RI: Were you always strictly to the trade or did you shift over time? CT: We started strictly to the trade and I did some tradeshows in Atlanta and New York. Like I said, we were in the home décor sector. The shows were really slow and dry essentially because the housing market was so negatively impacted by the recession. The thing that did happen around 2010 was that online marketplaces like Amazon, Overstock, Wayfair, they were looking for more sellers. They were basically sourcing us to drop ship for them and that led me into more of the online retail. RI: Why did you decide to focus on an online presence? Although you do also offer a paper catalog correct? CT: Most people enjoy looking at a paper catalog, but most of our orders come from online. I think the paper catalog gives us the right setting for a narrative story. We can put all the inspirational jewelry together by theme for example, letting people get acquainted with that collection more completely than they might online. I think it’s a good marriage between paper and digital though, where each provides an important part of the experience. RI: How would you describe your e-store type? CT: It’s only open to trade. Only registered members can order it. A person going to the site would not be able to order or see the pricing unless they are a vendor. It goes through a basic application process where they have to prove they are a legitimate online or brick and mortar retail establishment. Once the approval process is done and their account is approved, they are able to view the pricing and place orders. So viewing our site is open to all, but seeing the pricing is only open to registered accounts. RI: Can you describe your customer profile? Is there a certain region of the country you’re more popular with? CT: Our rep circuit is pretty heavy on the west coast. California being our number one state. As a profile, it’s any store that offers meaningful jewelry, or gemstone jewelry, or yoga/meditation supplies. Generally, anything in that mind/body/spirit sector. Most of our jewelry pieces tend to be sterling silver, so there’s also a certain type of store that would be interested in carrying us for that as well. RI: How do you let potential customers know about Culture Spot? Do you advertise online? Do you use social media? CT: It’s a combination of everything. We do online advertising for people looking for wholesale jewelry, matched with print advertising – Retailing Insight being one of them – and through our reps. RI: How many reps do you have? CT: We work with a big rep group on the west coast. They have about 15 to 20 reps and we’re adding more in different regions as we move along.
Faith, Hope, L ove Leather B racelet. Image by Cul ture Spot RI: Can you detail your average workday? CT: The initial part of my day – the first hour to two hours goes into business processes. By that, I mean any customer service issues that I have to personally look into. I also work through and respond to emails and suppliers. Overall, I try to balance my time between three things. One is the business aspect – anything working on the business essentially. Then two and three are working on the marketing and product design and development. Product also includes merchandising and photography, things like that. So a recap, the initial part of the morning goes into business processes and responding to everyone. That’s followed by my marketing section with outreach and sales. The mid-afternoon and evening is where I feel most creative, so that’s where I go into the product section of my day. RI: Do you work with other designers, or are your designs created in-house CT: Some of the designs are done with other manufacturers who have certain capabilities, but through a collaboration we make it our own. Most of our designs are done in-house though. The starting point with collaborations can be either a blank slate or their samples for ideas and we take it to a new level. RI: When you’re doing something in-house, are you using CAD programs? Or physical creations? CT: My starting point is usually my iPad. I’m fairly good with Apple Pen. From that point on, my detailed notes go to our silversmiths and then they go into CAD to come up with technical drawings and fine details. From there, we go to samplings and then the finished product. A lot of what gets to the sample stage does not make the final cut. What might work conceptually doesn’t always work in reality.
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