Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Van Der Water.
Hi Michelle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Australia and moved to LA in 2003 to pursue a career in acting. I was working pretty consistently, but I still had alot of free time. I grew up sewing and decided to buy a sewing machine to make side projects as a hobby. My first project was a rocking chair pad for a chair I received as a gift. I couldn’t find anything like it online, so my friend suggested I open up an Etsy shop to see if I could get some orders. I was surprised at the demand – my style is very bright and bold (even a little crazy), but people really responded positively to it. Shortly afterwards, I received requests to do more “quick fix” covers for IKEA furniture. People wanted to renew their well-loved IKEA chairs, instead of replacing them. I started with a Poang chair and grew slowly from there. The demand just kept coming, and eventually I quit the hustle of acting and now solely focus on my business. Recently my products just got on Wayfair and I’m super excited!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As I’ve grown my business, keeping up with the competition is difficult, so you need to find a way to set yourself apart. My competitors focus on larger sofa covers for example, so I started focusing on small ones that they don’t make such as chairs, bench pads, kids items. This allowed me to gain a following and slowly build up my offerings.
These days the supply chain out of China is also in disarray, so I’ve taken steps to help minimise our dependency. I now print my own fabric in LA and work with local textile designers, instead of buying from big fabric brands. This also helps us to stay flexible and unique with our designs. You can buy our printed fabrics on our website.
Another huge obstacle is cash flow. Thankfully there was some government relief for small businesses during the pandemic, but after buying supplies and producing inventory, there isn’t much left over to pay bills or even yourself. You definitely may need to work another job until your business is profitable, which is likely to take years. For now, it’s a labor of love more than anything. We have been working on getting onto more distribution channels, but it does take alot of time and patience.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Designer and manufacturer of custom IKEA furniture covers.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@rockincushions.com
- Website: https://www.rockincushions.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/rockincushions
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGVE2AJ0HUiFbVBb_3f8fbw
Image Credits
www.katedecorates.co
