Luxury Living with Debrae Little

Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a Kun V studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. The

Speaker 1 0:40
Dave, hello, everyone. This is Debra, little host of luxury living with Debre, where we offer expert inter design advice and inspiration. We Today we will explore a design showroom to the trade only that offers furniture, lighting, fabrics, wall covering and rugs and everything in between. We're happy and excited to have Ken vodka here today from Elon collections with us. Welcome.

Speaker 2 1:16
Thank you. Thank you for having me. Welcome. So

Speaker 1 1:19
let's just jump right in and get to know Ken. What drew you to this business?

Speaker 2 1:27
I think I spent 20 years in retail and that, I think what set me up for to it was a natural transition to go from selling fabrics to people to actually selling, you know, the look, and I think that it transformed easily because it's about customer service, it's about relationships. And I think it was an easy transition, because it's all about relationships and giving people what they want. Well,

Speaker 1 1:53
I like that. As a designer, I'm always on the hunt for the best possible fabrics, wall covering furniture and everything. And so every time I have to say that I've had a personal experience with Elon collections, I've gone in there, and I've browsed through their fabrics, and always found something wonderful and exciting each time I've come and it's seems to be something for every client that I perform design work for so that's why I'm excited that you're here. And so moving right along here, what role do you play in design? I know that since you're to the trade only you're offering to intern designs and you help to educate them on the current fabrics and different styles and trims trends that are that are happening. And so what, having said that, what role do you play in design? I

Speaker 2 2:48
think the role I've learned to gravitate towards is to try and bring new product that's not available locally. I try to go over to Europe and bring in product that is only available in Europe, to get vendors to bring new product here so it expands your possibilities to what you can bring to your design. And I think I've done that more and more, because overall, people go, people are creatures of habit, and to break them out of that habit and bring new things to their design table is like, wow, I know they existed. And like, Well, yeah, we went out and got it for you, and here you go. So they seem to have appreciated that. Yeah,

Speaker 1 3:22
I bet they're thrilled with that, at least. I know I am. So tell me about Elon collection in general. How is it, is it set up, if I'm designer for the first time, coming into your showroom, what? What do I see? I mean, I know you have fabric and wallpaper and everything, but, but how do it? Does I do? I feel like I'm going into a really plush store. Do I Do I feel is it somewhere that I can actually sit and bring a client in and perhaps have a consultation and display different things there? What can I expect as a designer coming in to utilize your services? Okay,

Speaker 2 4:00
I think the first thing that hopefully you'll see when you come through our doors is a big smile and a welcome. We, of course, we want designers to bring in their to bring in their clients, to spend as much time as they want in our showroom. They can shop for projects ahead, projects that currently we have people come in and spend eight hours a day just to bring for memos, and they work for projects. And we're there just to help you on the day to day. We're not here to be high pressure. We want you to enjoy your experience. You walk in, you'll see a very gracious amount of fabrics hanging from the from the cabinets. And I think it, hopefully it creates people's excitement to want to create for their for their projects. So

Speaker 1 4:39
it's I can hear it in your voice. You sound like you're very excited about what you do. And I can tell from your experience all the wonderful ideas, or are, I'll say, ideas that you bring to Elon collection. Who do you serve? Who are your clients? I mean,

Speaker 2 5:00
we work with the residential, the hospitality, casinos, commercial, retail spaces, work rooms and architects, anybody who has a need for what we represent is who we work with. And if they don't know us, we go out and find them. Oh, so

Speaker 1 5:15
you actually have, like, an independent representative that comes out and keeps track of what projects are going on and see how your line collision can serve them. Yep,

Speaker 2 5:24
we actually have three outside sales team that go out and service so if, like I said, the designers can't come into the showroom, you know, ie the hotel design firms, we take the product to them, so we're there to always be a good resource. Well,

Speaker 1 5:40
I that's, I mean, I think that's a wonderful research that you're offering. Can you share with us the most unique or luxurious furnishings or fabric or lighting that you worked on for like, high end clients? Yeah,

Speaker 2 5:54
I'll touch on one that I did while a while back, I had a designer who wanted to do a room from top to bottom, ceiling, walls, floor, furniture, all the same. Everything was monochromatic. Everything was the same pattern. Everything was it's like you walked into a room with just one fabric, and it was beautiful the way it was done. I didn't visually see it till it was finished. We had tufted walls, tufted ceiling. It was just you walked in and you felt like you were in a the warmest, most inviting room you've ever been in. It was just beautiful. And everything was the highest end that she could bring to the table as far as fabrics she wasn't cut in the corners. It was beautiful.

Speaker 1 6:31
So when you say that, was it serene or an inviting and calming, or was it something that was like thought provoking in terms of the color palette?

Unknown Speaker 6:39
Thought provoking, very much. So yep,

Speaker 1 6:44
can you describe the most memorable experience working with a particular or a discerning high end client?

Speaker 2 6:53
That's a good question. I would say that discerning,

Speaker 1 6:59
you know, very distinctive someone that came in and, you know, it's just similar to the experience you just said that they the the designer used all the same fabrics in the same room. Would Have you done anything that was really wacky or unusual or out of the box? Have you had an experience with someone coming in and saying, Now, I want everything in polka dots, or I want everything in plaid, or I it has to be this, or it has to be some specific finish, or something like that.

Speaker 2 7:27
I would say the most discerning we had was we had a woman who wanted to do a Barbie. Everything was Barbie had to be the right shades of pink. So we had every vendor trying to find that right shade of pink. And you know what? It worked. We did it and we got it. What she needed, the kid was happy? Was it a kid? Yes,

Speaker 1 7:47
it was a kid. It was a kid's room. Oh my gosh,

Unknown Speaker 7:51
yeah, it was beautiful.

Speaker 1 7:54
It sounds fun. It definitely is fun. I'm sure I could see them. They should have been running clips of Barbie somewhere on a screen in the room as well, you know, might have added to the whole atmosphere. So how do you attract customers with such an exclusive business?

Speaker 2 8:11
Well, I think when I first got in the business, it was definitely about going out and meeting people, going to any event that involved our business in it. Like I said at the beginning, it was it's all about relationships, but if people don't know us, we want to go out there and know them. I think word of mouth is still your most powerful way to get to know people, people who don't know us. If they know a designer, wow, we didn't know you, but we know them, so now they know us. So it's all circular. You know, it comes around, goes around, but I think we're always out looking for new for new people who don't know us well.

Speaker 1 8:45
I think that we're all in this business. We're always looking for that, that next client that's going to engage us and give set us on a path to just to explore something new and exciting for fabric or wall covering, at least I am, I can, I can attest to that for sure. How does the how does the economy affect your business?

Speaker 2 9:06
Immensely the economy. Let's just, well, I'll use the pandemic as an example. If the when the pandemic occurred, that the contract business completely shut down, it was the residential who saved us. Residential designers came out of nowhere. And we're doing so many projects, it was wonderful. But from day to day, you know, it depends on how things are going in Washington. Depends how things are going on the stock market. That makes a big difference.

Speaker 1 9:30
Wow. So it does really have that trickle down, right? So then with, with pending tariffs that are then slotted for the company, you know, 2025, and some of those things, and, and, and for that matter, I'm going to say shipments and all of that that's going to affect all of that. And if you have selected fine fabrics that are, say from Europe, which you had mentioned earlier about going and on your hunt for the best thing to supply or offer to your clients, that's going to. Be that's gonna affect you as well.

Speaker 2 10:01
Yeah, the tariff we went through that four years ago, where we had the tariffs were initiated, a lot of product, and people were coming back, going, why are, why is this happening? Like, well, tariffs have been implemented, and now it's, it's part of your part of your package,

Speaker 1 10:18
yeah. So it just affects the prices and the availability

Speaker 2 10:22
that, and then the shipping is what's really gone up for everybody. Okay, so that becomes a becomes a stickler sometimes where they make decisions and unmake a decision.

Speaker 1 10:31
Oh, that's a hard that's a hard pill to swallow. But, you know, for an exclusive client, maybe they, you might be a little insulated in some ways from that, I'm not sure. Hopefully, yeah, yeah, because there are people still doing clients are still doing renovations, still buying new homes and renovating new homes, as well as purchasing older homes and renovating those. So it seems like the business, for some faction of your business that might be somewhat insulated based on that you know, in terms of dealing with the high network, individuals agree. Yeah, what do you see in your business for the future, your marketing changes? Are there anything that you've decided or you set your sights on for 2025 and you decided that this is what we're going to now do. This is the expansion or something different we're going to be offering. Well,

Speaker 2 11:22
I think I've always been a believer that if it's not broke, don't try and fix it. And I think right now we I think the most important thing for our business is having a really good, solid team that I think that that reads well into people's interactions with our team. I think seeing a constant, steady keep people, people at ease, where you see a constant turnover that can make people go little wishy washy. Our plan is, is to stay, say, the course, just be there as a resource. We don't do anything unique when anybody else does, but we just like to be there and be we're excited to be a part of their projects.

Speaker 1 11:57
Well, it sounds like, if it's like you said, if it's been working, then why change it? You know? So tell me a little bit about what the current trends are. I mean, 2025 is right around the corner. Is there something that you're seeing? Is there? I mean, it's just as with we had a guest here at one time that was from the paint industry, and she's shared with us what she sees coming and changing, and how people live their lives and and those things, and what their expectations are for a home, and that reflects on you in terms of furniture, because I know you have certain furniture lines there as well. So what are you what are you expecting to see in 2025

Speaker 2 12:37
I think the biggest thing that's coming down the pipes right now is the color influence. One of our worst selling colors over the years always been green, but now green has made a big, huge, huge impact. You're seeing it across the board. So that's exciting to see finally, and people have warmed up to that. And I think forward design part, you're seeing a lot more large scale wall coverings,

Speaker 1 13:01
huge like in mirror form. Mirror

Speaker 2 13:05
form, it's, and they have, they've clamored to it. And it's, it's, it's amazing how wall covering has changed over the years. Because when you go back to the 70s and 80s, you know what people say wallpaper, and they're like so we try to use the word wall covering, because it gets a little bit of twist on it. But everybody is clamoring to do their walls, which is great to see, because they hadn't do that for quite a while. Yeah, so, yeah, I love

Speaker 1 13:26
wall coverings. I mean, they're just, they can. I think they're the easiest way to reshape and change and reimagine a room. Yeah, it's either paint and wall paint clamoring, and I guess the combination together you got to hit, as far as I'm concerned, yes, well, how do you stay ahead of your competitors? Who are your competitors?

Speaker 2 13:46
In our in our business, there's a like two other showrooms in our town that we compete with. We all obviously carry our own lines. It's, I think, how did the question was, how to compete?

Speaker 1 13:56
Yeah, it sounds like if you carry your own lines, and maybe that, in and of itself, it's enough that separates you from the other showrooms. Perhaps

Speaker 2 14:04
I'll agree that 100% because there are lines that we have brought on that I've only been a business owner with the sense of, I don't go after somebody else's lines. I want lines to come to us, or I go find the lines. And I think that the fact that we've attracted so many great lines, you know, from kravit, fabricut, JF, Tebow. We carry a wide range. We can go from your low end all the way up to your high end. So we try and cover everybody's projects.

Speaker 1 14:34
Well, that's it. Well, it's one of my favorite showrooms to go to. I mean, you guys are so always warm and welcoming and helpful, and plus they actually play the best music, I have to say that guilty. Okay, so let's ask for your your best recommendations. If you have a designer coming in and they're redoing a client's path. Patio as an example. Or they have a home where they have a lot of young children and there and they, you know, concerned about the durability and worry about stains and different things like that. What would be your best fabric recommendation for for that, for that use? Because I understand just in my personal design business, I have a tendency now to move what they consider to be performance or outdoor fabrics to the inside of the home. Definitely, I'm definitely that's my trend, and I think it just makes it easier for me to meet all of the client's needs without them being afraid of having that sofa that's a light color, or, for that matter, a rug, is to say, hey, we can, you can, when this gets dirty, we can take this outside, and you can water hose the rug off and and still, and bring it back in the house, and all will be good, but still maintain that look, because they want that look of sophistication, but they want it to be comfortable for the other members in their household where they don't feel as if they can't sit on a sofa or something. So what's your recommendations for

Speaker 2 16:07
so I think on that, I would say we definitely would. We would suggest fabric has got fiber guard in it, which is great for repellency and stains. So anything that you figure out from your client, where it's being used, how it's being used, and then obviously, you're going to go to the right product. When you go to outdoor, you need to make sure, is it isn't exposed outdoor, is it covered? Those things make a big difference in the fabric. Should bring to the table durability. We have fabrics in our in our collections that go from 10,000 to 1.5 million double rubs. Wow. So

Unknown Speaker 16:42
that's, that's news to me. That's

Unknown Speaker 16:44
a that's a lot of double rubs. So

Speaker 1 16:46
when you're saying outdoors, are you saying that maybe certain fabrics are, are, are not subject to being bleached by the sun? Is that what you mean by

Speaker 2 16:56
I think most people are comfortable with this umbrella line, which is a, you know, just a name brand, as long as got solution dyed acrylics, that seems to hold up the most. But I have to tell you, in our in our town, because of the dry heat, there is no fabric in our world that's going to survive our heat and the sun. It's not going to happen, oh, wow, because it's just, it's such an intense dry heat that, you know, it's only fabric. It's going to break down eventually, over the course of life, but it's never going to last forever,

Speaker 1 17:25
right? Well, I yeah, I mean, I mean, that's hard. That's a really hard so as a design professional, if I'm if I have a client that says, I want those so beautiful, airy drapes in my bedroom, I want to feel like I'm wrapped in this sensuous, very soothing, sophisticated palette, with my drapes feeling soft as silk, and I am scared to Dave about using a silk for all the reasons you just mentioned, because of the sun and that. What would be your recommendation? What would you suggest

Speaker 2 17:59
we would bring to the table 100% polyester that has the look of silk. Can have the SLUBs of silk. Think about silk in the windows here. It'll dry out and become brittle. We don't have that moisture to keep it moist, and where the the polyesters of today look and you would never know it wasn't the silk unless you went up and knew your product and it'll last in your windows forever. That's the one thing that lasts

Unknown Speaker 18:25
forever. Cockroaches, right?

Unknown Speaker 18:28
And share. Share. It

Speaker 1 18:30
looks well preserved. I do. I have to agree with you there better than well what? What is bespoke? I mean, I talked about a couple of things that I didn't define. I didn't define performance fabrics, what that actually means to to everyone, but that, when they what that, what does that actually mean? And what does bespoke mean in terms of the offerings that you provide to your clients? Okay,

Speaker 2 18:55
with the bespoke part, I think, is the fact that we have the capabilities with our vendors to create we'll give you an inspiration. I'll use a piece of furniture for an example, and they're like, Well, I don't like this, and they don't like that. I wanted this. Do this, we have the ability to you tweak it the way you want it, and we'll bring it to fruition. So it's uniquely yours. Even there are some that we that some of our lines have loved the design the designer has tweaked and actually put it in their line, because it was that beautiful. That's a that's a nice compliment. That is a huge compliment. Yeah, so you, you create, you think of it. We'll do our best to put you we'll play with the right vendor who can bring it to fruition.

Speaker 1 19:30
So you make dreams come true. We sure do try. Oh, there

Unknown Speaker 19:34
is a lead time on that. So be patient.

Speaker 1 19:39
It does take time. Yes, oh, my god, let's see what other recommendations that you might make. To say, I mean, you know you you're serving the design community. You might have first time designers that come in, and then you have those that are more experienced. What would be your recommendation? Is for a first time designer that comes in, what kind of advice do you give them in terms of, once you learn a little bit, obviously, you probably asked him more questions about the project, and what advice? I think

Speaker 2 20:11
the advice is, first of all, don't try and prejudge a line or a collection, because you'd be surprised when it comes to a budget situation that we could probably fit any budget you just most people are like, I can't afford that. You'd be surprised. Definitely want to hone in on what their what their clients, that they deal with, that their needs are, and direct them in the right direction. Because, you know, we're not one sits behind the counter and goes, Oh, our stripes are over there. No, we get up, we go over and we go, Hey, we have all these stripes to show you, right? So they become more and more comfortable with the line, and they are familiar with the line. Obviously, we're going through and educate them on the line so they become more comfortable. So getting them in the right, the right avenue that they need to be in, that's

Speaker 1 20:53
important. I mean, I think you're assuring them and probably provide them with the information so that they can make an informed decision. Exactly, yes, yes. Well, a couple of the things that I really love about the showroom, and I'm going to speak to this personally, is that in addition to all the wonderful fabrics, and there's lighting examples there, there's lamps and there's actually hanging light fixtures, I really love the accessories that are in there. I do. I go straight in, and I know that I have my list of must haves and what I need for that particular client. But at the same time, I can't help but be engaged, but my head is spinning around the room as I see all these wonderful accessories that are in there. So touch on that a little bit, because you do have some unique accessories that I have not seen, and I feel like you're the purveyor of wonderfulness sometimes. And the showroom, actually, I

Speaker 2 21:53
have to say, one of the lines that we've acquired recently called spur alley, a gentleman who grouts and finds natural stones and mounts them in a way that they sets them apart from when you see a natural stone. And he does it in such a way he cares so much that it just looks like a one off piece. And they're so unique, and the colors he can bring the table, and the sizes and the design community has really clamored to it, appreciated it, and it's on a lot of projects, so they're loving it. That's great. Yeah,

Speaker 1 22:22
so how often do the designers that you work with it you end up seeing the end product of the design, not necessarily, maybe not going out to the client's home, but are they giving you feedback, or they are, is it available on Instagram? Or are you showing you know, some of the work. Is there a video being shown throughout in the store that shows all of your wonderful all the wonderful products that you provided for that project? Gotcha,

Speaker 2 22:50
we don't do the rolling TV we do. At one point we didn't get much out of it. The designers are always welcome, and they always like to share their pictures with us. We love to see the finished product, to see how it actually worked out. It makes a big difference, and it makes us feel more more, you know, secure on our feet. Know that we brought the right product to the table for their for their jobs, but to see the end result and the happiness on their face that speaks volumes well,

Speaker 1 23:16
that you stay connected to them. Yes, and they're they want to come back for more, that's for sure. Yes, well, Ken, tell us a little bit about your offerings in the showroom. I just kind of touched on them briefly as categories. But if you wouldn't mind, could you go in greater depth with the different fabrics or wall coverings or lighting that you offer. Sure, I'll start

Speaker 2 23:35
with wall coverings. We carry, I think, a wide variety of options for people. Going back to the bespoke part, we have a line called valen, and it's all handmade while covering made to order. So when people ask about and they go, Well, how can I get that? Well depends on how much you're going to order and how long it takes for him to make it, because it's all made by hand, which makes it that much more unique and more special we feel. Then we have a line called arte out of Belgium, which is just unbelievable, from grass cloths to type two vinyls to silks to already pre, pre padded, ready to go on the wall, wall coverings, which is unheard of, and it's beautiful. It took 10 years for us to get this line, but I wanted them really bad, and we finally got them. So that was a good one. We have wall coverings to Tebow through kravit. JF, like I said, we're covering everything you could think of, as far as across the board, fabrics, like I said, we go from we can go from the lower end for budget for the hotels all the way up to as high end as you want to go from this single digits up to, you know, over $500 a yard. So what do you dream of it? Hopefully we've got it there to to fill your to fill your job. Yeah,

Speaker 1 24:47
I see that. Well, let me just ask you more than about vinyls. I was a big leather girl for many, for many of my projects, whether it was for a headboard or a ottoman. Or whatever the case may be, and I started leaning toward vinyls just before the durability and plus, they were not your grandma's vinyl anymore. They weren't crunchy, they weren't stiff, they were it's soft, it's pliable, and they come in metallics, and they're just beautiful. I mean, are you seeing any you're seeing more of a move like that. People are kind of shifting a little bit from, say, you know, as an example, I just said, from leather to vinyl. Or

Speaker 2 25:30
definitely, like you said, you're bringing out all the positives of the vinyl. It can look like leather, feel like leather, but have so much more durability, and it'll hold up in the areas where the parents have kids, and last in the kitchen. So it really holds the beating of the day to day that would go through. So definitely,

Speaker 1 25:50
well, I've used it just about everywhere, and I find that people really like it, and oftentimes I don't tell them that it's vinyl, because it alters their thinking about about product. But the other thing too is eco friendliness. You know what sustainability and addressing that in this industry in terms of what your offerings are there? You know, because people are consumers or clients are interested and things that are cruelty free. And so talk a little bit about that in terms of the lines that you carry. Yeah, the

Speaker 2 26:27
eco friendly has become a big proponent for some for some designers, we have some vendors who actually go out and retrieve plastic bottles from the ocean and turn them into fabrics. That's quite a process. That is. It's usually like 30 bottles for one yard. Wow. So they're, they're actually cleaning up our ocean and bringing it and bringing it to a material, which I think is totally commendable. And more people, I wish we would clamor towards that, because then you're, you're not just wasting, because I'm just wasteful. You know, sometimes and sometimes in design, it can be wasted as opposed to being appreciated. And I think when you have a company spending all that kind of money and time to bring that to the table for you, should, you know, speak volumes? No,

Speaker 1 27:08
that's huge. I mean, what a do and so doing so, what percentage of you'd say the designers that you serve come in and actively look for products like that? You're seeing more minds being changed and, yeah, attitudes, I think at first,

Speaker 2 27:23
when it first was coming into the market, we only saw maybe 5% but I think it's constantly like 30, 35% who come in and want to see product that's, that's, that's got those capabilities.

Speaker 1 27:32
Yeah, well, that seems to be the trend when it whether it's paints or, for that matter, would you know too, because I have noticed in the showroom that you do offer some stacked wood products and different things like that, and and what's the application for that? I mean, what you know? I mean you use wood. I mean everyone is using tambur and different ways, and it's fluted or it's slatted, but you had some unusual offerings there. I thought, Yes,

Speaker 2 27:59
we have stacked wood from LBI Boyd, and it, it's like, you can envision how a wood should be applied, put together, you know, by your, let's say, your contractor, but it's already been done for you and panels, the look is there. It's easy install. You get what, you know, instant gratification people want to have, and then it isn't as costly as getting, you know, a contractor doing it from from scratch because of the work's already been done. This doesn't have to be done on the on the property, so it makes a good turnaround for the designers and the clients.

Speaker 1 28:33
Well, I know it's beautiful. I saw some wonderful samples there and and I'm always amazed by the lighting. There's such fantastic lights are there, and the chandeliers and their sconces, and some of them seem really cutting edge. Yeah,

Speaker 2 28:47
we have a line called COVID house out of Portugal, and they do the most over the top. You think about it, it's glamorous. It is just unbelievable. I mean, they speak for themselves. And then we have the quieter lines that you know, don't know that nobody wants to be on bright and shiny. Well, simple, simple elegance,

Speaker 1 29:04
yes. So you're offering for the for the maximalist, to the person simplistic and the person who enjoys biophilic design, since there's such a lot of green happening right now. So you've got something for for all those different, definitely, designers that come in there and serve their clients. Okay, So Ken, I want to thank you so much for being here today. I've really enjoyed it. It's been like Wonderful to hear about all the wonderful things that you think so thank you so much and sharing your experiences with us today, thank you. It's been a pleasure learning more about the showroom and the impact that you're making on the design community. Well, thank you very much. Yeah, it's really amazing. And for our listeners, stay tuned for more episodes of luxury living with Debray on K, U, N, V, 91.5, every third Sunday at 9:30am

Transcribed by https://otter.ai