We were lucky to catch up with Anna Braff recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Anna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

At Provenance Rentals, we truly believe at knocking our client’s socks off — whether it be through products, services, or a combination of both. We have high expectation for our products. We only want to present and deliver high quality, unique, hard-to-find, beautiful, and in excellent condition, rentals. Though we cannot guarantee perfection, we don’t approve of releasing products that are inferior, unusable, unclean, or in an unpresentable condition. Our products are regularly maintained, cleaned, fixed, and touched-up. We ensure items are presentable, safe, beautiful, and professional. You are trusting us with your vision, so we understand how important it is to rely on us and receive your money’s worth. Some things are vintage and all things are rentals, which means ordinary wear and tear can happen, and some products are chippier or well-loved as time goes on — that also becomes a unique part of the pieces’ stories and so long as it does not interfere with the product’s integrity or take away from the overall beauty — those battle wounds carry on with the piece.

At Provenance Rentals, we also believe in treating our clients, supporters, and staff with respect and dignity. We value and need each and every one of our customers. They are not just a transaction to us. We get to know many of them and we build a bond of trust. You trust us with your special event, and we trust working with someone who makes our business run better.

As a mother, I love connecting with clients that are parents or parents-to-be. I understand how a child’s wedding, a baby shower, a bridal shower and any personal event like that holds such special value. Recently, I met with a mother and daughter to help design the daughter’s lounge for her wedding. I spent a few hours going over different options and layouts, discussing overall cohesion for the event at large, and got to know them both on a deeper level. We talked and connected over shared experiences as parents (and as a daughter). I learned what is was like raising the bride-to-be from her mother, how far she has come, what she has achieved. I love getting background on my clients. It provides such a deeper context to the event. It makes us work that much harder to give them an event of their dreams.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I always loved beauty and the arts. I originally thought I wanted to work in the film and television industry in college, and then eventually I went to law school, passed the bar, and worked briefly as a lawyer. However, it was not my calling. I always loved transforming something from nothing and using my imagination. I stared planning a naming ceremony for my youngest son and put more effort creating something beautiful experience and space than anything I had done before.

A friend of mine in my kids’ play group also liked doing artsy and crafty things. When she saw the party I hosted, she said we should go into business together. I thought about event planning, but I did not love that aspect. I loved the pieces, the items, the antiques. I loved the story props and furniture told. I loved that that changed how a space looked. It is a form of art.

We formed a partnership and worked out of her parents’ warehouse (which is where their business was). Unfortunately, over a few months things grew tense and we were on two separate pages of what we envisioned for the business. We dissolved our business and parted ways. I still had some of the vintage and antique props and furniture left over and I changed the business name to Provenance Rentals. It felt more elevated, polished, and professional. I also had to move to a new warehouse.

There was another brief moment when a different friend and I partnered to continue Provenance Rentals, but it did not work out and we also parted ways and I moved locations again, but at least parting ended more amicably.

Eventually, I moved again to our current location and our inventory selection has grown. As trends change, some of our inventory must as well. We have added modern offerings as well as retained some core vintage pieces. We continue to add vintage and modern pieces as time marches on. Although we have departed from offering exclusively vintage or antique pieces, all items must be beautiful, well-maintained, and high quality. The collection must stand out and be something memorable. That is why people flock to us.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Professionalism and transparency are part of our core values that help build the reputation of the business and mine. Reputations lasts forever, and can be destroyed in a moment. It takes only a short while before you start hearing stories, gossip, and rumors in an industry. Once you hear things over and over and from verifiable sources, those rumors turn into facts. To learn from these cautionary tales, we avoid making these grave mistakes. When you hear that some party rental companies will cancel on customers because they need to take inventory from smaller events for larger events and provide no explanation nor a referral to take over, you realize you don’t want your brand to be like that. That one event is not worth the rippling effect of bad business it creates.

Although we may not be perfect we strive to provide excellent customer service and beautiful products our clients can rely on. Often times what you see online is not what you get in person. We encourage in-person appointments with all decision makers ahead of time so we are on the same page. We clean and maintain our products. We do not present unrentable merchandise. I’ve seen tables at weddings where chunks are taken off the sides, or dirty, worn out, lifeless upholstered furniture in lounges, and so much more.

At Provenance Rentals, we also follow and stay abreast of rules of law. Things are ever-changing with business regulations. We are transparent and upfront on our website, store signage like cancellation policies, and our contracts. We provide our customers with a professional experience. I have worked with other rental companies where even their sales tax is off. We know when rates change and adjust accordingly. When I have seen that on other quotes, I think either they are not paying it or they are losing money. Either way it demonstrates a lack of professionalism and that company pays in one way or another; the work suffers.

The point of being professional is to create trust. Our clients invest a lot of money and faith in our business, so we need to earn their trust. We show up when we say we will, or earlier. If we are running late, we communicate it. We also know how to say sorry or make things right when we err.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

When I started my business, I had no money to invest in something “frivolous” that could be a hobby. It was risky and not exactly the wise path to follow. I had to get creative with ways to make money, or cut costs. I never ran a serious business before, and I had no street cred to my name when it came to designing events and curating furniture. I just knew I had a good eye and loved beautiful objects.

When my first business partner started we were lucky to take up a small spot in her parents warehouse saving us on rent (but only for a short time until our business relationship ended). We would also buy things at auctions, estate sales, markets, and more and some items we would keep for our growing collection and a lot of things we would sell to fund the business. We basically flipped vintage merchandise. Once we started earning more money that way, we could buy more inventory for the collection. Once we had more inventory, we started our website and paid for business cards. We would try to convince anyone who wanted to make their event special they would need some beautiful pieces. It was very little by little that we got customers. We would still flip auction or estate sale items to help fund the business. Eventually, when inventory would not suit us anymore we would sell that and use it towards buying new pieces. We still have to sell off inventory from time to time which helps free up capital and creates reinvestment opportunities in the company.

We started out so small, and I think that was best. Whatever we did not have to pay for we wouldn’t. We only spent on the bare necessities to run. Provenance Rentals still runs lean and does not get extravagant unnecessarily. Too often I see companies overspending, in debt, going bankrupt. We hold the long view. We are not in just for ego or to pretend we have the most Instagram followers. We are real, we work hard for each dollar, and our entire business is thanks to clients who have ordered from us. No bank loan, no VC money, no parents paying for this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://provenancerentals.com/
• Instagram: s://www.instagram.com/provenancerentals
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/provenancerentals
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/provenance-rentals
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/provenancerents
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@provenancerentals
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/provenance-rentals-inglewood
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@provenancerentals

Image Credits
Peterson Design Photo Reality and Retrospect Katie Jane Photo Studio Opia Sanaz Riggio Caroline Tran JCope Photography Provenance Rentals