Exploring Life & Business with Dustin Anthony of BloomingTables

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dustin Anthony. 

Hi Dustin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I launched BloomingTables right after graduating college, where I studied economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I have always known I was an entrepreneur and had a specific passion for product development. While BloomingTables isn’t the first product I have developed – and applied for patents – it is the first that I have taken to market. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been a tumultuous ride. From the start, BloomingTables has had a high sell-out rate, coupled with long lead times. So, most of the time we have sat on the sidelines waiting for inventory to arrive. In fact, even to this day, BloomingTables has struggled to stay in stock – and problem that is both good and bad to have. Since inception we have sold well over 50% of our inventory on pre-order. On top of that, it is a very inventory-intensive business model. We have a premium build with premium materials – which ultimately leads a high cost of goods. In the beginning, I was pouring every dollar made back into purchasing as many tables as possible to turn around and sell. While this is still true today, thankfully we have some amazing investors who believe in both me and BloomingTables that has allowed us to try and catch up on demand. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about BloomingTables ?
BloomingTables offers the world’s first living furniture line. We’ve combined a terrarium with a table, allowing users to grow herbs, cultivate micro-greens, or enjoy the beauty of succulents and vining plants indoors. Our tables are completely waterproof and equipped with a twist-to-open drain valve to drain off any excess water. Users are able to garden both hydroponically – and through traditional soil methods. 

It is evident that the world is going to live in smaller, more confined areas, further away from nature. We believe BloomingTables offers an innovative solution to bring more nature into our live – by utilizing the square footage of our furniture – in a sleek and modern way. 

We recently started offering “Plant Kits” that come with everything the user needs to design their BloomingTable landscape. Keeping these kits on brand we have incorporated unique aspect. For example, some of our kits include Grape wood that we have sourced from Napa Valley, CA (Cab Sauve/Pinot Noir – as well as Cholla Wood from the deserts of Arizona. 

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
At BloomingTables we define succuss as providing a unique experience backed up by world-class customer service. In college, I was a fine dining server at the Ritz Carlton. (Angel Oak, Bacara by Ritz). The Ritz has a tailored approach to Customer Service – where they try and give the customers “Wow” moments. An example being if a guest states that the airline lost their suit, and they had an important meeting the next day – we were empowered to spend up to $2000 to “wow” that guest. In this case, hiring a tailer to custom fit a suit in the guests’ hotel room. 

I have brought a lot of the customer service “Wow” moments from the Ritz over to BloomingTables, often going above and beyond for customers in unique ways. 

Contact Info:

• Email: hello@bloomingtables.com
• Website: https://bloomingtables.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloomingtablesinc/