continued. . . 

So the pair considered that they’d have a great advantage wholesaling their own brand directly to the trade. Although Formation has established a respected reputation, Miller and Towery knew that Slant would be a virtual start-up. First up was amassing a team to get it off the ground. Tamara Long – tapped director of sales and marketing – was deemed ideal since she spent the last decade operating a multi-line sales organization, serving up the perfect combo of understanding product and working with key accounts and independents. (Miller and Long were erstwhile colleagues at a rep group years earlier.) “When Leslie recruited me to help start Slant,” Long relays, “it felt like the perfect challenge. I was involved in buying and selling for years and I wanted to complete the circle by working directly with the product.” Another position of import was overseeing product development, and five-year Formation staffer Stefani Gray was tapped here. It is she who is credited as the driving force behind the Slant launch. “It has always been a group effort at Formation,” Gray says, “so helping to develop the first collections for Slant has been a real thrill.”

As the interview goes on it becomes apparent just how often the word ‘team’ is invoked. Miller affirms. “The people we work with are critical to us,” the chief exec notes. “Formation has always been a family environment and our synergies have always benefited the company. There’s a collaboration that goes on here that makes the best use of everyone’s expertise and experience. It’s been a really great and a really fun year.”

It’s not too often that you hear the word ‘fun’ to describe the first year of a business, but it sure does seem to reflect the philosophies and personalities of the team. Still, Miller is quick to add it hasn’t totally been fun and games. “We had a massive range of product for our launch,” Miller allows. “We went crazy, like kids in a candy store working on techniques and finishes and different collections.” A great deal of product had been developed at Formation that never saw the light of day – about 80% of their designs were never brought to market – and some of that was reimagined for Slant. “We had so much product that we thought was terrific but for one reason or another it didn’t work for our accounts,” Gray notes. “We had some really fun concepts that we tweaked for this launch.”

That’s no exaggeration; there were 25 original collections which were narrowed to 15. Poring through the product images on these pages, the diversity of the merchandise is clear although there seems to be one commonality: classics with a contemporary twist. Miller calls it vintage tabletop – from grandma’s china to 1950s martini chic – with a modern aesthetic, “heirlooms of the future”.

This estrogen-laden group is continually besting the creative bar, but they’re first to admit it doesn’t always come easy. “We’re continually challenging our factories technically,” Miller allows. “They’ve come to expect over-the-top requests from us and we always have to convince them they can do it.” This translates into a lot of air travel to the Far East for Gray. The web of factories already producing for Formation would become the backbone of Slant’s production and glassware would be the focal point. “We know the category and there are many opportunities still to explore,” proffers Miller. “We see a void in the market for innovative designs at our price points.” (Slants collections range from $12 to $64.) Slant offers the creative team a chance to re-flex design muscles hindered by constraints placed by private label partners. “It’s an opportunity for us to express ourselves without censors,” Miller suggests. “Slant allows us to put the product out as we see it. We can bring innovation without being pushed to a price.”

continued . . . .