Producing Trust

Handblown Glass Production

Todd With Colleagues In India

 I  learned many years ago that I prefer working with the same factories, over and over again versus chasing a better price somewhere else;  only to find that the better price often came with some interesting strings attached, or worse yet nothing attached, not even the product in the end.  It has been my experience that most owners of factories are honorable and trustworthy  people, regardless of the country involved.   In the end, no matter what language we speak, or what food we eat, the goal is the same;  to make a reasonable living, which means we can pay for our house, and raise our children.  This becomes very important when negotiating with someone from another country where language and culture can be a barrier;  trust is scarce and misunderstandings abound. 

I recently had an experience working with a glass factory, which could make beautiful large handblown decorative glass bowls and hurricanes.  The owner was my “perfect” stereotype for a “glass man”; he was short, stocky,  and very willing to work on any new idea I might have creating new molds, and finishes.  A factory owner with this can-do attitude is essential for real success on new projects; as they always require a lot of effort to pull together.  After some time however; un-explicably, he began falling behind on deliveries, which only became more severe and remained unexplained.  He would always say that things were on track and that he had another order that he needed to finish first;  but in the end he was never producing what he said he was; and when he did work on our orders, the quality was not shippable. The problem was not payment terms, or the factory’s ability to produce the glass itself, it was certainly a problem of price even though he never brought it up.  It is not uncommon for a factory owner, in fact, to simply stop producing for a customer because of price  The culture of a country often times is such that the owner will not want to say anything negative and risk upsetting the customer;  and the result is simply to stop producing anything; which results in the customer (a westerner usually) leaving bewildered and confused. 

It is my philosophy to spend as much time with factory owners as possible to share information and build trust.  Had we been working together for a longer time, I am sure that the pricing issue would have surfaced and we would have been able to resolve the issue without the factory losing the business altogether.  With the commodity price increases over the past couple of years, this would not have been an unexpected conversation.

In the end, no matter what the reason to start working together, both the factory and the buyer need to keep an open mind towards the challenges that the other faces.  It is easy to be consumed by our own daily issues and not want to worry about what the other side is dealing with. If we do, we will find that our counterparts will also be more sensitive to what we are dealing with and over time, a relationship of trust will build; and when the buyer needs a better price, terms, or delivery dates for a large order, the trust and confidence will be there, and the potential relationship ending misunderstandings will be a thing of the past.   

The Love of Detail

Dorado Centerpiece

Design is a bit like a coin;  it has two sides which compliment each other, but are very different all the same.  On one side is beautiful sketches, rich colors and materials, crisp photographs (that you can practically eat), and world class graphics, my first love.  On the other side is the realization that design represents only about 10% of the designers time (if that), and the rest is a litany of details fit only for an accountant.  Alas, these details cannot be handled by an accountant;  they are creative details which can only be sorted out by a combination of relentless determination and creative focus.  To be a good designer you have to love the mediums you are working in whether it’s pencils, paints, clay, paper, or computer; but to be a great designer you must be in love with the details; all of them.  Admittedly, I must remind myself about this, because lets face it,  no one in the design profession really wants to be an accountant, relegated to the nitty gritty of getting to the “right” finish on a piece of iron, which someone is working on a thousand miles away, or changing raw materials because the cost is coming in too high and the item won’t sell.  

This balance between the sides(of the coin) is exactly what makes a good product a great product.  The aesthetics can be rich, unique, and never before seen by man (or woman), but if the production or financial details are not in sync then none of this will matter.  Can the factory produce this ceramic glaze ; which you love, consistently (often they can’t),  and have found buried on a shelf behind something else?  It might be on that bottom shelf for a reason.  Is there a value story of any kind?  All customers like a value whether they are small or large; and no matter how beautiful or useful a product may be, the customer will walk away if the price is not right.  We (designers) must remind ourselves from time to time that this is after all a commercial endeavor; and we are not designing for ourselves.

So, while we must always see the coin as a whole; we need to remember that it is a two-sided object; each side composed of various critical details.  One side is playful, charming, and witty; while the other side is somber, and boring,  with no sense of humor.  While our job as designers is to come up with something new and exciting;  if we do not keep an eye toward the other side of the equation then it will just be another wonderful, possible, maybe something that could have just perhaps been great, but instead falls into the great pocket of loose change located on a bottom shelf behind something else.

Traveling Designer

Terra Cotta Soldiers

Todd Pomeroy 
Xi'an, China

Lets face it, business travel today is anything but pleasant.  So when I travel it has to be important and there must be a number of things I want to get accomplished.  There must be better reasons than getting away from the kids for a few days!  Over the past 20 years I have acquired some basic travel habits which help:

● I always travel light.  If it won’t fit into my carry on bag I just won’t take it.  If that means a little laundry while I’m away, so be it.  This allows me to move from place to place and cover a lot of ground with a minimum of drama.  As you can imagine my style of dress is anything but French Couture!  

● While traveling light allows me to move around quickly it also makes for long days. Time is precious so I typically work for 12 hours a day. This can go longer if there are  some car trips involved;  which usually there are.  I always travel with some snacks.  I love all sorts of food but when you’re up at 5am trying to catch a flight somewhere or stuck in a 4 hour car ride in a remote area, don’t underestimate the value of a little granola!

● Travel is expensive; therefore, I make sure I get everything accomplished that I came to do.  It kills me to spend so much time and money on a trip and not complete everything I had in mind.

Now that I’ve completed everything that I came to do, I try to see and do anything cultural that's available.  I just went to Xi’an, China for the first time a few weeks ago and was finally able to see the terracotta soldiers.  I could only allow a couple of hours but it was perfect, and no rain! 

And so, by the time I begin to master my jet lag and and am finally on the time zone of the country that I’m in, it’s time to start the process all over again and head back home.  Oh, and lest I forget, bring something interesting for the kids!

The "Crystal Ball"

Kabria Fragrance Diffuser Garden

As Pomeroy is considered a fashion vendor the life cycle of our products can be as short as one season, around six months, or live on for five years and beyond.  I know there must be a retail “crystal ball” out there but sadly I have not found it yet.  I never know unequivocally whether a particular design will work.  

Knowing what product is going to hit a nerve and be the next million dollar item, is as illusive as political harmony.  All designers have fun ideas.  Its always only a question of whether the idea is ahead of its time, too late to be meaningful, or perfectly timed (which is usually complete luck).  When I have an idea about something I move very quickly.  Speed is critical in our shop.  

When your business is based on new items and new looks, as ours is, you must be focused at all times on creating and finalizing new products.  Our customers are savvy, and will not be excited by a “re-do” of something I showed them six months prior.  Fashion product is a bit like coffee;  the minute it gets cold it might as well be tar on the road you are driving on to get something that tastes better!  They will become bored, and assume we are losing our touch and move on.

In that respect, this business can be grueling; however, it’s also that pressure to produce which keeps the collection exciting.  Pressure is a necessary component to our products.  It drives everything we do.  It keeps us honest with the product, forcing us to constantly re-evaluate what we are doing; and above all,  KEEP IT FRESH AND HOT!

A Tale Of Two Wall Sconces

Vertigo Wall Sconce

Frazier Wall Sconces

This is a brief story about a new technique which I discovered in India some time ago.  We refer to it as “burned copper”.  Typically when I find a new finish, be it on metal, ceramic, wood, or glass, it can often be the seed of an idea that grows into a complete category of goods.  One must be careful when putting a collection together however; as a collection can have too much of a good thing!

In this case, the discussion is part design and part price point; following up on my previous blog posting.  Using this technique , along with some other items, I created a couple of wall sconces, both decidedly modern in feel but with different price points.  One was sold as a set of two and the other was sold individually. 

The set of two; while very well crafted (and designed of course!) were set to retail at the high range of where we had retailed wall sconces to date, while the single item retailed at 14.99.  Probably, not surprisingly, The single wall sconce has been very successful at retail, while the more expensive set of two was much less successful (dismal is a word that comes to mind!)  

In analyzing the differences and possible reasons why one would be so successful and one not so, it became clear to me that one possibility besides the price point difference could have been that the scale of the design of the set of two which was quite small and made it hard to appreciate the incredibly rich finish, while the other had a variety of metals as well as the fact that the actual shapes used were much larger, thus having a greater impact visually, both on the packaging and on the wall.

I dare say, the experience with these two wall sconces has taught me volumes, both about design and price point.  To this day, when I’m drawing (which I try to do daily), the experiences of these two designs is with me always.

Great Design vs. Price Point

Urban Lighting Decor  2008

This past season, I had time to reflect on new ideas that we have developed into successful products and those that were not successful.  Unfortunately, (or fortunately),  depending on what side of the question you are on, there are two ever present questions which we as designers and business owners must answer:  

1. Do we have a new idea that will initiate a new wave of products and create sales for an extended period.  Is the idea a new idea , or simply a new rendition of an older idea.  An older idea is not necessarily bad.  They can work also if enough time has passed and the new rendition is fresh and truly updated.                                                                             
2. Price Point.   Ah yes, that nagging, irritating fly in the ointment (for designers anyway). We routinely create new and “fun” ideas only to have them watered down (at best) or completely obliterated  by retail price requirements.

The candle garden concept which we developed first at Pomeroy many years ago, was by this time a mature category, and needed a fresh take.  Prices were rising for raw materials and this put a strain (to say the least) on how much we could put in a box.  So, the question was , how do we “move the needle” in a design sense while holding onto a price point.  We were able to create a new look using a butler table idea combined with candles and glass and rocks.  The look was definitely new from what we had created previously and it was set to retail at 24.99.   

Well, after releasing the item at retail it became clear that it was not going to set the world on fire in terms of sales, so after some negotiation with the retailers involved they lowered the price to 19.99.  Well, the results speak for themselves.  The retailer sold through the inventory (20,000 units) in a matter of weeks.

A bittersweet vindication.  I knew the design was solid and new and should by well received by the Pomeroy customer.  Through this experience “She” was just telling us that she liked the design and aesthetic of the piece;  she was just not prepared to spend 24.99.   

In my next addition to the blog I will follow up with two similar items which were released at the same time to different retailers and one of them was very successful.  I’ll share my thoughts on why.