Procurement insights, sourcing guides, and industry analysis for interior designers.
Trade pricing ranges from 10 percent off retail to 60 percent off factory direct, but navigating the system and structuring your fees around it is where most studios either build healthy margins or quietly lose money.
14 min readA purchase order is the most boring document in your workflow until the wrong sofa shows up in the wrong fabric, and you need to prove to the vendor what you actually ordered.
12 min readThe projected-to-actual gap is where margin disappears. Prices change between quote and order, clients add items, and shipping costs double. A budget tracking system that updates in real time is the fix.
11 min readCustom upholstery: 8 to 16 weeks. European imports: 12 to 24. The gap between client expectation and manufacturing reality is where the most tension lives in every design project.
12 min readBrand reps, independent agencies, OS&E specialists, in-house managers, or procurement platforms. Every model explained with real fees, real UK examples, and a decision framework for your studio size.
35 min readEuropean manufacturers sell to the trade at 30 to 60 percent below retail, but finding them, opening accounts, and managing cross-border logistics is genuinely difficult. A practical guide to how it actually works.
12 min readMost designers underestimate how much procurement costs them, not in frustration, but in real money that leaves the studio every month without anyone tracking it.
8 min read