A colorful world
Industry Faces
By Tanya K. Merritte -- Kids Today, 5/1/2008
Who: Alicia Stanley, owner and designer, Alicia Stanley and Co.
Background: When Alicia Stanley started her case goods and lighting company in October 2004, the youth market was not a focus. However, requests started pouring in with the success of her four-poster finial twin bed, which was painted in a kid-friendly royal pumpkin. Stanley said that the color palette of her casual French-inspired farmhouse furniture lends itself to appealing to a younger customer.
“Because the colors I use are bright and bold, even though we distress them to tone the colors down, many decorators, designers and retailers assumed we made children's furniture,” she said.
That response led Stanley to add more child-specific SKUs including a chest of drawers and bookcase, among other pieces. And this fall, she is launching a new line of lighting products that will include table lamps, floor lamps and pendants. Stanley calls the collection, which will debut at the ABC Kids Expo in September, fashion lighting.
“Whether you have a playful or sophisticated room, this new colorful collection will fit in a nursery, a teen room, or a home decor accent in any room in the home,” Stanley said. “We're very excited.”
The Process: Stanley says she gets much of her inspiration from visiting flea markets, where she is always looking for unusual items. “I first look for designs that I might incorporate with a design I have in mind. Sometimes a piece inspires me and I take it from there. Other times I take a little from here, add something else I had in mind and finally add the color that will make that piece come alive. It's a trial and error project until I feel I have it right,” she said.
Esmeralda is one of the designs in Alicia Stanley's current lighting collection.
Stanley says she is fortunate that her husband is able to turn her ideas into reality. “He will normally take my design, do a sketch and will go online to order whatever he will need to make a prototype,” she explained. After the prototype is made and the cost analysis is done, a decision is made on whether to take the item into production.
The line is made in Ohio, which is where Stanley lives. In addition to showing at ABC for the first time this year, Stanley shows at the Atlanta and New York gift shows.
Alicia Stanley & Co. furniture hits medium to high price points and its target retailer is upscale stores, but Stanley said that currently about 75% of her business is decorators and designers.
The designer says she aims to make her products unique by giving them their own character. “I try to give the product its own character, whether it's in color, size or materials used,” she said. “Color is really what we are known for, and believe me we are not bashful when using it.”
The manufacturer offers about two dozen color choices and can customize a color for a customer as well.
The challenges: Stanley said one of the biggest obstacles she faces is trying keep up with trends while still offering unique product. She also said the recent downturn in the economy has caused some challenges. Stanley said that people want to save money and they are looking for smaller items that bring instant gratification. To that end, Stanley is scaling back on introducing large pieces of furniture and has plans to discontinue some pieces that aren't selling well. Instead, she's concentrating on accessories, such as her current lighting line and the new one being introduced in the fall.
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