At a recent press preview of DWR's new Spring 2011 line, I met CEO John Edelman, who has taken over the company after some major shake-ups. (That's not him in the pic above — it's outdoor furniture buyer Ben Gaffrey.) This time last year, Fast Company's award-winning piece, The Rise and Fall of DWR, unmasked the company's messy move from CEO to CEO. The article ended on an uncertain note, with the writer wondering whether they'd be able to come back after two years of financial losses and mission drift.
12 months almost to the date, DWR's done a lot to transform: hiring Edelman, leaving its long-time San Francisco headquarters for Stamford, Connecticut, expanding the contract division, and partnering with younger, hipper designers — many of them based in Brooklyn.
Edelman has publicly denounced some of the decisions made by DWR leadership in the past — most notably, the production of barely legal knock-offs that cannibalized the forms of best-selling designers including Mario Bellini and Terence Woodgate. While DWR retains its manufacturing arm, its current policy is to collaborate closely with designers on new product lines.
One recent example is the "Ollie" collection, designed by skateboarder and product developer Royce Nelson. Made from teak and synthetic rattan, the lounges and chairs have wide arms that can double as seats... or surfaces to perform skate tricks, if you take the title literally. Other collaborations include the spring collection's "Rusa" line, created with Los-Angeles based KAA Architects, and the "Play" line produced with Philippe Starck, Eugeni Quitllet, and outdoor furniture company Dedon.
The Herman Miller and Knoll classics are still there, available in new colorways and ready to ship, but Edelman is also focusing on cultivating new talent. He's a charming, salesy kind of guy with an approachable demeanor and a no-bulls**t way of speaking. He discussed the move to Stamford as a strategic step in bringing the company to the place where good design is incubating (specific shout-out to Brooklyn) and while he won't knock San Francisco, he says it's just not New York when it comes to cutting-edge design.
The company is also working to build its relationships with architects, and it shows in the new products. Many of the pieces in the Spring Collection are much bigger than DWR's usual stuff, which indicates an eye to the contract market.
Photos: Sarah Coffey
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We went to look at a lamp (at the Westport, CT store -- which incidentally I didn't realize at the time is so close to their new headquarters in Stamford) -- they don't stock it, as they don't really stock anything -- and we would have to pay for shipping whether it was shipped to the store or our home.
The same lamp is available at Room & Board -- same price, free shipping.
The same thing happened 5 years ago when we were shopping for a Nelson bubble -- Modernica was cheaper and shipped our door for free.
They don't get it. They are doomed.
Sooo... what's the last chair standing? The upholstered one in the plum staging that didn't get its own picture?
I applaud their return to embracing real designers and their work, but as Mid-C Frank noted, they are still out of whack on pricing, delivery, and shipping. Little reason to buy from them except on their exclusives and those often are scandalously priced.
I agree with mid-c frank, look around and you will find a better deal on the same goods. With there new mission they should change there name since most of there prices are out of reach...the latest catalog in point, childrens chairs for $3800, I don't think so!
They will never get it they should rename the company - Design without Budget.
@esmith43 and @michel - I've always had a problem with the naming. The company always meant "Design Within Reach" to mean design from classic lines, companies, etc. that were being revived or reinterpreted, or in some cases, just plain recreated. These items are now "in reach" because DWR is making them.
But people always see it as "reach" as being within budget, and DWR is not in budget for a majority of people.
I don't think the company's founders realized how much interest mid-century and classic designs would bring from the public at large, and how the name would become misinterpreted.
Pi has it right.
The name was never about price. It was having the ability to not have to go through multiple manufacturers. The one stop design shop.
I understand all that about the naming, and its tiresome to see it in every comments section for an article on dwr... but tell me if I'm getting this part wrong: part of their new strategy is to sell "to the trade," basically. So their original mission was to make it so ppl without access to the trade could acquire these goods, but now they are going to try to sell to mostly ppl who have always had access these goods?
"With there new mission they should change there name since most of there prices are out of reach...the latest catalog in point, childrens chairs for $3800, I don't think so!"
Do you not realize that DWR is a retailer for manufacturers such as Knoll, who makes those children's chairs? If you wish DWR to go out of business, then you need to do the same for Hive, AllModern, 2Modern, Unica, blah blah blah, as they all sell the exact same chair.
I have a feeling that DWR just gets all the blame for these things because they are far and away the most successful company in that industry and are the leaders in styling and selling the items that manufacturers such as Knoll produce.
@lepidoptery - What I think DWR is doing is trying to expand to the contract market beyond interior decorators. They want to appeal to the architecture firms that also do interior design for hotels, offices, etc. as opposed to the people who mainly fill private homes.
@Pi
So that is significantly different than how things used to work? Because I go to UPenn and there is MCM all over this campus, you know. XD On the other hand I used to go to Rutgers and recall nothing very notable about the furniture there....
Pathetic.
Say what you want, but DWR helped to change the way we as Americans live with design. Before DWR only the very rich or their designers were able to access to Knoll and Cassina (for example). DWR never set out to be low-price, but it did help to create a movement towards good, accessible design in America.
The company lost its way under a crummy CEO but judging from the last few catalogues, they are back and better than ever.
It's a fantastic store and it's the first of it's kind. I don't know what people expect, maybe people have become accustomed to cheap lighting and Ikea furnishings made in China. The reality is that the products sold at Design Within Reach are authentic, low volume and made by artisans in their studios. I'll admit, I do suffer from sticker shock with some of these items. But if you want products manufactured overseas by near slave labour, or by people who are paid in live chickens, then shop at Wal Mart. I've visited the studios of some of the authentic designers. They love their work, they work in a creative environment, they can feed their families, and they can afford their daily Starbucks. So it costs more to produce. I am much happier supporting products created by these people than by parasitic groups in Shenzhen who hire children to make knockoffs for 1/10th the price.
more like 'Design Out of Reach.'