Building a Furniture Brand with Ethan Abramson – Details, episodes & analysis

Special Podcast Deal - use code - Ethan10 - at checkout for 10% off the full bitsbits.com website

Welcome to Building YOUR Furniture Brand, a special edition episode of Building a Furniture Brand with Ethan Abramson.

On this episode, we talk about Trade Discounts - the type of percentage off you can give, how to judge if a designer is eligible for a discount, when to collect official to the trade paperwork, and more.

This episode guest is Paula King, co-owner and designer at Rexhill Studio.

If you want to hear more about Paula and Rexhill Studio - Check out the show archives - episode 102

If you want to ask your own question for a future episode, please send an email to hello@buildingafurniturebrand.com 

Learn more at buildingafurniturebrand.com

Special Podcast Deal - use code - Ethan10 - at checkout for 10% off the full bitsbits.com website

Welcome to Building YOUR Furniture Brand, a special edition episode of Building a Furniture Brand with Ethan Abramson.

On this episode, we talk about the good and bad of buying real estate to run your Furniture Business out of. 

This episode guest is Paul Mencel Owner of Philadelphia Table Company and dreamandbuild.com. If you want to hear more about Paul and Philadelphia Table Company - Check out the show archives - episode 89

More information on Paul, his company, and his mentorships can also be found at these links -

www.philadelphiatablecompany.com

https://www.skool.com/handcraftedsuccess

If you want to ask your own question for a future episode, please send an email to hello@buildingafurniturebrand.com 

Learn more at buildingafurniturebrand.com

On this episode I sit down with Vic Tesolin, owner of Vic Tesolin Woodworks.

If you want to hear the full story behind how Vic Tesolin Woodworks got started, check out the show archives - episode 165

In this industry, you never stop learning. As your craft continues to evolve, so does your thirst for knowledge. 

But when you are starting out, that knowledge barrier - of what you know and what you don’t - is pretty apparent. And it can show up in your earlier work in ways you certainly don’t want it to. That's what happened to Vic, when his commissioned tables, didn’t hold up as well as he imagined they would.

Learn more at buildingafurniturebrand.com

This episode is brought to you by Shaper Tools -Try the Shaper Origin risk-free in your shop for 30 days. Just visit Shapertools.com/FurnitureBrand to learn more

Now for context, Dustin is 20 years old. He started woodworking for the first time two years ago in a high school shop class. Now fast forward back to today - He has a 3600 sq ft shop, he makes and sells 6-8 dining room tables a month, and he is poised to take his company nationwide.

How, you may ask, did he do it? How did he grow so fast? That's what we are about to find out.

Follow along as we talk about making the right connections, learning how to source smarter, how the appearance of your shop matters, and much more!

Part Time All The Time with Josh Bubeck of The Rustic Muse 

This episode is brought to you by Shaper Tools -Try the Shaper Origin risk-free in your shop for 30 days. Just visit Shapertools.com/FurnitureBrand to learn more

Josh says that he runs his furniture business part time, and yes technically having another job makes the furniture side part time. But, if you talk with him about his love and dedication to the craft or look at his schedule and see how in demand his pieces are, you will quickly see that his furniture business is anything but part time.

Having to split time between two jobs makes one incredibly efficient in figuring out what works and what needs to be reassessed to make things run smoother. Lessons part time and full time business owners alike can learn from.

Follow along as we talk about why you don’t always follow your passion, time management, what’s in a name and much more

-- This episode is brought to you by Shaper Tools -Try the Shaper Origin risk-free in your shop for 30 days. Just visit Shapertools.com/FurnitureBrand to learn more

If you ask Stefan about his furniture business, he will more than likely talk about the artistic side of the business. But with multiple employees, multiple shop locations, years under his belt and a solid name in this industry, he definitely has the business side down as well.

He, and by extension his company, walk that fine line between Art and functional furniture. With that balance, you really have to pave your own way, and that is just what Stefan has done.

Follow along as we talk about Art vs furniture, gallery representation, email trails, and much more.

-- This episode is brought to you by Shaper Tools -Try the Shaper Origin risk-free in your shop for 30 days. Just visit Shapertools.com/FurnitureBrand to learn more

As you will hear, Brian has been dipping his toe in the furniture industry for much of his adult life. He always had that drive to have his own furniture company, but he needed to put all the pieces in place before he made the jump.

Being a part of the industry for so long, he learned and understood what he wanted his company to look like before he made the move. But, as anyone who has started their own business knows, looking from the outside is much different than being in the thick of it. So Brian continued to learn and evolve and grow his company into the success that it is today.

Follow along as we talk about learning on the job, communicating with customers, local marketing on social media, and much more.

This episode is brought to you by Shaper Tools -Try the Shaper Origin risk-free in your shop for 30 days. Just visit Shapertools.com/FurnitureBrand to learn more!

New Collar Goods was officially started in 2015, but the roots of Jon & Deana’ s company had been brewing for a long time before that. With their strong sense of design, they knew the kind of furniture they wanted to make. But, they also knew that to succeed in this industry, they needed to understand their customers and find the right balance between the furniture they wanted to make and the furniture their clients were asking for.

That balance, along with a lot more, is what has made their company successful for all these years.

Follow along as we talk about the importance of community, learning when to take a break, the difference between custom and collection furniture, and much more.

This episode is brought to you by Shaper Tools -Try the Shaper Origin risk-free in your shop for 30 days. Just visit Shapertools.com/FurnitureBrand to learn more

Matt officially started his company in 2010, but as you will hear, before that he had been involved in the building trades for literally his entire life. With his deep knowledge of the industry, Matt has dedicated his career to improving the builder/client relationship.

He has made it his mission to not only look the part of a client centric company but also to prove, time and time again with his actions, that for Matt, clients come first. And that is what has let his company stand apart from the competition. 

Follow along as we talk about working alongside family, building a reputation you can be proud of, understanding your clients and much more

This episode is brought to you by Shaper Tools -Try the Shaper Origin risk-free in your shop for 30 days. Just visit Shapertools.com/FurnitureBrand to learn more!

Andrew is a builder, a fixer, a tinkerer. Ever since a young age, working with his father, he has had the desire to make things with his own hands.

He also has the spirit of an entrepreneur. Someone who embraces the opportunity to survive or fail based on the choices that they alone make.

Putting those two ideas together, Andrew has built his own furniture company from the ground up, and he’s sure learned a lot along the way. 

Follow along as we talk about making contracts that protect yourself and the client, the importance of keeping your mind fresh, how pricing can be easy, and much more.