What inspired you to start the business?<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t in New Zealand for the years leading up to starting the business, and I spent a lot of time in Indonesia. What I found was, when I came home and spent time there, I didn\u2019t really have a purpose. <\/p>\n
I had set up previous businesses in Indonesia and I could keep myself busy, but I wanted something where I could maintain my connections with Indonesia or Asia and have a purpose when I was home. <\/p>\n
That led me to start experimenting with some buying and sourcing off the back of some houses I was renovating in Bali. I realised that between the products that were available and the products that were being sold in New Zealand, there was a gap in which I thought we could do better. <\/p>\n
Kayu Studio is a NZ-owned “slow furniture” company based out of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
What is \u2018slow furniture\u2019?<\/p>\n
I\u2019d describe slow furniture as not wanting to jump on quick trends. Everybody has a piece or pieces of furniture that have been passed down from their parents or their grandparents. Because of its workmanship, the quality of that furniture remains just as good. We want to try and make stuff like that.<\/p>\n
The market has lost its way a bit in that sense, and we\u2019ve got a version of disposable furniture rather than furniture people hang on to. Stuff that\u2019s not going to last that long ends up in a landfill, and I feel that defeats the purpose.<\/p>\n
What materials and styles do you work with?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve figured out you need to start with understanding the materials of any given region that you want to work with, because if you try to reinvent the wheel, you just hit your head against the wall. <\/p>\n
In Indonesia it\u2019s predominantly teak timber, stone and natural fibres that are sometimes woven. If you went to try to do glassware or upholstery here, you just don\u2019t go anywhere. That\u2019s where you\u2019ve got to flip over and find other regions which have their strengths.<\/p>\n
In Java we have a team of about 20 people across quality control, packaging, design and operations, and it\u2019s been pretty cool to see how much we\u2019ve been able to improve our systems.<\/p>\n
In terms of designs, my wife is Danish, so there\u2019s a bit of Scandinavian influence, but also some Japanese styles in there as well. I quite like straight lines and simple shapes.<\/p>\n
James Mitchell, founder of Kayu Studio, formed the business after spending time renovating houses in Bali, Indonesia.<\/p>\n
What are your plans for the business?<\/p>\n
I think the product range is pretty full, so there\u2019s definitely a little bit of refinement happening there and category analysis with regard to winners and losers and doubling down on a few things. <\/p>\n
I think when you grow quite quickly, you don\u2019t have time and some things just don\u2019t happen. Data analysis is a good example of that. You\u2019ve got to stop, take a breather and look into what\u2019s happened so you can plan forward with some intention.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not so long ago that we opened our third showroom in Takapuna. Now we\u2019ll take a breather and fine-tune our current structure, while also working on some other channels in the business like online or trade. There\u2019s plenty of opportunity to build relationships with trade and commercial customers too.<\/p>\n
What would be your advice to a budding entrepreneur wanting to start a business?<\/p>\n
I would say really sit down and figure out if your idea is something that you enjoy doing, something that you\u2019re really passionate about. If you can build it into your life, then it doesn\u2019t become work, right? <\/p>\n
Also, find good people to work with that you like. It definitely makes work more enjoyable.<\/p>\n