Bridging the Gap Between Interior Designers & Manufacturers at Designers Resource Collection

 

Designers Resource Collection is Southern California’s largest multi-line interior design trade showroom offering indoor and outdoor furnishings, rugs, lighting and accessories.

If you’re local to the San Diego area, we invite you to drink and mingle alongside local interior designers at DRC San Diego. We’ll kick off the evening with some drinks followed by an exclusive presentation about how Ivy brings your business operations online so you can streamline your daily work-flow and make more time to design. Following the Q&A, DRC will present their latest collections.

When: Tuesday, November 14 from 5:30PM – 7:30PM

Where: DRC San Diego. 4060 Morena Blvd., Suite A. San Diego, CA 92117

RSVP: Space is limited, please RSVP here. For questions, please call 858-414-6646.

Lead image courtesy of DRC San Diego


How does the DRC team maintain strong relationships with manufacturers and interior designers? 

The carefully curated and well tenured professionals that work within each showroom provide unsurpassed product knowledge and dedicated service to support clientele at every stage of the business.

By aligning closely with vendors to support interior designers with access to educational events such as lunch and learns, industry expert panels, or design forums, the showrooms are valued as a hub for knowledge, inspiration and creativity, bridging the gap between designers and manufacturers.

As a one-stop-shop with items that can be purchased right off the showroom floor, the DRC showrooms are an ideal platform for vendors to display their goods, with a seasoned team of experts who stand behind the lines sold through the showroom and seamlessly support sales.’

Designers Resource Collection

Designers Resource Collection

Can you name some of the local San Diego and Costa Mesa interior designers you enjoy working with?

We truly value all of our clientele and consider it a privilege to have their business! As a destination for resources and products needed for a vast array of design inspirations, our designers range from emerging Millennials to well-established designers that have been in business for years. From Traditional to Modern, Coastal to Lodgey, Transitional to Industrial…we are proud to offer the latest and greatest to serve any designer with any style in mind!

Designers Resource Collection

Designers Resource Collection

How do you keep the local interior design community informed of the latest product trends, selections and changes in the evolving industry? 

Recognized as a hub for access to information and education for all facets of the interior design industry, DRC hosts monthly events with vendors as well as continuing education courses in partnership with ASID.

Our seasoned team is proud to serve as a resource for guidance, insight and counsel on what is happening in the industry from trends to client relationship management and more.

As a comprehensive resource, clients trust us not only with their design needs but also for advice on challenges they may be facing with business processes. Having spent many years evolving with the industry, our team has seen it all and can share their best practices as a result.

Do DRC representatives attend market? If so, what are your go-markets and what is your market strategy?

The DRC showrooms and our respective owners, buyers and managers attend High Point, Las Vegas Market and Casual Market Chicago throughout the year to stay current on new trends, gain product knowledge and source the latest and greatest for the showroom floor.

Unlike some interior design showrooms, DRC San Diego and Estate of Design Co-Owner Natasha Minasian is also a designer herself, while DRC Costa Mesa’s buyer Erica Bryen is a designer by trade too…bridging the gap between both worlds!   

When we attend market, we are placing orders for the floor since we sell and memo items directly off the showroom floor for our clients who love instant gratification. We are also on the lookout for new product releases from our favorite lines while searching for new and innovative lines we can add to our extensive vendor assortment.

Designers Resource Collection

Designers Resource Collection

 

Who are some of the up & coming lines currently featured at the DRC?

Our newest additions include Charleston Forge, Magnolia Home by Loloi, Taylor King Upholstery, Nuevo, Shine by Sho and Avasa Bedding. We are always looking to expand our line list to acquire exclusive and cutting edge brands. 

We are currently working on a few private label projects; one with a local case goods company and the other with a long standing upholstery company to create an exclusive offering of DRC branded indoor and outdoor furniture. 

Our goal is to have a resource for any and everything a client may be looking for and if we don’t have a line that offers something readily available from the current 200+ lines we carry, then we have a list of resources who can make completely custom pieces including case goods, rugs, concrete, upholstery and lighting. 

For instance, Hammerton lighting can create a fully custom light fixture that can be designed by our clients…Rene Cazares can produce fully customized upholstery, and Shine by Sho offers a fully customizable rug line where the client can choose everything including the size, color and all of the materials used for the rug construction.

Designers Resource Collection

Designers Resource Collection

How does DRC decide to feature a new line?

Line exclusivity and brand partnerships are very important to us. We want to showcase new and different lines that are innovative and not available to everyone outside the trade industry. We may host a lunch and learn to get the word out about a new line or showcase the product in a special way on our floor. We also put a lot of emphasis on posting information on social media and email newsletters through Constant Contact as many of our clients do not come in to the showroom for assistance, but work with our team of experts remotely via phone and email to source items.

Designers Resource Collection

Designers Resource Collection

 

Based on your knowledge of the industry, how is technology changing the industry at large?

Technology is really changing the industry by impacting the availability of product knowledge and information to the public outside the design industry. A program like Ivy allows designers to protect their sources when presenting items and invoicing their clientele.

Advancement in technology such as the Ivy platform also saves designers time and allows them to be “paperless” while keeping everything organized in one system. Although it goes without saying, the social media platforms available today and email access allow us to keep our clients informed of what is happening in the showroom in real time.

 

In your opinion, why is it important for interior designers to embrace tools such as Ivy to bring their business operations online?

There are so many facets of the design industry. The need is apparent for systems that allow industry standards to be implemented between designers and their clients. From how a designer presents their designs to their client, to purchasing and accounting needs, Ivy provides a functional and efficient process to be implemented, keeping both the designer and client seamlessly aligned.

From sourcing and bill pay to project tracking, Ivy seems to cover all of the bases. Designers can access Ivy on mobile so it’s constantly at the designers’ finger tips as needs arise in the field. The bottom line is that organization allows designers to save time so they are free to spend time designing and are not buried in paperwork. 

Designers Resource Collection

Designers Resource Collection


Here at Ivy, we’re more than just an interior design software. Our mission is to provide interior designers with the community, resources and tools needed to manage your business beautifully. Are you searching for a business management tool to help streamline your workflow as an interior designer?

Schedule a Demo with Ivy