The Pros and Cons of Pre-buying great furniture finds

You are in Milan or Paris at Market and happen upon a wonderful secretaire. You know it would be the perfect accent piece, but you don’t have a client that is a good fit for this find at present. What to do?   

Many designers opt to purchase with the intent to use an item in their treasure trove at a later date. They either have their own warehouse or send to a trusted consolidator or warehouse facility. While in the past, this was a wonderful way to catalog finds for the future, today, with the complex global sourcing, issues with transport, especially for goods coming via container on a ship. The cost could be a mitigating factor and the transit time has become a persistent problem in our industry. 

I collaborate with many colleagues who regularly shop at market globally and “curate and collect” for their clients. It is something they find has served a niche for them, while also providing the ability to cull their collections for the perfect piece when needed. Many have reported that it is a time saver, and their clients adore the fact that they are getting a curated find from their designer’s collection.

Other design professionals feel it is better to take a fresh approach for each project. Loving the hunt, and the opportunity to find the perfect piece that is both current, available and that the client can see in person or via Facetime or a quick snapshot, continues to be the modus operandi for many designers.

I fall into the category above, always preferring to source for each project. What I have done, is to use a data base of what we have coined “DCI Faves,” where we have an online catalog of furniture, furnishings, lighting and the like, that we can always go to. It saves us an enormous about of sourcing hours.   

I am also fearful of warehousing items as there have been reports from designer clients that I coach who have had flooding, mold, climate control issues and even rodent issues. Even the most reputable warehouse can be hit with an unforeseen issue. I recall years ago having a delivery from one of the most reputable warehouses, who I had dealt with for fifteen years. I was not onsite for this particular delivery. The client reported that they had inspected the chairs upon delivery but that evening, they discovered rat droppings. They were disgusted, as was I, and put the chairs on the deck for pickup. Both the showroom/vendor and the delivery warehouse took full responsibility and replaced the chairs, but it was not something that made any of us look favorable in the eyes of my client.   

If you are interested in hearing other opinions on the subject, click the link here.