We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Harb a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
There are a number of ways we can personalize the rug shopping experience that helps us stand apart from the industry standard and from large corporate companies. We are all about re-creating the intimate experience of shopping for the home in the souks of Morocco, and so even though we are an entirely online business, we dedicate as much one-on-one time to our customers as needed to help them make long-lasting and meaningful design decisions within their budgets. While some customers know exactly what they want and can easily add their favorite pieces to the cart and checkout without ever needing any help, many love to engage with us over DMs and emails, sharing pictures of their homes, inspiration, budget constraints and more. As a small business with a love for interior design and a true appreciation for each customer’s support, we treasure every opportunity we have to participate in the collaborative, creative process with our clientele. In addition to personalized consultation, we also offer the unique ability to design and make custom rugs, or to source rugs not listed on the website based on customer inspiration. We pride ourselves on either finding or making unique pieces for our discerning customers.
Lauren, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started Harem Modern, an online Moroccan rug business based in both Los Angeles and Morocco, about 4 years ago when a magical trip to Morocco led me to slowly transform my small vintage homewares brand into an online rug store. Our rugs are made entirely by hand by Amazigh women in Morocco, who expertly preserve their ancient weaving techniques and practices. Each piece we carry is one of a kind, and we ship all over the world from Morocco. In addition to our carefully curated in-stock selection, we also source and custom make unique pieces to fit our customers’ needs. When our clients shop with us, they are supporting a small, Arab woman-owned business, as well as the uniquely talented Moroccan makers.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Harem Modern was initially a vintage furniture and homewares business, and naturally shifted into being a Moroccan rug business when we pivoted towards selling pieces that felt more inspiring to us alongside the sourced vintage objects we enjoyed selling for years before. When we noticed that there was more room in the market for cool, quality Moroccan rugs than there was for vintage furniture and objects, it made sense to shift fully into selling rugs–a less saturated corner of the homewares world.
Since Harem Modern as a rug business was genuinely born out of a need to personally pivot and the desire to shift based on the market, we’ve always held onto the idea that it is part of the brand to adapt as customers’ needs change. During the pandemic when many people focused energy on beautifying their homes on a budget, we partnered with more cooperatives in Morocco to offer a wider range of affordable options, transitioned from selling on Instagram to selling via the newly designed Harem Modern website, and began offering the option to custom make unique designs and sizes.
We’ve also played around with pop-ups, vintage markets, and wholesaling to brick and mortar stores, with varying degrees of success. Each time we experiment with what we sell and how we sell it, we learn what works for our customer base, and so even the disappointments give us invaluable information.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Most of our new clients find us through word of mouth. We are deeply invested in giving our past and future customers something good to say about us, and we are always grateful to those who spread the word about our small business. Our first customers were our friends, and then friends of friends, and eventually strangers who found us on Instagram. We wouldn’t have the customer base we have if it wasn’t for the customers sharing their positive experiences and interior pictures, particularly on social media.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://haremmodern.com/
- Instagram: @haremmodern
Image Credits
Photo of me by Jasmine Safaeian