Fred Albert over at About.com recently wrote a piece about how to access and purchase designer homewares that are typically only available to you if you hire an interior designer or architect.
As the home design industry democratizes, there's increasing demand among the public (and a parallel growing interest among the manufacturers) in a more direct relationship with sources for well-designed products. And since the professional's markup on these goods is often as much as 50% of what the customer pays for them, this is a pretty significant development.
Albert says that design showrooms around the country are now providing services that will interface between you and the showrooms of manufacturers like Grange, Donghia, Holly Hunt, Clarence House and F. Schumacher, but that will not surcharge.
Here in SF at the San Francisco Design Center, call this number (415.490.5800) and ask for a designer in the building who will assist with orders. The Seattle Design Center has an actual buying service called The Studio, which can be reached at 206.762.1200 x253.
Other regional design centers that extend this service to the public are listed here, on Domino's website.
Via Fred Albert
Image: SFDC
Why do companies sell to the trade only? Is it easier for them legally - ie, they are only allowed to sell 'wholesale'? Because there must be a reason for barring a huge part of your market from buying directly from you.
It's not as if an interior designer is going to buy 50 dining tables from you at one time, so the transaction costs are presumably the same?
I believe I've read somewhere before on this topic that part of the reason is that professional interior designers can steer the client into some better (well thought out)choices, thus the manufacturer can avoid returns due to naive purchasing decisions by the client.
Pdx brooke -- That may be what they say, but it's not true. I interned with an interior designer and she returned things CONSTANTLY -- either because she didn't think they worked or the clients didn't like them. They aren't saving money on returns, believe me.
One has to remember that the showrooms are not run as typical retail stores. so many of the upholstery lines do not have their own fabric so you have to buy it from another supplier and often from a different showroom. Then the fabric may have to be backed in order to provide additional durability to the fabric. This is not done by the upholstery manufacturer, but by an outside third party. Imagine a consumer trying to manage buying fabric from one showroom and shipping it to another manufacturer represented by a different showroom. Then you have to think of shipping and receiving.
As to Lucy's comment. I don't know who you worked for, but a competent designer may have a few returns, but normally not to the showroom. A designer should have their client sign off on every piece before it's ordered to alieviate these problems. I think this is a misconception that a lot of the public has.