In Business of Home’s Shop Talk series, we chat with home furnishings store owners across the country to learn their hard-earned lessons and challenges, big and small. This week we spoke with designer Barbie Burch, co-owner and lead designer of Roost Design Hale on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Barbie Burch Courtesy of Roost Design Hale
After nearly a decade and a half designing in Southern California, Burch moved to Hawaii during the pandemic and decided to stay. As a designer and customer, she had a hard time finding products and decor anywhere other than Costco; and most big chains don’t even have locations in the area. Hoping to fill that void, last fall she opened Roost Design Hale in the city of Kailua-Kona on the island’s west coast. Ahead, Burch discusses finding local artists, how to deal with shipping costs, and how to explain pricing to walk-in customers.
What was your career like before the store?
I am an interior designer. I went back to school for that in 2006 and started my career in Los Angeles. I moved to Hawaii in 2020 and continued working on projects in Southern California during the pandemic. I realized that the Big Island is mostly rural; It’s not like Oahu, the closest city. All the customers I met here were having a great time looking for (furniture), as was I. When we moved, I asked my real estate agent to measure the house for me so I could do all my shopping in Los Angeles and put it in a container to ship. That’s what led to (my store): trying to make some modern things at this mid-price point. A lot of people here just go to Costco and buy furniture, or they’re the 1 percent and they fly their designers in from the mainland. I was just trying to fill that void in the center.
How would you describe the aesthetic?
Really on a large scale. There’s really nothing mid-century that’s very popular in Los Angeles. I would say modern, classic, with lots of performance fabrics and casual indoor/outdoor living.
What is the balance of merchandise?
They are 75 percent furniture. All the art is from island artists, with only a couple of pieces I feature from (mainland) vendors. Then, a bunch of accessories: pillows, branded candles, antique glass beads. About 5 percent is vintage.
Who is your typical client?
Many walk-ins. We’re located in a really up-and-coming little neighborhood with other cute boutiques and restaurants, so there are a lot of homeowners whose primary or secondary residence is here, who don’t necessarily have their own designers. I’m still designing, so I appeal to my clientele and then we try to emphasize on the website that we can get them anything. It doesn’t make sense to me to have the prices higher, because they would stay on the floor forever. I’m trying to find that balance between what people can afford and at the same time letting them know, “Hey, I can get you that thousand-dollar chair.”
Can you tell me about a supplier you like?
We work with a carpenter who makes these beautiful cutting boards from local woods: Lion Legacy Finish Carpentry. I went to a fundraising auction for the Kona Society for Education and the Arts, called SKEA, and he had donated some of his cutting boards for the auction. I begged him, “Can you come into the store please? We can talk? I would love to take them.” And he did. Now he’s making us custom coasters and we’re going to do branded things with it.
A vignette of furniture inside the store. Courtesy of Roost Design Hale.
Are there any categories flying out the door?
Our art prints, because they have a lower price. Plus, for all the tourists, it’s something they can easily carry in their carry-on luggage. Prints, our branded candles, and anything small (with) a Hawaiian feel tend to work really well.
What about your favorite category?
Our upholstery. I do all the shopping and choose the fabrics and finishes, so each piece is something I would put in my own home or a client’s home. We try to find that healthy balance, again, with price, but we always select high-performance fabrics (because they’re) kid-friendly or because they’re great for living near the ocean. I am very happy with our upholstery options and always want to take them home. The struggle!
How do you find your suppliers? Is it difficult to get representation on some of Hawaii’s main lines?
It hasn’t been difficult to open accounts; most of them already had them as designers. If anything, it was, “Hey, will I get better prices now that I have a physical store?” But many of our customers don’t understand how expensive it is to get something here to begin with. They’ll say, “How much does a sofa cost?” And it’s like, “You have no idea what my margins are compared to someone on the mainland.”
Tell me a little more about the logistics. Does this mean higher purchase orders? Astronomical shipping costs?
Astronomical shipping costs, without a doubt. I would say on average a 7-8 foot sofa costs me $1,200 to get here. For example, we just purchased a Four Hands sofa for a client, so it is on our website (portfolio images). We had several people call us asking about this couch because they said, “Great price, $2,800!” It’s $2,800 if you live on the mainland; Here, add $1200 because I can’t afford shipping. Shipping is a huge hassle, plus delays – you’re adding at least two weeks to receive anything.
How do you handle that? How do you present it to clients? Are they used to it because they’re in Hawaii?
My average design client understands this, but I’d say the average retail client doesn’t. Our margins are definitely lower than if you had leasing space in Los Angeles. It’s case by case, literally item by item: I go in and calculate my costs, plus the free costs prorated for the shipping I received, and then try to find a healthy place where I’m still making some income.
The interior of the Kailua-Kona-based store. Courtesy of Roost Design Hale.
Getting back to sourcing: how do you find local suppliers? Do you ever use online platforms?
Faire is where we ended up finding the maker of our Roost candles. I love shopping there when I have a minute of downtime, which has become very rare. I love finding new sources, especially things that aren’t already on the Las Vegas Market. Finding local artists has been by going on art tours. I met the first artist we signed, Andrea Pro, on a SoKo (South Kona Artists Collective) tour, and then she introduced me to other artists. There is a lot of word of mouth here, whether you are looking for a designer or furniture. They call it a “wireless coconut.”
Do you have an e-commerce strategy or is it not worth shipping to any place that is not within the islands?
I don’t really have a strategy. We use Shopify for our POS system and our website is integrated with Shopify so it shows everything we have in stock. You can buy it for pickup, but no person has ever used it. We got calls saying, “Hey, do you really have this in the store?” and they have come. We could even dropship if, say, you’re on Oahu.
Are there any other challenges operating in Hawaii? Supply chain? Inflation? I imagine all of that would be exacerbated if you lived where you do.
All of these things are challenges here. Fortunately, Covid is over, so at least as far as building materials and things like that, we are up and running again. But here there is a shortage of everything. A shortage of employees who would be a great fit – there isn’t a deep pool of talent out there.
The exterior of the store. Courtesy of Roost Design Hale.
My understanding is that there is no Crate & Barrel or CB2 or West Elm on the islands, so you are not competing with them. Is it a little easier to be a small business owner in Hawaii in that sense?
There is certainly less direct competition, and the fact that it is so difficult to get things here is also in my favor, because they don’t “buy” from me like many stores on the mainland do. There, you walk in and you’re like, “Oh, great, I’m going to Google this real quick. It’s cheaper on any website.” Here it’s like, “Well, when I get it in four weeks and I also pay for shipping, I might as well (buy it) here.” And we are competitive; I don’t want to increase the price for anyone. It’s just about generating a fair income, because obviously we paid a lot for the construction and we have a lease and employees to pay. We’re just trying to be successful. Opening a store requires a lot of capital, so if I had grown up here and tried to start a career doing this here… this is not the cheapest small business to start. I’m really grateful to have had a career that gave me the opportunity to invest in this.
What is your favorite day as a store owner?
The Brew Block is the name of our neighborhood. It’s very lively, it has all this great energy and there’s music playing outside. I love when it’s just another beautiful day in paradise and there’s a lot of traffic, but I actually have time to look at my store, design shelves, and move furniture. That’s when I get the heat, because since I was little I dreamed of having a store. Then the monotony of running more than two businesses takes over and you have deadlines for presentations and all that. I consume myself so much. (So) my favorite days are when I’m sitting in these spaces and creating vignettes and styling and interacting with clients instead of my laptop.
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