Time & Timeliness: In the Interior Design Industry.
Time & Timeliness:
An Interior designer needs to ensure that their selections of fabrics and furnishings meet a lot of criteria. First, each item has to be beautiful and fit in to their overall vision for the space. Then, it has to be of high quality, able to last the test of time, have durability, and be purposeful. And, let us not forget about the cost. While there is always a budget of some sort, and certain areas and items are expected to get the majority of that amount. While other items have to make do with the rest.
So, what about receiving these beautiful fabrics and furnishings in a timely manner? That is typically prioritized after all these other considerations (beauty, quality and cost) have been successfully achieved. In an ideal world, the designer has a very long runway – and can dream and plan and buy without worrying about end dates and deadlines, wedding dates that the new design needs to be in place for, or move-in dates that need to be met. These situations are becoming increasing less common. The direction that our society is moving into is one of more immediate gratification. We want to have our cake (i.e. beauty, quality at a somewhat palatable price, etc.), but then also want to eat it too (like sometime in the next few months if at all possible!).
Expectations changing in the digital age:
Our expectations are changing around reasonable wait times in this increasingly digital age. We can thank Amazon’s prime delivery and next day services for that, along with the million other new business models that inserted themselves into the marketplace and into our lives. Emphasizing its core value proposition of speed and time efficiency. This solution is primarily driven by the goal of delivering swift results while maximizing time savings.
At Ernest Gaspard, we are leaning in to this often unmet need of timeliness. We take great pride in fostering a strong connection with our designers and the design community. Moreover, our commitment to empathy ensures a collaborative and supportive environment for creative endeavors. Heck, most of our employees are active interior designers themselves, so we all get the demands of the job. There is a deadline and a deserving client that needs to be satisfied at the end of all of this. Their expectations that we need to be exceeding to tee up the next referral. We pride ourselves on bending over backwards to help our designers get that great furniture product or fabric in a timely manner.
Innovations:
We are innovating in this area, working with industry leaders like American Leather to take any of their best-in-class furniture frames and have a COM fabric from Maxwell, the leader in performance fabrics, get delivered in 6 weeks. You read that correctly: only 6 weeks to get a beautifully upholstered furniture piece with COM fabrics from Maxwell. Yes, it is possible and available through the Ernest Gaspard showroom.
Keep an eye out for more innovation from us in this area ahead. While there is a significant expectations gap in the industry, particularly concerning delivering in a timely manner,, we want to push the boundaries of what is possible in this important area. The future around timely delivery has already begun, and we look forward to having you along with us for the journey ahead. Off to the races we go…. Together.
