Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Thomas Hayes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Thomas , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business

So about 6 years ago we had a guy come in, bright red pants on, a European tall, sort of James Bond looking. A gentleman, with a British accent and who was a legit worldwide designer, He ordered 4-5 custom pieces that we made completely custom, and then he disappeared. We were then contacted by either the Secret Service or FBI, who told us he was an international fraudster and that they wanted to get a refund for the furniture for whoever was defrauded.

It was a mess! Unfortunately, people are out there who are taking advantage of people and businesses alike. We produced the pieces and they were done, they never called us back so I think I gave away some of them to friends. I thought it was fascinating that this debonair, James Bond guy, robbed a bunch of people and bought furniture with their money.

Thomas , 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 like to think of myself as an edgy, strange artist type that majored in philosophy, managed nightclubs when I was young and found furniture design by happenstance, even thought I did not study the art in college. I began dealing in vintage, which led me to designing my own pieces and it just took on a life of its own.

People most commonly recognize the Thomas Hayes Studio name for our  barstools and dining chairs, which are probably one of the most challenging things to design and manufacture in furniture, which is why there isn’t a lot of great options for barstools. Other types of furniture are much easier to design so many designers steer clear of chairs and barstools. My products are, after many years, the highest quality and best made that I can muster. They’re all studio made.

I’m incredibly proud of my designs, almost all which are collaboratively conceptulaized.The people I work with everyday add as much to the final product design as I do conceptually. I have a solid team behind me which is essential to creating our unique and intricate designs. Almost all of my designs are collaborations with interior designers that I love to work with, naming chairs after them! I think I’m able to have great designs because it’s not just me trying to show my artistic side, it’s really a collaboration and I want people to know that. In my work you’re getting the best of the best in the whole world, made from collaborations that promise the best product.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

So 5 years ago my new girlfriend and now wife, Jonelle Hayes, moved from Texas to Los Angeles to be in a relationship with me. She had a great job; however, Iof begged her to leave and come run the business. Her agreeing to do so turned into her really taking it over and being CEO, really making it a business, not just a goofy guy with great ideas and designs. We originally met in 1994, I was 19 and she was 11 because our moms were best friends giving us a mutual respect for each other all these years. When I became single I very much pursued her completely and immediately, cause I knew how smart and resilient and hardworking she was over the years. She is truely  CEO and runs everything now, which allows me to be creative and not be worried about the finer points of running the business. We work really well together and have completely different skillsets, which makes us very complimentary. So again, everyone here and especially her, contributes to my final products and designs greatly, whether it be fabric selections or prototypes, finishes, taking away details that aren’t important to design or the structure of the piece.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I was a really slow to social media and really devoting time to it. When COVID started, my wife had been adamantly pushing me, as she had been before COVID, to really connect with these designers personally and get to know them. Designers are everything, other people don’t really matter in the design business. The interior designers are the ones you have to serve and identify their pain points, help them with what they’re trying to do. In addition to offering great products, if you’re not going to follow through with standing behind your products or when something goes wrong and getting it fixed as fast as you can even when it’s not your fault then you’ve failed. Social media really let me connect with people all over the world. The way I did it was the true level of engagement, reaching out and commenting on peoples stuff, contacting them and letting them know I’m a fan of theirs. There’s nobody cool enough that doesn’t want to hear meaningful compliments that speaks to who they are as a designer and what they’re doing. People love to hear good things, and I think in this world we don’t want to seem unauthentic so we don’t compliment people enough, but people want to hear compliments and be celebrated when they’re doing something great that isn’t want everyone else is doing. If you want to grow your social media, then you have to find out who you are and what you can contribute to people and then just do it. Contact people you really love and ask them to have lunch with you, tell them you think they’re great. There’s so many designers that I’m great friends with now, and I just send them pictures or ideas, and they contribute. I grew my network through this vehicle that’s used for cars, food, and boobs most of the time, but that’s not all. There’s a bunch of worlds within social media that exist of fully wonderful and confident people. Find those people and connect, it’s not as hard as people think.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thomashayesstudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thomashayesstudio/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thomas-hayes-studio/