We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lisa Staugaard and Sara Haynes Of Iridium Interiors a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lisa Staugaard and Sara Haynes, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.
Corporate America is driven by short-term profits that continue to impose a burden onto future generations. At Iridium Interiors, our mission is to invest in the long-term by offering sustainable high-quality furniture that will last beyond a generation. Our goal is to offer consumers high-quality furniture that is unique, durable, and environmentally sustainable. We are proud to have offset over 100 tons of carbon dioxide and restored over 2000 pieces of furniture over the last 8 years.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
We got into refinishing furniture separately, Lisa had a job in college where she learned to restore furniture for on-campus housing, preparing for incoming students. Sara started restoring furniture for herself and then for friends and family. When we met in 2015, the business evolved naturally out of our shared skills and values for sustainability and reducing waste.
As freelancers, an ongoing challenge is that we run our business while juggling other projects. Lisa works at a lab as a failure analysis chemist and Sara works as an interior designer for clients who value a timeless design. Our different backgrounds enhance our furniture restoration knowledge and keep us current on the latest sustainability practices.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
What helped build our reputation was really believing in the quality of the work we do, we are always learning new techniques that increase durability and beauty of the finished piece. We’re proud to show off our hard work on Instagram and create a dialogue with followers who are interested in the art of restoration. We love our customers and are open to sharing our knowledge and always strive to create a positive experience for our customers.
Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?
We sell through multiple channels including our own website, 1st Dibs, Chairish and Etsy. Although each has its pros and cons with commission rates and ease of creating listings, we really value the expanded reach we gain by selling through multiple marketplaces.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.iridiuminteriors.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iridium_interiors
Image Credits
Lisa Staugaard and Sara Haynes of Iridium Interiors