Featured in this week’s episode of The Productive Designer, host Crystal Collinson chats with co-owner and Director of Designer + Trade for CF Interiors Allison Andrew-Harris.
Allison is no stranger to the furniture game. In 1979, her father opened a furniture store on the South Granville slope, where Allison found herself working in her early teens alongside her two brothers. Allison now oversees the Design + Trade Division of the company, ensuring interior designers across the country have all the tools they need to make furniture and lighting sourcing as easy as possible.
- Be confident in a male-dominated industry.
- Focus on your area of expertise.
- Making furniture buying for designers easy and more appealing..
- Interior Design is 20% creative and 80% administrative. Curating a space requires picking different furniture suppliers. Dedicate a specific team to oversee and monitor shipping, freight rates, and delays. Additionally, you need to communicate with your clients before any problem or misunderstanding arises.
- Looking for international furniture suppliers?
- There are so many more opportunities that have opened up with the acceptance and frequent ways of working virtually.
- Traveling alone helps you build confidence.
- Love what you do.
So, join Crystal and Allison as they chat about how Allison manages their furniture business in a male-dominated industry.
Then “Do something today that your future self will thank you for” and visit Allison’s website that will provide a one-stop shop for every designer’s trade and logistics needs.
If you enjoyed the episode, show your support by buying me a coffee buymeacoffee.com/TPDpodcast
How to reach Allison:
Website: cfinteriors.ca
Recommended podcasts : Business of Design ↔ In the House ↔ Second Life
Recommended Books :
Where the Crawdad Sing by Delia Owens and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
NEED STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE for your interior design business? Get it in the show notes of Crystal’s episode Why you need SOP’s in your Interior Design business.