We recently connected with Michelle Larrabee-Martin and have shared our conversation below.
Michelle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
Kolo Collection was going to happen; my husband and I were just fortunate enough to figure out there was a need and that we could fill it. While traveling, before children,we were introduced to a Danish outdoor furniture line that was looking to come to the USA market. I’ve been in the design industry since 1988 so I was familiar with how high end lines are sold through design driven showrooms. I started to really look at the European market and how they lived and enjoyed their outdoor spaces. It was so different from how the US approached the outdoor spaces, which made me dig more and figure out there was a real need. Americans have been trained to buy cheap and replace often. Throw it away and get new. That’s not how we should buy outdoor furniture, but there were very few options in the USA. It was that simple. Kolo Collection was born at that minute, from my need to make sure the USA market had options and to tell the story of sustainability. I absolutely love my job. I love what Kolo Collection has grown to be. We are proud of the lines we represent and we share as much information with our customers as they are willing to accept. Some customers don’t want the education, but most do. Outdoor furniture should be fun, durable, timeless, classic, and made with as little carbon footprint as possible. It will not self clean, I’m hopeful that will happen in my lifetime, but it does have to withstand the elements. Those are a lot of boxes to check….we found the manufacturers that can do it and we continue to search for more.
Michelle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I graduated in 1988 with a design degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta and started working 2 days later at a national fabric showroom. I was there for 16years and worked my way up from the memo girl to a national sales manager before the company was purchased. I went to 1 more high-end showroom before my husband and I opened Kolo Collection, 19 years ago. I cant image doing anything else. I get to sell the best products, design outdoor spaces, work with amazing customers, as well as the most talented team here at Kolo Collection. We have fun an our customers can feel the positive energy when they come into one of our 3 showrooms. What do I do well; I’m a great problem solver. I love it. I can figure out how to get from A-Z many different ways, but more importantly, the easiest way. I think people overthink things and if we just cleared our mind and looked for the easy way, that’s normally the best. I work very hard to live by two words: Kindness and Respect. Take a minute to think about how powerful those words are. That doesn’t mean we’ll all agree but we’ll respect each other and treat each other with kindness – and have fun!!! Kolo Collection has succeed for 19 years, with 3 locations because we live by those two words, and have fun.
Have you ever had to pivot?
This one is easy because if you don’t listen,or pivot, in life you will not succeed. Period! Kolo Collection opened as a teak furniture showroom but today has very little teak. We listened to the market and every time we need to pivot, we do. My husband I and work together – talk about pivot…yikes. Marriage has it’s challenges but add working together and if you don’t pivot, or listen, it could end the marriage and the company. Kindness and Respect…those are the key words. I’m not afraid to pivot as long as it feels right and to understand if it feels right you have to have your ears open and listen carefully.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
A designer set my husband and I up on a blind date. 6 months later we were engaged and 10 months after that we were standing barefoot on a beach in St. Lucia saying our vows.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kolocollection.com
- Instagram: kolocollection.com
- Facebook: kolocollection
- Linkedin: Michelle Larrabee-Martin