 |
When we did a story on your
business almost four years ago I recall a common theme in the interview. You
said often that every step you took in business was a big or intimidating one.
Nothing ever came easy. Now you’re at another major crossroad taking on
investors. I imagine this is as big as anything you’ve done.
It’s true. Every step I take is hard no matter what
stage of business I’m in. There have been huge steps every year since I started
the business in 1991. The first big step was selling to my first store in ’93.
Then two years later I did my first wholesale show. In 2003, we started selling
to Barneys and Bloomingdale’s and that was huge. Shortly after that I gave up
production and moved it to Ohio.
You used to make every single piece of porcelain sold under the Michael
Wainwright name.
Yes. I’m an artist with a clay background and I made
it all. Outsourcing was a huge and worrisome step. I first tried Peru, but it
was too far away to keep an eye on quality. I knew I wanted to have the product
made outside my studio but I wanted to keep an eye on production. Now we’re
working in the U.S. where they use my glaze recipes and my techniques.
Was it very difficult giving up production?
It was scary but it was also a relief. I really love
designing, but I don’t love making the same plate over and over which is
monotonous and can feel like Dante’s circle of hell. I had to give that up in
order to grow. That was the biggest step ever for the business.
Was this decision mostly dollars and cents?
Yes. Artists making everything themselves have a
hard time succeeding financially. It’s just too strapping.
Do you miss production?
I miss having a crew of people. I used to cook lunch
for everyone, there was music blaring. But it was very messy and smelly with
glazes always in the air. I don’t miss that. I don’t sit and think about the
changes too much because that’s nerve-wracking. I’m a one step at a time person
who goes nuts thinking about the big picture. Trying to take in the whole thing
is daunting.
So you sought investors to help the company build inventory and grow at
retail.
Yes. My new partners want me out of the office. They
know my strengths, and my time is best spent either in the design studio or
going to stores doing appearances and trainings. When I do that my product sells
much better. I was in Hall’s last year and our sales went up unbelievably. If I
can do that with my top 25 accounts that will help the business tremendously.
How has the business grown since you began outsourcing?
We’ve increased 33% a year. With the investment
that’s now taking place the idea is to increase sales exponentially. Up until
now everything had been made to order. Now we’ll have stock in a core group of
product to get immediate gratification to the customer. It’s not rocket science;
my time is not well-spent running the office which I can hire people to do and
will do now because of my partners.
continued . . . .
|
|
