Boutique Design | boutiquedesign.com

(May / June 2011) posted on Fri Jun 03, 2011

Source Lists: Smart designers are shopping the Internet, trade shows and crossover industries to get style- conscious products at budget-friendly prices.

By Mary Scoviak

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Before the recession, design firms working on boutique hotels often got the cold shoulder from vendors who couldn’t be bothered with small orders. Tough times changed that. But that’s not all that’s affecting how and where designers do their buying. The trend now is toward comprehensive purchasing strategies that allow studios to match their sourcing to the demands of each project.

One-Click Shopping
Like everybody else, the design world has been revolutionized by the Internet. Global vendors, small companies and offbeat suppliers are accessible at a click. “The Internet has completely changed the way we source,” says James Stapleton, vice president/operations manager at FRCH Design Worldwide in Cincinnati. “We used to rely on vendors’ catalogs and their reps, but many items are now sourced directly over the Internet.”

Items that don’t need to be seen or felt dominate designers’ Internet shopping lists. Casegoods, seating and lighting are some of the hottest categories for web searches. So are the one-of-a-kind pieces that become a project’s signature. “A whole world of suppliers was available for a recent boutique ranch resort project,” says Carolyn McCoy, purchasing manager of Chicago-based Simeone Deary Design Group, who was able to point-and-click purchases ranging from taxidermy to billiard tables for the project. “We could shop for both selection and price in order to realize our client’s vision on time and within budget.”

But the web has advantages even when shopping for more mainstream items. “It’s a lot easier to find both new and unusual products with a Google search,” says Angela Denney, FRCH’s vice president of interior design. The other advantage is working in real time and being able to see the full range of a manufacturer’s offering. “No one wants to work with an out-of-date paper catalog,” Denney notes.

It’s the drill-down capabilities of online searches that are a plus, says William Langmade, president and ceo, Purchasing Management International, Dallas. “We go to web sites to access specifications on at least half of our projects,” he says.

Designers have even more reasons to hit the Internet when sourcing. More and more home pages have custom design and custom color areas where project managers can experiment to determine whether they can create exactly the look they’re after, then contact the company for a bid.