etsy shop and pay $275. Tough choice. If you're going to let the general public pay wholesale, that usually shuts you out of the real wholesale market. Retailers don't like competing with their suppliers, especially when those suppliers are undercutting their prices by half.
[Mod Mom's Motto: "Why pay retail?" -ed.]
Thanks for the post, Greg!
And I appreciate the wholesale tutorial from Scott. My own website produces 95% of my business so I've been relunctant to approach or accept the many wholesale offers until I know I can handle the additonal sales volume. Design Public, as an example, contacted me all the while knowing what my retail rates were/are and they seem to be just fine with our arrangement. They include shipping in their retail price (which I do not) so in some cases, depending on where you live, buying from Design Public may be a less expensive way to go.
I'm sure you'll see lots of changes as my little at-home business grows. Thanks again for post!