S T YLE BIBLE

FAYE BOVINGDON-BRYANT SALES DIRECTOR COACH HOUSE

For over 40 years Coach House has imported and sold captivating, design-led, furniture and homewares throughout the UK and further afield. Having begun with humble origins in Yorkshire, they have grown to become one of the industry’s largest and most trusted trade-only names, and are still a proud family run business with Faye Bovingdon-Bryant as Sales Director of the business her parents began.

What sectors does your company work in?

Retail, Interior Design, Hospitality and Property Development

Please tell us about your company, how it was founded, its aims and ethos?

We are a proud family business. The company was founded in Yorkshire over 40 years ago. My mother and father were antique dealers to begin with then started selling reproduction furniture. The company has evolved significantly since then and we import design-led furniture and homewares from all over the world. At the heart of the business is our ambition to supply and champion independent retail as well as the most innovative and unique designers and developers in the industry.

How do you feel your products are different from others in the market?

We make a point of finding gaps in the market and bringing to the market products that our competitors cannot supply. We are unafraid of scale and impact. In fact, this is what we believe our customers demand from us.

How has 2022 been for you and how are you looking to move forward in 2023?

2022 has been challenging in terms of supply but we have overcome this and have robust stock levels at present. We have big plans for 2023, including opening a newly procured, permanent space on the Kings Road in London which will replace the existing space on Lots Road. Having a substantial presence in London will bolster our position and help support our valued clients, both local and international.

Please tell us a little about your current collections/new ranges?

The current collections reflect the trends of now (sanctuary and nature inspired interiors has been a big look for us in 2022) but we are also very excited to be launching some incredible new collections next year, at Spring Fair. Without giving too much away, we will be revealing aesthetics influenced by the 1920s as well as iconic colour combinations and new, exciting textures and product development.

What is your vision for the future director of the business?

Coach House will continue to offer a service and product selection to rival any other wholesaler. We will keep at our heart our love for interiors and for supplying the very best in the business.

How has this year changed us as consumers/designers/ business leaders ?

We have focused more on developing our Lancashire showrooms in order that the customer experience is key. This in turn has influenced our decision to invest in a permanent London tradespace where our customers can meet with Coach House staff in an environment we have curated. Coach House do not believe in out-sourcing: we design and develop a lot of the products we offer in-house, we deliver products on our own fleet and have area Business Development Executives covering client base in order that we can control the customer journey making it very easy to work with us.

Tell us about your work/life balance and how you achieve this. The main thing for me is to make sure I allocate time to work and home. I try to stay off my phone as much as possible and have found that having a business-only Instagram account helps with this. As a Director of the company (and as a Bovingdon!), I am obsessed with Coach House and with interiors and style in general therefore am constantly taking in my surroundings and this, in turn, influences the direction of the business but I don’t see this as a negative thing. To allow yourself to be influenced and intrigued is very fulfilling in my view.

What direction do you feel design is moving in?

I think we need some fun and intrigue injecting into interiors. There is definitely room for simple, clean aesthetics in interiors and it is a look I love when done properly but I also think interiors should offer an escape of a different kind. We should be the antidote to the doom and gloom that we can sometimes be faced with.

Your favourite restaurant

Cail Bruich, Glasgow

Favourite city/holiday destination

New York

Your favourite hotel

Too difficult to pick the favourite but I stayed at The Londoner recently, wow, that was unique! For something closer to home, Gleneagles is wonderfully restful.

The car you drive?

My car is very boring, it needs a child-seat in the back and room for the dog ... although I would love an incredible 1980s Porsche one day!

Your thoughts on life?

Buy the ticket, take the ride.

Final thoughts or inspiration: is there anything you would like to add?

I would say be brave and trust that voice that says, ‘just do it.’