Starting a new furniture company (I hope!)

I’m beginning to put together a product line of furniture that I’ve been sketching for a while now.

I’ve been looking at bludot (in the early days) and Misewell as similar models to the company I’d like to start. I 'm thinking of offering limited product line to start with and I’m thinking the products would appeal to a similar customer base.

While I’ve been doing market research, etc. , I’d like to reach out to see if anyone would be willing to talk to me over the phone about their experiences working in the furniture industry either as a designer or as a manufacturer.

I’m looking for help in developing a realistic budget and timeline for launching the product line roughly a year from now. I know it will cost significant money, so I’m not quitting my day job and I know I’ll likely need to source additional funding.

If you are able to help or know of someone who could be a good resource, please PM me here. I’m trying to do as much research as I can before getting too far ahead of myself.

TIA!

I’m not sure what your experience with furniture is or with design in general, but this is a venture that should not be taken lightly. I am assuming your knowledge of furniture is limited just because you are posting this to the general design community and not to certain individuals you know to be a great wealth of knowledge on this subject. I design furniture and lighting for some major companies both here in the US and Europe as well and the first thing I learned was what a small part of the process I was involved in, in other words I know enough to know that I know nothing.

Its not just about design but knowing how to sell and what will sell cause the whole point is to actually make money. You have to get it manufactured at the right price and know what price points you can actually sell it at.

If your designs are valid you will be able to sell them to companies. This might be a good way to test the waters and learn more about the industry. Not only that but you can build a name for yourself and some recognition within the indusrty. You can callaborate with people that are experts in what they do and that knowledge can rub off. You can also make great contacts that could prove to be helpful in the future. Their are alot of people that take place in this process; sales managers, sales reps, distributors, vendors, creative directors, product managers, engineers, manufacturers, logistics managers, storage facilities, pr and marketing teams, etc…

Also it sould be wise to visit every furnitue fair that you can so you can access the market and get a realistic expectation of what your goals are. Im not trying to discourage you at all just trying to stress the imprtance of really knowing what your doing before you invest all this time, energy and money into this endevour.
I wish you luck!

Thanks for you reply - I appreciate it. I’ve been trying to do as much research as I can and I’ve reached out to several people in the industry as well as posting on this bboard. I spent some time speaking with a veteran of the industry to get some perspective as well. I just I figured I would try this site, too, to get additional points of view.

I’ve not worked in this specific industry so yes, I am very green, and I don’t want to spend a ton of money without making sure I have as many of my ducks in a row as possible. It could be that after looking into this and putting together some figures I realize that this isn’t for me or I’ll have to reformulate the plan, but I’d like to find that out by gathering as much info as I can.

BTW, I plan to attend ICFF next month, I’ve been following coverage of the fairs at High Point and Milan and I’ve been reading furniture trade magazines while doing market research at SIBL in NYC…

Thanks!