Sunday, November 27, 2011

The "Crystal Ball"



Kabria Fragrance Diffuser Garden























As Pomeroy is considered a fashion vendor the life cycle of our products can be as short as one season, around six months, or live on for five years and beyond.  I know there must be a retail “crystal ball” out there but sadly I have not found it yet.  I never know unequivocally whether a particular design will work.  
Knowing what product is going to hit a nerve and be the next million dollar item, is as illusive as political harmony.  All designers have fun ideas.  Its always only a question of whether the idea is ahead of its time, too late to be meaningful, or perfectly timed (which is usually complete luck).  When I have an idea about something I move very quickly.  Speed is critical in our shop.  
When your business is based on new items and new looks, as ours is, you must be focused at all times on creating and finalizing new products.  Our customers are savvy, and will not be excited by a “re-do” of something I showed them six months prior.  Fashion product is a bit like coffee;  the minute it gets cold it might as well be tar on the road you are driving on to get something that tastes better!  They will become bored, and assume we are losing our touch and move on.
In that respect, this business can be grueling; however, it’s also that pressure to produce which keeps the collection exciting.  Pressure is a necessary component to our products.  It drives everything we do.  It keeps us honest with the product, forcing us to constantly re-evaluate what we are doing; and above all,  KEEP IT FRESH AND HOT!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

A Tale Of Two Wall Sconces

Vertigo Wall Sconce

Frazier Wall Sconces


This is a brief story about a new technique which I discovered in India some time ago.  We refer to it as “burned copper”.  Typically when I find a new finish, be it on metal, ceramic, wood, or glass, it can often be the seed of an idea that grows into a complete category of goods.  One must be careful when putting a collection together however; as a collection can have too much of a good thing!
In this case, the discussion is part design and part price point; following up on my previous blog posting.  Using this technique , along with some other items, I created a couple of wall sconces, both decidedly modern in feel but with different price points.  One was sold as a set of two and the other was sold individually. 
The set of two; while very well crafted (and designed of course!) were set to retail at the high range of where we had retailed wall sconces to date, while the single item retailed at 14.99.  Probably, not surprisingly, The single wall sconce has been very successful at retail, while the more expensive set of two was much less successful (dismal is a word that comes to mind!)  
In analyzing the differences and possible reasons why one would be so successful and one not so, it became clear to me that one possibility besides the price point difference could have been that the scale of the design of the set of two which was quite small and made it hard to appreciate the incredibly rich finish, while the other had a variety of metals as well as the fact that the actual shapes used were much larger, thus having a greater impact visually, both on the packaging and on the wall.
I dare say, the experience with these two wall sconces has taught me volumes, both about design and price point.  To this day, when I’m drawing (which I try to do daily), the experiences of these two designs is with me always.



Saturday, November 12, 2011

Great Design vs. Price Point

Urban Lighting Decor  2008

























This past season, I had time to reflect on new ideas that we have developed into successful products and those that were not successful.  Unfortunately, (or fortunately),  depending on what side of the question you are on, there are two ever present questions which we as designers and business owners must answer:  
  1. Do we have a new idea that will initiate a new wave of products and create sales for an extended period.  Is the idea a new idea , or simply a new rendition of an older idea.  An older idea is not necessarily bad.  They can work also if enough time has passed and the new rendition is fresh and truly updated.                                                                             
  2. Price Point.   Ah yes, that nagging, irritating fly in the ointment (for designers anyway). We routinely create new and “fun” ideas only to have them watered down (at best) or completely obliterated  by retail price requirements.
The candle garden concept which we developed first at Pomeroy many years ago, was by this time a mature category, and needed a fresh take.  Prices were rising for raw materials and this put a strain (to say the least) on how much we could put in a box.  So, the question was , how do we “move the needle” in a design sense while holding onto a price point.  We were able to create a new look using a butler table idea combined with candles and glass and rocks.  The look was definitely new from what we had created previously and it was set to retail at 24.99.   
Well, after releasing the item at retail it became clear that it was not going to set the world on fire in terms of sales, so after some negotiation with the retailers involved they lowered the price to 19.99.  Well, the results speak for themselves.  The retailer sold through the inventory (20,000 units) in a matter of weeks.
A bittersweet vindication.  I knew the design was solid and new and should by well received by the Pomeroy customer.  Through this experience “She” was just telling us that she liked the design and aesthetic of the piece;  she was just not prepared to spend 24.99.   
In my next addition to the blog I will follow up with two similar items which were released at the same time to different retailers and one of them was very successful.  I’ll share my thoughts on why.