A little bit about the journey...

High Point, NC 2014

When I was a kid I dreamed about growing up and flying rockets, or at least some job where I would get to push all kinds of cool buttons. Well, you know what happens - the real world and destiny reveal themselves. At least I get to push all kinds of buttons on my smart phone now!

  
My father was a sales rep in the furniture business. As a child of the industry who was writing messages on the chalkboard in the kitchen (right before answering machines) for my father from retail salespeople, my destiny was set very early.

My professional path started in the factories. I worked in every department from the lumberyard to the loading dock. Then I went onto floor sales in a furniture store. From there, I eventually became a sub-rep, a lead-rep, and finally a top ranked VP for the largest leather furniture manufacturer in the world.

 I had found financial success and a really cool title. Traveled the world and learned more about the industry than I could ever imagine. There were two problems I discovered within all that I was learning: 1) People hate buying furniture; 2) None of my work had much to do at all with my real passion in life.

Altamura, Italy 2003

People in just about every financial bracket clamor for the latest new technology, automobile, or new gear, but not furniture! Sorry but the truth is, we as an industry do a terrible job of exciting people. It’s been my passion for many years now to do my little part to change that. Now I actually get to do that!

Over 10 years ago when I ripped off my tie, and left the world of sales to follow my true passion in creating things, the journey to my own collection began. Now, the mission is very simple, to break every paradigm that makes sense to break. To follow a new vision of fun and exciting new products that people will clamor for. We live on our couches. And yes, we do call them couches!

So now the long wondrous journey has brought me to the beginning of a whole new one. Mod Life Collection launches in less than two weeks. I can't believe it's finally here! Let's Rock!

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A little bit about the journey...

No Girls Allowed! (Nor any outsiders for that matter!)

Whenever I hear it said that the “Boy’s Club” still rules and “women need not apply,” I feel compelled to share my experiences in this industry. It’s true, if you walk into most showrooms in High Point during the beginning of the Furniture Market, you will find a huge group of older men in their new market ties getting ready for the sales meetings. Soon the company leaders (mostly all men) will get up and address the sales force.  He will tell them why these products will sell and give them the marching orders for the upcoming season. Some of those leaders will even talk about how more women are needed in influential positions in our industry. I’ve heard the same empty rhetoric for 30 years now! The problem is, some say it because they believe it, and some because they think it’s the right thing to say and it makes them look more progressive. However, they’re still saying this to a huge group of aging men.  Some in really great ties, too. But the truth is there’s no plot against women or anyone else. The only plot is to desperately keep their jobs.

To begin to go to the core of the problem we have to back up and understand how this industry was built. I, myself, am a perfect example of how the industry has evolved. I’m a pure nepotistic traveler into the wide world of furniture. My father is a retired 50 year veteran of the industry, and he brought me in through the worm hole called “who you know.”  Here’s the dirty little secret.  In the good ole days, you didn’t have to possess the truly applicable talent nor education to make a lot of money in the furniture business. You needed to have a father in it! Then you needed to learn to talk the talk and take the right people to lunch without saying something stupid. And to this day, the same crop of individuals cultivated over the decades is still in many of the same positions. The only difference now is they are holding on for dear life! So few are there because of their training or deep connection to what really applies to today’s home or the real consumers’ design sensibilities.

Women of the industry please listen carefully. You are the primary consumers of our products. These jobs are there for your taking! The “Boys Club” is weak. Actually, it doesn’t really even exist at all. A club implies organization and a team working together for a cause. Trust me, most of their wives still pick their ties! They can’t compete with you head to head. You got this! The biggest obstacle today is the fear, insecurity, and the misunderstandings stemming from the years of the smoke and mirror show perfection.

The reality is, the industry is ripe for takeover on every level. And, it has to be on every single level.  If we really look around, there are some amazing bright spots and real progress is happening. Take a look at Meredith Younger at Younger Furniture. She’s leading a great upholstery company and she’s kicking ass and taking names! Watch Julia Rosien leading the charge at Restonic

Along with the obstacles to women (and just as lethal to our industry) is the complete disregard of real recruitment efforts. Only through interior design does this exist at all. Over the years I’ve been in hiring positions for meaningful jobs. Early at one point, I worked for a very well known furniture company and I advertised a very high paying sales position. I was flooded with resumes from those same men in ties and their sons from the same showrooms I mentioned earlier. Not one resume was from a woman. Not one from someone in retail or a design firm or anywhere else. In hindsight, I also did a terrible job of targeting my recruitment efforts towards a new and innovative direction. At the time I was young, scared, and inexperienced. I hired from the safe stack of resumes in front of me. And the list go on!
 

Wait it gets even worse! To even begin changing recruitment efforts we have to address another huge core problem. It’s the investment in Research and Design. When money goes into R&D, students and young talented women and men have something with which (and for) to work. But that’s a whole other critical subject. Bottom line is, the world has changed. We need a real gender, age, cultural, and investment balance. We need new talent and new blood in our industry and we better hurry! We’ve been behind for decades and the world is only moving faster and faster. So, women, men, gays, straights, and green Martians, let’s go to the core and make things happen one bite at a time. Because if we don’t our kids will soon be sitting on their new Apple and Samsung sofas!

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No Girls Allowed! (Nor any outsiders for that matter!)

My father's shoes just don't fit...

My father is a great salesman. A man with incredible talent. He's been working as a salesman in the furniture industry for over 40 years. He's simply the best "pitch man" I've ever heard! His customers are always mesmerized as he walks them through his showroom, presenting the season's new collections with great ease, passion, and professionalism. He's known for tapping his big diamond pinkie ring on the doors of the dining room china cabinets to bring attention to the detail in the glass. His shoes are always spit polished, and not the tiniest wrinkle can be found in his suit and tie.

My mother on the other hand is a "creative". She is the queen of arts and crafts. She could take any old scraps of paper, and turn them into a playful work of art. She would spend hours in the basement in the 70's making terrariums with colored sand in fish bowls. Remember those? Today she still spends her free time surrounded by hundreds of jars full of beads and stones as she creates the next pieces of beautiful jewelry.

As I was growing up, I was being groomed to be a carbon copy of my father. While all the other kids in school were wearing corduroy pants and tan construction boots, I was wearing perfectly ironed slacks and "loafers" with tassels on them. But there was one big problem. It just didn't feel right. In fact, I used to pack my school bag with corduroy pants and tan construction boots, and change into them behind my neighbor's house. It's amazing I wasn't arrested! All through my teenage years, and into my 20's I was a total rebel in disguise. I had a whole secret wardrobe complete with black combat boots and a leather motorcycle jacket. I had a tattoo I kept hidden under my neatly pressed dress shirts. What a pain in the ass that was!

In my late 20's and early 30's, I did indeed follow in my father's footsteps. I became a very successful salesman, and later a successful sales manager in the furniture industry. I was making an incredible living. Life was pretty good on the surface. But the real truth was...I hated it! Nothing felt right. And money and titles were not buying happiness! I wanted to do something creative with my life. I had a long time dream, and just had no idea how to go about realizing it. I just believed it wasn't in the cards for me. My life path was set, and that was it.

Then one day I accepted a job with a small "up and coming" Italian leather sofa manufacturer. My job was V.P. of Sales & Marketing, and my task was to launch the company onto the American market. The owner was the principle designer. The product was very beautiful, and the details were executed with great precision. I spent the first three months at the factory in Italy helping him get the collection ready for America. One day he was leaving for a two day business trip to the U.K., and I asked him if it was OK for me to work with the graphic artist on an idea I had for a sofa. He agreed and left for his trip. I went to work on visualizing the idea in my head, and after two days of struggling with the artist who spoke no English, (my Italian was very basic at best) I had created my first furniture design. Those two days changed my life forever! The sofa was made, and it actually sold!!

Since then I've never looked back. I took off my loafers, business suits, and my ties. I rolled up my sleeve to proudly display my tattoo, and began to follow my real dreams. I've been designing ever since. Furniture of course, but also my home, motorcycles, the way the dinner table was set, and anything else I can get my hands on. I've even modified my own clothes. I now live my life with great passion and happiness. I will always believe if you can dream it, you can do it. And, I have no regrets for starting so late. I've learned so much from from every experience, and I carry it all forward with me in everything I do.◦

My father's shoes just don't fit...