March 27, 2025 • 54 mins
Craftsmanship lies at the heart of luxury furniture, and few companies embody this principle more completely than Century Furniture. During our conversation with Guy Holbrook, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, we discover what makes this iconic American manufacturer special after nearly eight decades in business.
"We're makers, we make furniture," Guy explains, distinguishing Century from companies that merely design and source their products elsewhere. With four producing factories in North Carolina, Century offers customization capabilities that imported furniture simply can't match – not just fabric selections, but changes to arms, depths, cushions, dimensions, and more. Their cornerstone upholstery program alone offers a staggering 7 million permutations of a single piece.
Guy shares his fascinating journey into the furniture industry, which began during graduate school with a part-time job at a local furniture store. Despite originally planning a career in finance, he found himself drawn to the creativity, craftsmanship, and relationships that define the furniture world. "People get so excited about furniture," he notes. "Think about your favorite chair or sofa, or your best meal at home or Christmas – all those things happen to happen on furniture."
We explore Century's collaborations with renowned designers like Thomas O'Brien, Tara Shaw, and Carrier & Company, and how these partnerships enhance their offerings. The company's commitment to sustainability and responsible manufacturing practices reflects their "do the right thing" philosophy, though Guy acknowledges they could better highlight these efforts in their marketing.
As Guy discusses the evolution of furniture retail and the growing importance of the design trade, he offers a perfect analogy for interior designers: they are the "Sherpas" who guide clients through the complex journey of furnishing a home. "It's just another hike for them and a lifetime event for me," he explains, capturing why professional guidance matters when making significant furniture investments.
Subscribe to iDesign Lab for more conversations that explore the intersection of creativity, craftsmanship, and commerce in the world of interior design.
Learn more at:
https://twinteriors.com/podcast/
https://scottwoolley.com
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Episode Transcript
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Voice Over (00:00):
This is iDesign Lab, a podcast where creativity and
curiosity meet style and design.
Curator of interiors,furnishings and lifestyles.
Hosted by Tiffany Woolley, aninterior designer and a style
enthusiast, along with herserial entrepreneur husband
Scott, idesign Lab is yourultimate design podcast where we
explore the rich and vibrantworld of design and its constant
(00:23):
evolution in style and trends.
Idesign Lab provides industryinsight, discussing the latest
trends, styles and everything inbetween to better help you
style your life, through advicefrom trendsetters, designers,
influencers, innovators,fabricators and manufacturers,
as well as personal stories thatinspire, motivate and excite.
(00:43):
And join us on this elevated,informative and lively journey
into the world of all thingsdesign.
Today we're talking design,craftsmanship and the business
of luxury furniture, withindustry veteran Guy Holbrook as
the Executive Vice President ofSales and Marketing at Century
Furniture.
Guy plays a key role in shapingthe brand's direction and
growth.
With decades of experience attop furniture companies.
(01:03):
He's a role in shaping thebrand's direction and growth.
With decades of experience attop furniture companies, he's a
leader in high-end custom homefurnishings.
Let's dive into his journey,the future of design and what
makes Century stand out in theworld of luxury interiors.
Tiffany Woolley (01:18):
Today on the iDesign Lab podcast, we are
excited to welcome Guy Holbrook,who's in our furniture industry
, part of our design world, andwho's right now heading up a
part of Sentry.
Scott Woolley (01:36):
VP of sales.
Tiffany Woolley (01:37):
That's a big-.
Scott Woolley (01:38):
Big job.
Tiffany Woolley (01:39):
Big role.
For a big company, iconiccompany it is an iconic company
and we kind of discussed thatbefore on the podcast.
It's definitely probably one ofthe first companies that I was
ever familiar with.
Guy Holbrook (01:52):
Yeah, it's an iconic brand and you know, if
you're in our industry certainlyin the middle to high end and
luxury goods you know who we are, our company.
We've spent, you know, 77, 78years developing this beautiful
brand.
It's a family-owned brand whichis a little bit of an outlier
(02:12):
now in the industry.
That's my favorite.
I love all those stories too.
It's third generation, Ourtaglines.
It sounds a little cliche, butwe're makers, we make furniture.
I think in the industry nowthere's so many people that they
design beautiful furniture butthey source it somewhere and
they just brand it, but we buildit and I think that's kind of a
.
Scott Woolley (02:28):
You have your own factories here in the united
states.
Guy Holbrook (02:30):
We have multiple factories underneath the century
brand.
Tiffany Woolley (02:33):
So we've actually got four producing
factories which I love that too,because in our fast-paced world
where everybody wants thisinstant gratification, I to, as
an interior designer, leadclients back down to.
I understand that heirloomquality furniture is not
necessarily everybody's priority, but it should be, and there
(02:53):
really is a difference.
So I love to be able to explorethat and discuss things like
that of what sets Century apart.
Sure.
Guy Holbrook (03:02):
And I think that people need better furniture in
their lives.
They just need to know why.
Tiffany Woolley (03:07):
A hundred percent and usually it's.
Guy Holbrook (03:09):
There's a little bit of kind of a give and take
with it.
Usually we tell people all thetime they may have the means for
better in goods and luxurygoods, but what happens is they
typically buy on price maybetheir first purchase and they
have to kind of get burned bythat.
They have to buy quality that'sinferior or doesn't last or
quickly fails, and then they say, well, I'm going to go back to
(03:29):
the.
Well, what do I need to do thistime?
And then they usually engagesomeone that's knowledgeable on
construction or an interiordesign firm that says here are
the brands you should be buying,and here's why it's better
materials, better design, betterconstruction, and those things
have longevity both from astylistic standpoint and a
performance standpoint.
Tiffany Woolley (03:47):
So, as you've evolved in this business, and
especially in the brand ofCentury, where have you seen
things shift of, like who yourcustomer is?
Is it high-end furniture stores?
Is it interior designers?
Like, where do you see?
Guy Holbrook (04:04):
or where does your focus?
That's an excellent question.
I mean, you know, our industryis kind of an ecosystem, so the
ecosystem has many parts andmany players that are kind of
interdependent upon each other.
Tiffany Woolley (04:14):
I've been in the business about 30 years, so
we got to start.
Yeah, let's go a little back sowe can hear how you did land
here.
Guy Holbrook (04:19):
Well, you know.
So my story is much like a lotof great people.
I was in college and worked fora furniture store.
I had a great gentleman whobrought me into the industry
when I was working graduateschool in the furniture business
and it was really kind of theforefront of the Internet.
So I was doing, I did a termpaper on Internet commerce back
in 1995.
And a friend of mine said hey,you know, I'm working in a
(04:42):
furniture store here in town andI think we need some part-time
help and we're starting toexplore internet and would you
be interested in that?
And I was like, eh, why not?
Scott Woolley (04:51):
But this is while you were going to college.
Guy Holbrook (04:52):
Yeah, I was in grad school.
Scott Woolley (04:54):
So grad school.
But what were you going tocollege for?
Was it to be in the furnitureindustry?
Guy Holbrook (04:59):
I was not going to be in the furniture business.
Scott Woolley (05:02):
I can assure you Did you have an aspiration to a
direction you know.
Guy Holbrook (05:06):
I thought at one time I wanted to be in finance.
I thought I wanted to be abanker and thank goodness that
no one really ever wanted me to.
I'd worked in finance a littlebit after undergrad and then I
worked in marketing for aboutthree years and then went back
to grad school and that's when Imet some folks in the furniture
business.
And it's just, there's so manyincredible personalities and
great people in the industry andyou know, back up a little bit,
(05:28):
my father was a merchant, was amen's clothier, and my
grandfather was too.
They had a great men's store inthe upper end and my mom was a
lifelong educator.
So my mom taught and was aschool administrator for 30
years.
So I kind of got the boast ofbest worlds.
You know I love, you knowpeople and I love fashion and I
love the emotion that iselicited when people get excited
(05:51):
about a product.
And furniture is that way.
I mean people get so excitedabout.
Think about, like your favoritechair or your favorite sofa, or
maybe your best meal thatyou've ever had at your house or
Christmas.
All those things happen tohappen on furniture and this
industry kind of drew me in.
Tiffany Woolley (06:08):
That's an interesting way to look at it.
I love it too.
It is yeah.
Scott Woolley (06:11):
So you're in college and a job is what takes
you in your direction.
That's right.
Guy Holbrook (06:15):
So just engaging people, a gentleman by the name
of Tom Shores who had a companycalled Classic Leather and I'll
get back to that here in asecond, but he also owned some
furniture stores and brought mein to work for him at retail,
part-time.
And then, you know, I think Iworked for him for six months
and he said your next job assoon as you graduate, you know
from my MBA, he said you'regoing to be a sales rep for us,
(06:38):
you're going to manage theterritory.
And that was the interview,really yeah, so territory.
And then that was the interview, really yeah, so he's a big
basketball guy, big sports guy,and you know I was.
I loved sports and just lovepeople and this guy had such a
magnetic personality he justdrew me in.
And that was about the extentof the of the conversation.
I'll cut to a very quick end.
That company, domesticmanufacturer of high-end leather
(07:00):
for roughly, I think, probably55 years Century, and our
ownership group, actuallyRockhouse Farm, bought Classic
Leather like three years ago.
What a full circle moment.
Tiffany Woolley (07:12):
Well, and I feel like that's what's also so
cool about the industry is itstarted with so many small, you
know, local vendors Well, notlocal, but American-made vendors
and there's just so much growthin an untapped industry.
Really.
Guy Holbrook (07:30):
Yeah, it's interesting.
I mean again, manufacturingisn't easy.
It's a different equation toimport.
I think that you'll see morepeople that probably get into
the import side and whetherthat's tabletop or bedding or
things along those lines, andwhether that's tabletop or
bedding or things along thoselines, but furniture has
migrated a little bit, or quitea bit, to basically what you see
(07:52):
is what you get, the oldacronym WYSIWYG, right.
So, hey, I really like that.
It's pretty and it only comesone way and, trust me, Century
does some cool things like thatthat we source from some of the
best sources around the globe.
But our calling card is thecustomization, and customization
is a broad term.
Customization could meanspecial order, you know, and
there's something like hey, canI change the fabric on this
(08:14):
chair or the finish on thistable?
That's mild customization.
Customization for us gets intoa much broader, you know,
spectrum of like hey, can Ichange the arm on that?
Can I change the depth on that?
Can I change the cushion onthat?
Can I change the stitching onthat?
Can I actually change the widthon this?
Or finish.
And once you get into, kind ofthose multi-axis opportunities,
(08:36):
there's a huge separator inbeing a domestic manufacturer.
Scott Woolley (08:39):
I don't mean to be so wonky, but that's a little
of it.
But I think a lot of peopledon't realize that or understand
or know that.
I mean Tiffany's been in theinterior design business as a
decorator for 24, 25 years.
I only started getting involvedwith her maybe four years ago.
Voice Over (08:54):
And had no idea that you could take.
Scott Woolley (08:58):
You know, I always thought about going into
a furniture store and that'swhat they sold, and that's what
that is, and that's all you get,Absolutely, but that one chair
could have five.
Tiffany Woolley (09:07):
Thousands of SKUs.
Scott Woolley (09:08):
Oh, yeah, and so many different ways.
Guy Holbrook (09:11):
There's a great book I think came out maybe 10
or 12 years ago and it's calledthe Paradox of Choice.
Right, and the paradox ofchoice is really that people
want choices, right, right, butonce they get to a certain level
of choices, they getoverwhelmed with it.
So if you've got three choicesto make, if I say, hey, here are
three shirts to choose from.
Do you like this shirt, thisshirt, this shirt, you feel
empowered, you get to make aselection.
(09:32):
If I say there are 50 shirts,you go whew, that's a lot.
The buttons are different onthis one and the material is
different on this one and thefit is different on this one.
And that's the lovely thingabout having interior design.
Who can come in and say here iswhat you need.
The scale of your house, isthis?
The architectural elements inyour home, are this or going to
(09:52):
be this?
Tiffany Woolley (09:53):
if you're doing a new bill exactly and here is
what fits in.
Guy Holbrook (09:56):
So finding great design professionals and
consultative selling, those arelinchpins to success of our
industry and certainly of ourprice point with all the option
sets we have.
Tiffany Woolley (10:05):
Yeah, right, definitely.
And I always loved, like myfirst, like I century did the
line with Oscar de la Renta andI was just like always because I
was an architectural digestjunkie through the years and you
know, just always craved allthat information of what these
people lived like.
Voice Over (10:24):
Sure.
Tiffany Woolley (10:24):
You know, behind the scenes intimate
pictures To me.
That was one of my firstintroductions to Century Sure.
Guy Holbrook (10:33):
And Century over the years has done multiple kind
of pathways to success and someof our talent has been internal
talent in terms of design.
So Bill Faber and these storiednames that have been in our
industry, that workedexclusively for Century,
designing product for our brand,you know, just over the years
we've had some incredible talentcome through and stay in tenure
(10:54):
at Century.
But occasionally we will reachout into the industry or an
adjacent industry and find aniconic name in Oscar de la Renta
.
Or you know our current, youknow stable is just incredible.
We have Thomas O'Brien, ad Top100.
Jesse and Mara from CarryingCompany are just phenomenal
people.
We've got Allison Palladinothat does some great things.
(11:16):
I'm going to leave somebody outso I'm sorry, but you know our
current that we've picked up isTara Shaw and Tara Shaw found us
and we are delighted she didIncredible designer out of New
Orleans.
She has done wonderfulcollections before and she has
brought her wonderful aestheticand eye and talent for
developing finishes and broughtthat into Century.
(11:37):
And we've got a new collectionfrom Tara that we launched
recently.
Scott Woolley (11:39):
So when you say she found you she approached
Century.
Guy Holbrook (11:43):
She approached us us it was almost kind of like a
funny thing a cold call atmarket, so we're all at high
point market, you know, twice ayear and she kind of knocked on
the front door and and said hey,you know, I'd like to speak to
somebody about, you know, maybedeveloping a collection for
y'all.
I admire your brand, uh, butyou know, don't know the and I
mean for that to you should hearher tell the story I was going
(12:05):
to say We've got it on ourwebsite.
It's like that is like thefurthest outlier you can find in
how these things happen.
And she kind of found us and Ithink she sat with like our
creative director and eventuallymaybe got with our CEO, alex
Shefford, and they looked at herportfolio.
They knew who she was and herimpact and she's just a
(12:30):
delightful person.
So did she come with aportfolio of designs or ideas or
pitching?
She is one of these wonderfulpeople that has this incredible
passion and desire and abilityto go over to Europe and all
around the world and find theseantiques and just bring back the
real thing.
Tiffany Woolley (12:41):
Which New Orleans kind of sets the stage
for that you get down to.
Guy Holbrook (12:44):
Magazine Street and just Royal and all those
wonderful places in the FrenchQuarter.
Tiffany Woolley (12:48):
There's so much inspiration too.
Guy Holbrook (12:49):
Incredible things and she can tell you the detail
of where this came from andoriginal design inspiration.
Tiffany Woolley (12:56):
She's really like a furniture historian to a
degree.
Guy Holbrook (12:59):
She is absolutely all of that in a bag of chips,
as the kids say.
It's great to see her do herthing and she does it in such a
genuine way and she is authenticand she romances it and she's
got this beautiful.
You know, I think she's gotthat New Orleans drawl.
Now I don't know whether that'snative or she's been down there
on magazine long enough to kindof pull it out of her, but it's
(13:19):
just beautiful.
Tiffany Woolley (13:20):
Well, I love what those collaborations bring
to the market too.
I think that they just add sucha special twist.
It makes people also, like Iknow, even when I'm selling to
clients and everything, I loveusing some of that information.
Sure, because it makes themfeel like they are getting
something more special, unique,something that is so curated and
(13:42):
found Not necessarily you knowyour run of the mill.
Guy Holbrook (13:47):
Yeah, we were talking prior to the show a
little bit about co-branding and, you know, are the sum of the
parts greater or you know, andso on.
And if you look at things likethat, you know Century has this
wonderful ecosystem, you knowrelationship, where we have
incredible partners that cansell our brand and trust your
clients with our brand.
And then if we bring anotherlayer of you know an 80 top 100
(14:08):
designer in there like ThomasO'Brien, or you know, bring
someone really phenomenal likeTara Shaw or Jesse Amira into
the relationship who have adesign, aesthetic or a specialty
that we aren't tapping into, itjust expands the offering and
it legitimizes you know ourproduct out in the marketplace
even more so it's a forcemultiplier.
Tiffany Woolley (14:28):
Agreed.
So how long have you been withCentury?
Guy Holbrook (14:31):
So I'm the newbie.
Tiffany Woolley (14:32):
Okay.
Guy Holbrook (14:32):
You know a couple weeks.
So no, in all seriousness, I amseriously the newbie.
I've been there about a decadenow and that's a newbie.
Scott Woolley (14:41):
That's a newbie at Century.
Guy Holbrook (14:42):
So you know, our company has been around 77 years
.
We've got a wonderful you knowjust group.
We call it a work family.
There's a family of ownership.
There's our teammates who aretruly our family.
There's our family of partnersand dealers in the field.
But you know Debbie Miller'supstairs and she's been with us
I think 51 years now in customerservice Unbelievable, and she
(15:02):
think 51 years now in customerservice and she's sharp as a
tack and if I have a question Igo to her and you know allison
watts has been with us.
I think you know pushing maybe35, 40 years and she looks and
she.
I think we got her in the crib,I mean allison harman now, and
she's married to one of ourplant managers, and so when we
talk about like family, yeah,it's that way.
But yeah, 10 years with thecompany, it's been uh, it's been
(15:22):
incredible.
Tiffany Woolley (15:23):
And was Century a goal for you?
Guy Holbrook (15:26):
You know that's a great question.
I had the joy of working forClassic Leather for a great part
of the start of my career.
I worked for a nice importcompany, so I learned that side
of the business kind of in themiddle of my career.
And what I like to tell people,especially as I'm interviewing
the territory managers that'sone of my roles as we bring new
talent in, like you know is thatyou know Century is where
(15:49):
people graduate to in theircareer.
Tiffany Woolley (15:51):
And you stay, they do.
Guy Holbrook (15:53):
And it's because you know I always you know we
talk in analogies quite a bitand it's like you know, the kids
that get to eat at the littletable, a kid's table, at
Thanksgiving and they get tomove up to the adult table and
that was kind of the way I feltat Century.
It's just, it is a company fullof great people with great
minds and it is a teachingcompany.
I love education.
I mentioned my mom earlier.
It's a company if you want tocome to learn, you can go in
(16:15):
there and go to the classroomevery day.
It's special and we get to comeout and share it with y'all and
I get to learn from y'all too,right, right, right.
Tiffany Woolley (16:22):
so as you get to go out and, like you said,
you're interviewing territoryreps and everything like that, I
always think that that's aunknown part of our business,
but such a special part of ourbusiness because there is, as
we've just said, suchrelationships founded there and
one of the things that keepscoming back to is with these
reps about like, how do you knowwhen it's time to take on a new
(16:43):
line, or how do you know youknow to add lines or not have
lines.
I mean, there's just so much ofthe of more entrepreneurial part
of a rep life where you're morein the corporate.
Yep Right.
Guy Holbrook (16:58):
So you know you have to come out in the field to
figure out what's happening inthe factory.
We say that quite a bit, true.
Tiffany Woolley (17:03):
But you know from like our standpoint.
Guy Holbrook (17:05):
You know when we are trying to find talent and
people to bring into our company.
You know we're looking forcultural fit and for us that's
really important.
There's several litmus testsand you know we have these
mantras I mean just as you do inyour organization and it's not
all posted up on the board whereeverybody points to it every
day, but it's like.
You know, we try to do theright thing.
So we don't always do the rightthing, but we always try to do
(17:28):
the right thing and that's howwe treat our customers and our
vendors.
We act like you know.
We try to put and lead withempathy.
We try to put ourselves in theconsumer's shoes.
If there's an issue that's comeup or a delay, we try to do
reasonable things to findsolutions for people.
We also try to look out in themarketplace and find people who
can think like what we think.
I mean we're a fairly complexcompany so we need people that
(17:51):
can explain that complexity insmaller terms.
You know we always point to,like our iPhones pretty complex
piece of equipment but it'sfairly intuitive.
So we're always fighting how dowe make things intuitive for our
company Right now?
The market's changing.
That's a great question.
I'm going to go and I'm notsure if I've got the answer.
I sometimes can ramble, but youasked about, you know, the
(18:13):
ecosystem and the exchange maybe, or a little bit of a migration
from retail to the designchannel.
Um, if you look at our salesforce, we've got some.
I mean, I could, I would neverhave been hired on our sales
force.
Our sales force is that good atCentury and I'm that proud of
it, and I didn't hire them all.
I've hired probably the lastthird or maybe 50%.
(18:34):
But we've got this great groupof folks many who came from the
retail background that were kindof retail reps, right, so they
sold big stores, they knewretail, they understood
multi-stores and distributionlike that.
And then the market has changedso we're now into more of a
design channel business.
So that could be design tradeshowrooms, it could be larger
(18:56):
design firms we're dealing withall that and even an emerging
kind of e-commerce channel.
So, and our reps are involvedin all of those things.
Voice Over (19:06):
Okay.
Guy Holbrook (19:06):
But we're trying to find good reps who can speak
both retail as well as addressthe designer channel.
And those are, you'd say, well,we're selling furniture, it's
all the same messaging, it's allthe same.
Sales, it's all the sameservicing.
It's actually very different.
And to find a hybrid rep likethat is a challenge right now,
and we've hired.
The last couple reps we'vehired have a lot of interior
(19:26):
background, interior designbackgrounds.
In fact, the last two that I'vehired were both licensed degree
interior designers who justhappen to want to be territory
managers.
Scott Woolley (19:35):
So, as the VP of sales, you live in North
Carolina.
Yes, sir, today you're in.
Florida.
Voice Over (19:40):
Yes, sir.
Scott Woolley (19:40):
Are you covering the whole country?
Are you traveling?
Guy Holbrook (19:43):
nonstop.
My job is I work for the salesreps.
Jim Duckworth is here with ustoday our great territory
manager.
I work for Jim and his 23 othersiblings on our sales force and
our several thousand customers.
So I roll up to the CEO.
But I travel quite a bit.
I'm probably on the road halfthe year.
(20:03):
I've got a lovely wife whounderstands that and you know
there's.
She will bring me my suitcasewhen it is time for me to take
my next trip.
But I travel a lot.
I work with our customers and Ienjoy it.
And you know I get out here andwe look for solutions and we
look for gaps in our lineup andwe look for opportunities that
we're not addressing.
And you know we'll go out.
(20:24):
I mean, you know my day, itcould be filled with hey, we go
going into a customer's home tolook at a product that maybe
isn't performing like it shouldbe and we may be working on a
you know, a multi hundredthousand dollar opportunity with
a new account.
So it could be a varied degreeof day of what we do and see and
and you, we might be doing areally awesome podcast.
Tiffany Woolley (20:45):
Right, right, and so it really is what your
reps your 23 children are kindof bringing to you and what they
need from you.
Guy Holbrook (20:54):
There are no two days that are alike, I mean, and
Jim and I will laugh about this, which I love that.
Tiffany Woolley (20:58):
That's what keeps it so interesting.
Guy Holbrook (20:59):
There are days where I'm the cheerleader and
there are days where I am thepsychologist.
There are days where I'm thecheerleader and there are days
where I'm the psychologist, andthere are days where I'm the
punching bag and there are daysthat I'm the disciplinarian.
And I covet all of those rolesbecause they're important to the
success of our team.
Scott Woolley (21:13):
What's the aspect that you enjoy the most?
Guy Holbrook (21:17):
You know they all have their merits and fun.
I really love the customer.
I mean, if I'm sitting with thecustomer and with our reps and
we're talking about business,but eventually we get into, like
you know, you're telling meabout your kids and your
projects and your passions andwhen we get into that, that's
the gold for me.
I mean, we were talking withsomebody yesterday and at an
(21:38):
account and lovely folks and youknow, one of the ladies was
from West Virginia.
Now, I don't know a ton aboutWest Virginia but I've got great
friends from there and itdidn't take us too long to find
a way to cross paths.
I'm also at the age where, likethe world gets really small.
Tiffany Woolley (21:52):
Isn't it crazy?
Yeah, I love all that.
Guy Holbrook (22:00):
But that is like my passion is just getting to
know.
You know, beyond just theaspect of business.
When the relationship is deep,it's meaningful.
And I have people call me onnights and weekends and ask can
we do something?
Can Century make thisconcession?
Can we find a way to get theyes for this client?
And if they're comfortableenough to call and contact Jim
or me or anybody in our companywhen they don't think it's a
convenient time, but yet we areeager to help them, that's the
magic for me.
Sorry for the essay answer.
Tiffany Woolley (22:21):
So are you intimate withU and every?
So it sounds like that's adifferent portion, right?
Guy Holbrook (22:28):
Yeah, that's a great question.
I probably, if you asked all ofour territory managers you know
the Jim Duckworths of the worldand the Rob Knowles of the
world and John they wouldprobably laugh at my product
knowledge or lack thereof.
Tiffany Woolley (22:39):
Which I think is so cool, though right,
Because that is like theecosystem there are things.
Guy Holbrook (22:46):
It's such a deep line and we've got thousands of
SKUs that we offer up and insideof those thousands we have some
that have iterations of like 7million permutations in our
cornerstone.
That's our best-sellingupholstery program.
So for me to know the nthdegree of all of that, I can
teach from a high level, and ifyou need me to get granular with
you, I have to go bone up.
(23:06):
So it's like studying for anexam before I lead sales
training.
So.
But the good news is andCentury's kind of is this we say
this quite often it's likeCentury is the Library of
Congress.
We have every edition of aboutevery book.
In terms of our offering, whatyou need are good librarians and
we're thankful that ourcustomer service team and our
product line team and ourterritory managers and
(23:26):
occasionally our VP of sales canhelp you out with some of that.
But usually the more granularyou get down into our team, the
better they're going to be.
Scott Woolley (23:34):
See, I think more importantly from how I look at
things is the amount ofinventory and products you have
is one thing, but what's comingin the future?
Yeah, what's being developed,you know if it's a new trend or
yeah, and that's a whole other.
You know how to take thatfeedback to the.
Guy Holbrook (23:51):
I'd love to be the furniture Nostradamus man and
tell you what's going to happen.
You know the wolf is in thebushes, but for us it is trying
to be relevant in themarketplace and a half step
ahead.
You know, I think, as I'vementioned, like our licensed
partners, help us see some ofthat.
They help us see the forest, thetrees, and help us kind of
coordinate our design effortsand aesthetics.
(24:12):
The other thing is getting outand travel and we've got a
really strong creative team whoare tasked with several things.
That's making our high pointshowroom look great and our Las
Vegas showrooms look great andour corporate showrooms look
great.
But they're also tasked withmaking sure that our product
line looks strong and relevantin the marketplace and trying to
look at colors and trends.
(24:32):
And we have great.
You know, there are greatfabric mills that bring us you
know, fashion trends like that.
So it's like you know, hey,what's the great fabric that we
can apply to anything?
But there is a lot of.
There is some science to it,but it's really more art and
there's some just incredibletalents in our industry that
have been just forefront leadersof that, and a lot of that
(24:52):
talent is graduating out.
So that's a big void in theindustry right now.
Or who are the tastemakers?
Tiffany Woolley (24:56):
So there really is growth.
Guy Holbrook (24:58):
There is growth, there's growth potential, but
who are going to be the nexttastemakers in our industry?
And it's going to probably moveaway from some of these big
singular names that we all haveknown from the 80s and 90s?
And 2000s and now it's a lotlike kind of direct-to-consumer
brands that we were justdiscussing.
Tiffany Woolley (25:19):
Really.
Guy Holbrook (25:20):
Those folks have such great taste and do some
really cool things out there,and now they have platforms like
what?
Voice Over (25:27):
we're doing now, or social media?
Guy Holbrook (25:30):
where they can become very, very influential
very quickly.
Scott Woolley (25:34):
Right, we were watching last night President
Trump at his cabinet meeting,but then, after we watched that,
the press secretary had a pressconference.
I found interesting, becausewhat you were just saying is
that they're changing the way inwhich it's been for the last 50
years.
They're now letting podcasterscome in.
(25:54):
That's awesome.
Guy Holbrook (25:56):
And interview.
Yeah, so you know, access andplatforms are very different
today than what they've been inthe past, and that could be
whether we're talking socialmedia or where you buy your
furniture, right.
I mean, it's very, verydifferent.
Some of the brands used to onlybe exclusive to the trade.
You could only go down to Dania, right?
Tiffany Woolley (26:15):
Well, and that's really how it was.
So when you see the partnershowrooms Dania is obviously,
isn't there one in Palm Beachtoo?
Guy Holbrook (26:24):
So you know, Century has kind of our
methodology in terms of how wedo things and how we distribute,
and the industry is similar insome ways.
But you know, so ourdistribution is you know,
century has corporate showroomsthat we actually own and operate
and that's part of our team inroughly six markets now.
And then we have kind of whatwe call our partner showrooms or
agent showrooms, and those arefolks We've got a couple that
(26:46):
are branded, that just have onlyour products in there from our
corporate brand, rockhouse Farm,right, and then we have agent
showrooms that are multi-brand.
Scott Woolley (26:54):
So Rockhouse brand on Century, do you branch
over into any of that?
You have any involvement?
Guy Holbrook (27:02):
you know, uh, so it's, it's now rock house luxury
brands.
That's where we are so I haveto make sure I say that right,
and our vp of marketing, who isalso one of our principals, will
probably correct me, um, on it.
But so, uh, it's quick storythat that's the background,
that's actually the, the farmthat our ownership team grew up
on, and and it's their parents'farm.
Scott Woolley (27:21):
We learned about that from Jim I know, I just
love all these backstories.
Tiffany Woolley (27:24):
It's amazing.
Guy Holbrook (27:25):
You know our ownership team and you know
whether they would ever listento this or not.
They're fabulous people andthey are incredibly intelligent.
If they weren't in thefurniture business, they'd be
running Fortune 500 companies.
I intelligent If they weren'tthe furniture business, they'd
be running Fortune 500 companies.
I mean, these are just brightpeople who happen to be very
passionate about the furniturebusiness, but they grew up like
(27:47):
working on a farm, like theirparents are just great people
and their folks were in thisindustry and grandparents were
in this industry, but I meanthey were like they were
shoveling horse stalls.
These are people that work.
Tiffany Woolley (27:54):
Which is work ethic, yeah.
Guy Holbrook (27:56):
And they have brought that into their
professional lives.
But back to your questionRockhouse Farm or Rockhouse
Luxury Brands is just thisumbrella and portfolio of these
incredible brands.
And Century is, I like to think, the crown jewel.
We are the organic native brand, but Holland House is part of
that.
Hickory Chair, hancock Moore,jessica Charles.
Tiffany Woolley (28:18):
Maitland Smith.
Guy Holbrook (28:20):
These just iconic.
Tiffany Woolley (28:21):
Holland Houses.
I can't even really wrap myhead around how that all started
too.
They captured all those brands.
Guy Holbrook (28:28):
Yeah, and it's golly, without throwing any
shade on anybody, some of these,like Hancock Moore story brand
Jack Lachine and Jimmy Moore andthat whole team just built the
best leather company basicallyin the industry and they were
looking for a way to retirewithout really messing up their
(28:49):
ecosystem and it's almost likethey selected the Sheafford
family at Rockhouse Farm.
Tiffany Woolley (28:54):
So that was their exit strategy?
Guy Holbrook (28:56):
I think it was like engage and see if there's
interest there.
And you know you hate to sayyou kind of bequeath your
company because there was atransaction.
But I think that they thoughtthey would be very great
stewards of what they had built.
The Shuford family would begreat stewards carrying forth
Hancock.
And you know, hickory Chair isjust an incredible story.
I've got Hickory Chair in myhome.
Tiffany Woolley (29:15):
I love Hickory Chair.
Guy Holbrook (29:16):
Kudos to them.
And you know it's my mom andgrandmother loved Hickory Chair
and we've got some of theirbeautiful pieces in my house
that.
Tiffany Woolley (29:22):
I covet.
Guy Holbrook (29:23):
Yep, and you know they got kind of tangled up in
three or four things indifferent ownerships and the way
I view that is they were greatkids with bad parents and they
just got rehomed and they gotrehomed into the Rockhouse
family and they are growing anddoing great things again.
But my involvement with them isthat I know all of my peers in
those companies.
We collaborate and we competeHealthy they do, and maybe I'm
(29:48):
looking for a rep in a territoryand they just interviewed for a
territory a year or two ago andthey've got a couple candidates
.
Scott Woolley (29:55):
So do you all get together or are there any kind
of meetings, of brainstorming?
Guy Holbrook (29:59):
well, we don't collude, so there's none of that
.
But the bottom line is is thatyou know it's a small industry
and we're friendly and you know,uh, john pig and wardo, quinn
and nathan and sam, all theseare great kind of peers my
counters, nathan's president ofhighland house, but the other
names I've mentioned arebasically the VP of sales, or
you know, and I'm the VP ofsales at Century and since I've
(30:21):
been inside a little bit longerthan a couple of the other peers
I've mentioned, right there,they will sometimes come to me
and say hey, you know, what doyou think about this?
And maybe I've got some insightthat's of value to them, and
maybe not, but they've got fresheyes.
So I value the way they see ourcompany as newcomers coming in.
So a little bit.
But we also share some fabrics.
(30:41):
There's a cool little RockhouseForum fabric story and we share
some trucking and it's all thestuff.
That isn't real sexy on theback end but it helps the
business run more smoothly.
Tiffany Woolley (30:50):
Right and I would say that, like as an
industry as a whole, it is such,you know, a very authentic
group of people.
It's definitely, you know,America, for you know, I just
feel like it's, and when you goto High Point you do feel that
and you get to be intimate withit, which I don't think the end
user ever really gets to reallyappreciate or understand.
(31:15):
So, it's kind of our job toeducate.
Guy Holbrook (31:18):
Well, you're great brand ambassadors, and that's
the thing is that you know thebrands you represent.
You are what your customer seesin that brand and it's a
two-way street, right.
So Century would be trading onyour goodwill, right?
You have the relationship withyour customer.
We are absolutely trading onyour goodwill.
You are recommending our brandto your customer and vice versa.
(31:40):
You know, let's say that we'redelayed on a fabric that you've
chosen for a customer and that'snot even Century.
We don't make fabric at Century.
We just apply it to ourfurniture, so we buy it from
mills all around the globe.
But let's say that fabric isdelayed, and it's delayed three
months, something terrible andyour customer're a big bridal
shower that you know, and youknow everybody's coming.
Tiffany Woolley (32:03):
That's my life, right oh yeah, we are.
Guy Holbrook (32:05):
we've heard this call before, believe it or not.
Um, you know they often.
The client often looks to youand are upset with you, and
maybe not century, and certainlynot our fabric mill.
So that ecosystem is superimportant and we often have to
write a note of apology, andI'll write handwritten apologies
(32:26):
every other week and we tellpeople I'm sorry, please don't
be upset with our customers, whoexpect our product and brought
our brand to you.
Be upset with us and we'll dobetter next time.
I love that.
That's the doing the rightthing or trying to do the right
thing Right.
Scott Woolley (32:42):
So there's another aspect that I find
really fascinating about Centuryis the sustainability the
program that's in place.
It's quite an amazing program.
Guy Holbrook (32:52):
You know, that's a great, great question, and we
prod ourselves as again of beingmakers, and if you're a maker,
you're held to a higher standard.
Scott Woolley (33:11):
And whether it's our forestry sustainability, the
lumber that we harvest and useto our finishing, to the way we
treat our employees.
We've got a great, great groupof folks your packaging, the
cardboard you use, even the factof water hyacinth plants oh
yeah, you know I read that and Isaw that and I'm pretty in tune
with that.
I ran a company that was an FDAover-the-counter product, that
was a plant-based product, right, and then when I saw the water
hyacinth plant and the fact thatfor your re-tan and whatnot
(33:35):
that you're doing, that I meanyeah, natural materials.
Guy Holbrook (33:38):
You know big thing for us and you know there are
lots of regulatory things thatwe have to kind of keep our
pulse on to make sure that ifwe're producing it you know we
certainly have to have a highlevel but we have visibility of
that If we're sourcing somethingaround the globe, we have to
have documentation and we'regood boy and girl scouts.
Scott Woolley (33:58):
Yes, I documentation and that we're um,
we're good boy and girl scouts?
Yeah, we are very, very, but Idon't think your century
promotes it enough, or well, youknow, or talks about it because
it's some great I think 10 to15 years ago people really got
into the green story, correct?
Guy Holbrook (34:10):
yeah and there was a little bit of kind of what
you kind of call green washingpeople like oh you know, hey,
we're putting less, you know,that's right.
We're putting less, you know,petroleum-based stuff in our
full, in our foam cushions andwe're using more, you know,
soy-based and all this stuff andit, it and there was some, some
very, very great stories andtruths to a lot of that.
(34:32):
You know the bottom line is justdo the right thing.
I mean tip over, for us hasbeen a big thing in the industry
with I'm sure you've probablyheard about, like you know, full
extension drawers and thingsthat fall over.
And there's some things thatwere in a couple of the big
boxes were some terribleoutcomes for some families and
small kids.
And again, a majority of ourproducts already were built in a
(34:53):
way that there was no issue.
But we had to go back in andback weight some things and
shorten some drawers.
Again, good Boy Scouts, goodGirl Scouts do the right thing,
and if you do the right thing,the outcome generally will be
what you want it to be, but it'sa great thing.
Scott Woolley (35:09):
It's a good philosophy.
But, when you read all thethings that.
Century does.
It's a very impressive list.
Guy Holbrook (35:14):
Yeah, with our VP of Marketing and one of our
principals the other day and wewere talking about that in
particular.
It's on our website, it's onour consumer website.
But you have to go deep intothe mind, in the bottom of the
mind, to find that.
But it's sustainabilitystatements and all the
accreditations that we have.
Scott Woolley (35:32):
No, even when you've got to dig to find that,
and when you read through itit's like wow.
Guy Holbrook (35:39):
Yeah, it's pretty slick.
Scott Woolley (35:40):
As big as this company is, as long as it's been
around, they're really carryingon so many different levels.
But even the video that youhave about the company and the
history it's kind of buried.
I watched the video.
Guy Holbrook (35:53):
It's a great story .
This is like coming out in thefield to figure out what's
happening in the factory.
It's like you know.
Again, we need to hear thisbecause we know this is
important information.
It's where do you house it andhow do you make it visible
without looking like we arebeating our chest and you know
being braggadocious about thingsthat are simply just doing the
right thing, but we were talkingbefore we had the podcast about
this one home that we'restarting on.
Scott Woolley (36:17):
I know that the owners of that house if they saw
that video they would be morein tune going.
That's the kind of stuff thatwe want.
Guy Holbrook (36:24):
These are the people I want to do business
with Right.
Tiffany Woolley (36:26):
Well, and people do want to know that what
they're buying does havesustainability and lasting.
Scott Woolley (36:33):
And the craftsmanship.
Sure, it's not being done insome factory in China, it's
being done in America.
And when you watch the videoand how it's being done, it's
very interesting.
Guy Holbrook (36:45):
You know, the thing is, too, is like people's
attention spans right, so theywill tune in and watch something
.
Scott Woolley (36:52):
So you take short , little you know tidbits of it
and put it on Instagram.
Tiffany Woolley (36:55):
About social media.
Like do you get involved withsocial media?
Cause, like what Scott justsaid, like those are the sales
standpoint.
Guy Holbrook (37:02):
Yeah, so you know, for us it's, it's um.
You know, unfortunately I'vegot a face made for radio right.
Scott Woolley (37:09):
They don't need me.
I wouldn't say that.
Guy Holbrook (37:13):
They don need me talking to customers and
building the relationships.
We've got some great peoplethat head up our social media
Lexikini and Comberware backfrom our marketing team, kind of
head ours up, and we'veinvested in that platform right
now or those platforms to kindof elevate us, Our customers, I
think, do it so much andpartners do it so much better.
Tiffany Woolley (37:31):
Well, that's just it, they do.
Guy Holbrook (37:32):
But you're marketing right.
You're kind of marketing to theclient.
Tiffany Woolley (37:36):
For you, yep.
Guy Holbrook (37:37):
And we are kind of marketing to our partners,
right.
So it's kind of a weird thing,but we're also marketing out to
the client, so they're pullingthe product back through our
partners.
But what we're finding is that,while we can have all that
information out there aboutsustainability, a short video
clip of that is what peoplereally want.
They want the news highlightsthe executive summary and the
(38:04):
same thing on product right.
Like we can tell you, we can goway down into the rabbit hole
and show you all the 7 millionpermutations of this upholstery
program Cornerstone.
That's phenomenal.
Or we can show you a 30-minuteclip that you can get multiple
depths and multiple arms andmultiple legs and put it in any
fabric you want and tailor, makethis to you and your clients
needs.
And if we can do that in a videothat's compelling and
professionally shot and looksgreat and resides in a very
clickable place, then we'remaking good things.
Tiffany Woolley (38:27):
What advice would you give an individual
who's looking to break into thefurniture industry?
Guy Holbrook (38:32):
That's a great question.
You know I'd probably need tofigure out a little bit about
where they're trying to get in.
You know, are you trying to getinto what segment of the
industry?
You know, the first thing Iwould say is is look and learn
about the industry a little bit,find someone that's already in
it and try to kind of connectwith them and say you know, what
are your passions?
Do you want to try to work witha customer?
(38:53):
Are you creative, you know?
Do you want to try to domarketing or media or product,
and they go?
Well, I don't know any of thosethings.
I think working for a designfirm or working for a furniture
retailer is the greatestexperience you can have in our
industry.
You have to understand wherethe customer transacts and the
client transacts and you knowthere are great opportunities
for people to come in designfirms and be like a junior
(39:15):
associate designer or alibrarian or resource manager or
pulling things or a little youknow, assistant project manager.
I think those are great things.
They're just kind of a gopher.
Hey, I need you to go out andmeet this client and you know,
give access here, absolutely,and that's how you learn.
You learn through that kind ofyou know, being submerged in it.
And then if you have the theopportunity to work in a
(39:37):
furniture store, I think youlearn so much, not just about
like dealing with the client andcustomer, but I think it's the
back end that is really themagic.
You learn how furniture isreceived and repaired and
installed and you also see thesales cycle of how it's entered
and just how all of those thingsare so important, of how they
work and how it's displayed.
You know, and just I learned somuch.
(39:59):
I mean, these little ladiesthat I work with when I was in
my early 20s taught me aboutthis industry inside and out,
and I mean they would grab me bythe arm and march me over to
something Honey, exactly, younever sell a bed without selling
a mattress with it.
Why would you they're getting anew bed?
Why would they not want a newmattress?
And I mean just things likethat that you go bing lights,
(40:21):
come on.
So I think, if you can get withsomebody that's in the business
and passionate about it and weneed, we need a farm system, we
need people coming into ourindustry and it is an untapped
industry.
Tiffany Woolley (40:33):
And another thing that I found fascinating
is when I was listening to somepodcasts, they were saying how
this industry really won't getdisrupted by AI.
Yeah, so I mean, I feel likethat's something that's so
important to the youth today,because, look, you're coming in
here obviously from a verybusiness side of things.
You know, like we talked to Jim, it's business but it's also
(40:55):
entrepreneurial.
You know, there's just so manyfacets, and for me it's more on
the designer and the sales to anend user, and it is a really
beautiful ecosystem of positivepeople.
It is family-centered for themost part, even as these brands
start to get bought up, which Ido sometimes worry, because all
(41:17):
these fabric companies are nowlike under one umbrella and all
these furniture companies, but Ifind it interesting too that
they are really being bought upby such like family brands.
So, like I like that, it's notnecessarily, you know, a venture
capital type of situation, youknow a venture capital type of
situation, it's still staying ina, you know, a family a more
(41:50):
entrepreneurial environment.
Guy Holbrook (41:51):
Well, there's so many different relationships
that make our industry go andyou know we've talked about kind
of the distribution side, fromdesigners and trade showrooms
and retail stores and so on, andthose are all incredibly
important.
But if you look back up channelyou start thinking about.
You know, for us as amanufacturer, think about all
the people that have to kind ofbe involved to make this happen
at Century.
So you know that could be ourlumber vendors.
It could be our fabric mills.
(42:11):
It could be our foam andcushion manufacturers.
It's our corrugated containermakers that make our boxes for
us, and then we have our owncustom box machines.
You know it's our fabric.
You know we have theseautomated fabric machines that
actually do incredible cutting.
You know it's our CatawbaValley Community College that
has our furniture academy thatis teaching an apprentice
program to get folks into doingthis.
Tiffany Woolley (42:33):
For apprenticeship.
Guy Holbrook (42:35):
Absolutely, and Century is a founding member of
that and there are all thoserelationships and that's just
getting product to supplies toactually get to the build side.
And then it's like you know,it's Duke Power, that's our
power partner and I know youwould say, well, that's so corny
to think about that, but it isso many parts and pieces before
we even get to starting to buildfurniture and you know there is
(42:58):
an apprenticeship that goeswith it.
Same thing, like in sales repsor territory management.
You find a lot of people thatbring their family members in.
When they find a good company,they bring their family members
in.
And I love that there aremultiple territory reps.
I'm sure that service youraccounts.
Tiffany Woolley (43:14):
I have a rep whose son is now coming in
Exactly, or niece or nephew.
Guy Holbrook (43:19):
Yeah, it's wild and it's really kind of a cool
thing and we talk about ourindustry being family-centric.
Scott Woolley (43:24):
It is, it's special, it really is when you
say apprenticeship,apprenticeship from a craft and
construction and building thefurniture.
Guy Holbrook (43:32):
You alluded to AI earlier and how that could maybe
be a big disruptor in certainindustries.
I think it can enhance ourindustry.
Well, enhance is great, butyeah but you know it's not going
to build furniture for ustomorrow it's not going to make
upholstery.
So you know, back to theapprenticeship is that you know
building furniture isn't juststamping out quarters.
I mean, you know there's asegment of the market that
(43:52):
stamps out quarters.
That's not what Century andanyone in the middle to high end
or luxury side of this does.
They build custom furniture andthat's a handcrafted thing.
That's rubbing finishes.
It is putting six pleats onthis arm and making sure that I
can work the left side as goodas I can work the right with six
pleats.
And this arm is six inches indiameter if it's a rolled arm
(44:13):
and that inch has got to be sixinches.
This one can't be four inchesand this one be six.
And it's that level of art andscience right, and more of it is
art, and we are in a little bitof a dry spell of bringing that
type of talent into theindustry and whether it's
building the furniture,designing it, selling it.
(44:34):
I mentioned the creatives.
Right now I'm really worriedabout the creative side of this
industry from the manufacturing.
Scott Woolley (44:40):
We feel the same way in certain aspects.
You know like really good, youcan do fantastic millwork on a
wall.
Sure it's like a dying craft.
You know millwork that's for aceiling yeah, and you hear about
somebody retiring please evenwallpaper hangers.
Tiffany Woolley (44:57):
Yeah, the trades.
Scott Woolley (44:59):
Yeah, there's certain trades that.
Guy Holbrook (45:01):
And if you're good at what you do, you know naming
your own price to a degree.
Scott Woolley (45:05):
Correct, you know , because there's not a lot of
substitution for it.
No, it's so true.
Especially when they're reallygood 100%.
Tiffany Woolley (45:11):
And you can rely on them.
I mean that you really truly,can, you know, attest to their
integrity, sure For sure.
Guy Holbrook (45:19):
You know what you're getting.
Tiffany Woolley (45:20):
Yes.
Scott Woolley (45:21):
Do you see a trend or a direction that the
industry may go in the future?
You know, like how I have seenthat A lot of furniture stores
have gone and I feel likethere's more designers or
interior designers or firms.
Guy Holbrook (45:41):
Yeah, you know, I think that there again it
depends on what channel you'rein.
If you're in retail right now,I mean we're certainly seeing
the independently owned, youknow the family stores.
We're seeing that probably wanea little bit.
It's not going intonon-existence but it is waning
(46:02):
and part of that is it's secondgeneration or third generation
is now in the business.
The property value has probablyfar outweighed the value of the
business.
So hey it's a piece of propertyover here on A1A and all of a
sudden it's like oh my gosh, youknow it's time to sell.
Scott Woolley (46:19):
We've seen that happen with cabinet.
You know kitchen cabinetcompanies that have.
Guy Holbrook (46:24):
So you know you're not seeing as many of the
independent furniture stores.
You still see, you know nicekind of multi-store chains that
are upper end.
Those still exist in this world.
There are fewer of them than Iwish there were.
But what we are seeing is moreof this kind of what we call
boutique retail and that mightbe.
You know, hey, out front it'son a really kind of cool area in
(46:45):
a cool little neighborhood, youknow, or shopping district, and
you know it's a coupledesigners and they've got a cool
storefront and there's somefurniture in the front and the
back is where the action happens.
The back is there are projectslaid out and there are two or
three designers back there justkicking it and they're selling
things up front and candles andfurniture and all that, but in
the back is where the projectsare happening.
That's the trend I'm seeing inretail.
Scott Woolley (47:07):
Right.
Well, the Internet hascertainly Sure, but from our
perspective, we don't doanything with the Internet or
the internet retailers that areselling.
Guy Holbrook (47:16):
I mean, for us the internet is logging on to a
century site, or logging on to,I agree you know, I think the
upper end struggles with theinternet because of the tactile
thing and it's hard to see thevalue without actually being in
the product and seeing andworking in a consultative way.
It's not going away.
I mean people shop on theInternet every day.
(47:39):
But I think design firms have avery healthy future.
We're seeing more and morepeople hang out their own
shingle and give it a try andwe're trying to figure out the
best way to keep that ecosystemhappy because we have vested
interest in our showrooms andour showroom partners and design
firms and interior designers.
We need good ways for people toaccess our brand and for margin
to stay healthy for all partiesand we are thinking about that
(48:03):
day and night.
Scott Woolley (48:04):
We are absolutely committed to that.
One of the reasons why Tiffanywanted to do this podcast is to
try to educate people more thefact that going to an interior
designer or a design firmactually doesn't cost more.
It actually it gives you somany opportunities.
Guy Holbrook (48:20):
We you know, my wife and I redid our kitchen
right before COVID I meanliterally right before COVID and
you know I know a bazillionpeople I have.
I am not a tastemaker.
Hopefully I match today.
So I'm sitting up here with twogood looking people who are
well-dressed but, like I wentout and hired an interior
designer to do my home and itwasn't one of these AD Top 100s
(48:42):
that are lovely, it was somegood people locally and it's
because I needed to be able tosee the forest and the trees and
my wife and I maybe weren't inagreement or something.
We needed someone to win thejump ball.
We needed somebody to say yourwife's right because she's right
.
But it helped us in some spaceplanning and doing some things
that are not my forte.
Tiffany Woolley (49:02):
Right Things that you shouldn't think you're
not thinking about because youdon't do it, and it was worth
every penny of it.
I love it.
Scott Woolley (49:07):
An interior designer or a firm will also
help you through, just like withCentury, the vast catalog and
opportunities and options thatwill make your home just so much
and you're going to be happy,and we talk about having
analogies.
Guy Holbrook (49:25):
So a Sherpa, the person that helps you climb
Mount Everest, is the mostvaluable person on the trip and
it's like they're the ones thathave climbed it before and it's
just another hike for them andit's a lifetime event for me.
Scott Woolley (49:37):
That's a good analogy.
I love that.
Guy Holbrook (49:38):
You need good Sherpas yeah.
Tiffany Woolley (49:40):
I love that.
Well, that's a positive note.
We have a fun little wrap-up ofsome interesting little
questions to ask you what isyour favorite restaurant.
Scott Woolley (49:52):
From a design standpoint.
Guy Holbrook (49:54):
Design-wise.
Do you have one?
Oh, from a design design.
Tiffany Woolley (49:56):
Why, oh, from a design standpoint, one that
you've walked into, it could bethe design of the food too, or I
even joke, it could be the lackof design.
You know like sometimes, likebarefoot in the keys is a good
idea, let me.
Guy Holbrook (50:07):
Let me come back to that.
That's a heck of a question,because you know it's funny.
I'm a.
I lived in new orleans for acouple years, so I love just
eating so let's start with that,which is such a foodie town.
Yeah, you know, like Commander'sPalace is just such a fun place
in New Orleans down in theGarden District and it's an old
house and that's kind of whereEmeril was the chef and it's
(50:29):
well-appointed and it's kind ofuniquely New Orleans.
It's just a cool place and thegreen is kind of their calling
card, which is now back in favorand that's just.
It's a wonderful diningexperience and it's a cool place
that just has a cool vibe to it, Also like Jean and Georgette's
Steakhouse up in Chicago, andit's not because there's
anything from a spectacularstandpoint of like aesthetic in
(50:51):
there, but it's just authentic,Like it's leather and it's
tufted leather.
It's an experience and it's likewalnut and mahogany and it's
throwback.
And when you fit, and you know,everybody in there looks like
they've worked there for 35 or40 years and they're wearing
white crisp tuck shirts andthey're these little Italian
guys that are phenomenal.
And you know, to me that's likewhen you're in there you kind
(51:13):
of smell the environment.
That's like when you're inthere you kind of smell the
environment.
Tiffany Woolley (51:16):
It's just awesome.
That's the beauty of what youdo too.
You get to go to all these.
Guy Holbrook (51:19):
Yeah, and I'm showing it.
I mean bring it with me.
Scott Woolley (51:22):
It sounds like a place in Charleston called Halls
.
Oh yeah.
Guy Holbrook (51:25):
Hall Steak Chophouse.
Scott Woolley (51:27):
Yeah, I've been there.
Guy Holbrook (51:27):
Yeah, great place.
Scott Woolley (51:29):
Great place.
Tiffany Woolley (51:30):
Yeah, so you can get a good, a lot of place
and charleston's done somereally cool things.
Guy Holbrook (51:39):
Charleston I'm I'm loving it.
Yeah, if you're a youngprofessional, you want to live
in charleston, austin ornashville you know, that's where
everybody's moving right now ifyou're right out of college
telling my girls.
Tiffany Woolley (51:47):
I think that's a good idea for college.
Scott Woolley (51:49):
So let's ask another question hotel design.
Is there any one that comes tomind that you would say that wow
, that was a really interestingdesign, or cool?
Guy Holbrook (51:59):
You know that's a great thing.
Typically, you know, I'm abusiness traveler so I don't get
to stay at all the fancyproperties.
We were out in Vegas a littlewhile back and you know we go
out for market and it's alwaysinteresting to go out there and
just see the things that arehappening in those large casinos
and it's, you know, it's justamazing to see.
I think we were in the Bellagioand it was right before Tet and
(52:22):
they had all the beautifulflowers and things happening out
there and a big flower pan.
I've got a picture I'll showyou here in a minute, but it's
you know I'm always amazed at,just like, how well-appointed
those places are and Caesars,it's so true right.
And just like you know, when youwalk through, you're just in
amazement, because they want theexperience to be something that
you don't and clearly haven'tforgotten it.
Scott Woolley (52:44):
Right, I walk through and I look at it and go
the architectural and who didthe design?
Tiffany Woolley (52:50):
Yeah, he's starting to appreciate all those
details now.
Guy Holbrook (52:54):
They're so vast yeah.
Scott Woolley (52:55):
He's seeing to appreciate all those details.
Guy Holbrook (52:56):
Now they're so vast, he's seeing the world
through a different lens andeverything came together.
Yeah, there's people like FrankGehry that did all these cool
melted things.
Tiffany Woolley (53:03):
My daughter just did a paper on him.
And it was just so much fun forme to re-appoint myself, and I
think that he did a children'shospital or something out in
Vegas.
Guy Holbrook (53:10):
That's right beside the Las Vegas market.
It looks like a building that'smelted down.
It looks like a building that'smelted down and it's so cool.
Tiffany Woolley (53:16):
Everything is with such intention.
Guy Holbrook (53:19):
Yeah, I've got a great friend that I met in the
industry kind of early on namedTack Galleon, up out of West
Virginia and he did masterresort design for, like the
Broadmoor Resort and the GreenBar and Hershey.
Lodge and I mean these guys areso much fun and they're just
like us.
They're not hoity-toity.
I mean, these guys are so muchfun and they're just like us.
Tiffany Woolley (53:37):
They're not hoity-toity.
They can put on airs but, theyare just great people.
Guy Holbrook (53:39):
Then they got into the bourbon business.
They're interesting people, butit was always fun to hear them
describe these properties andjust how excited they would get
about getting to work in thoseproperties their legacy property
.
Tag had a design studio in theGreenbrier in the basement.
These are just everyday coolpeople that are super talented.
Tiffany Woolley (53:57):
Oh, my God, I'd love to talk to him.
Wow, come on Netta.
So cool, so cool.
Well, thank you.
Guy Holbrook (54:04):
It's the other way around you guys are awesome.
Tiffany Woolley (54:06):
Thank you so much for joining us.
I didn't really know what toexpect.
Guy Holbrook (54:10):
Thank you, Tim, for bringing us by Y and thanks
for being just great andhospitable host.
Tiffany Woolley (54:14):
Well, we appreciate it.
Thanks, All right.
Voice Over (54:18):
Idesign Lab iDesign Lab's podcast is an SW Group
production in association withthe Five Star and TW Interiors.
To learn more about iDesign Labor TW Interiors, please visit
twinteriorscom.
This is iDesign Lab, a podcast where creativity and
curiosity meet style and design.
Curator of interiors,furnishings and lifestyles.
Hosted by Tiffany Woolley, aninterior designer and a style
enthusiast, along with herserial entrepreneur husband
Scott, idesign Lab is yourultimate design podcast where we
explore the rich and vibrantworld of design and its constant
(00:23):
evolution in style and trends.
Idesign Lab provides industryinsight, discussing the latest
trends, styles and everything inbetween to better help you
style your life, through advicefrom trendsetters, designers,
influencers, innovators,fabricators and manufacturers,
as well as personal stories thatinspire, motivate and excite.
(00:43):
And join us on this elevated,informative and lively journey
into the world of all thingsdesign.
Today we're talking design,craftsmanship and the business
of luxury furniture, withindustry veteran Guy Holbrook as
the Executive Vice President ofSales and Marketing at Century
Furniture.
Guy plays a key role in shapingthe brand's direction and
growth.
With decades of experience attop furniture companies.
(01:03):
He's a role in shaping thebrand's direction and growth.
With decades of experience attop furniture companies, he's a
leader in high-end custom homefurnishings.
Let's dive into his journey,the future of design and what
makes Century stand out in theworld of luxury interiors.
Tiffany Woolley (01:18):
Today on the iDesign Lab podcast, we are
excited to welcome Guy Holbrook,who's in our furniture industry
, part of our design world, andwho's right now heading up a
part of Sentry.
Scott Woolley (01:36):
VP of sales.
Tiffany Woolley (01:37):
That's a big-.
Scott Woolley (01:38):
Big job.
Tiffany Woolley (01:39):
Big role.
For a big company, iconiccompany it is an iconic company
and we kind of discussed thatbefore on the podcast.
It's definitely probably one ofthe first companies that I was
ever familiar with.
Guy Holbrook (01:52):
Yeah, it's an iconic brand and you know, if
you're in our industry certainlyin the middle to high end and
luxury goods you know who we are, our company.
We've spent, you know, 77, 78years developing this beautiful
brand.
It's a family-owned brand whichis a little bit of an outlier
(02:12):
now in the industry.
That's my favorite.
I love all those stories too.
It's third generation, Ourtaglines.
It sounds a little cliche, butwe're makers, we make furniture.
I think in the industry nowthere's so many people that they
design beautiful furniture butthey source it somewhere and
they just brand it, but we buildit and I think that's kind of a
.
Scott Woolley (02:28):
You have your own factories here in the united
states.
Guy Holbrook (02:30):
We have multiple factories underneath the century
brand.
Tiffany Woolley (02:33):
So we've actually got four producing
factories which I love that too,because in our fast-paced world
where everybody wants thisinstant gratification, I to, as
an interior designer, leadclients back down to.
I understand that heirloomquality furniture is not
necessarily everybody's priority, but it should be, and there
(02:53):
really is a difference.
So I love to be able to explorethat and discuss things like
that of what sets Century apart.
Sure.
Guy Holbrook (03:02):
And I think that people need better furniture in
their lives.
They just need to know why.
Tiffany Woolley (03:07):
A hundred percent and usually it's.
Guy Holbrook (03:09):
There's a little bit of kind of a give and take
with it.
Usually we tell people all thetime they may have the means for
better in goods and luxurygoods, but what happens is they
typically buy on price maybetheir first purchase and they
have to kind of get burned bythat.
They have to buy quality that'sinferior or doesn't last or
quickly fails, and then they say, well, I'm going to go back to
(03:29):
the.
Well, what do I need to do thistime?
And then they usually engagesomeone that's knowledgeable on
construction or an interiordesign firm that says here are
the brands you should be buying,and here's why it's better
materials, better design, betterconstruction, and those things
have longevity both from astylistic standpoint and a
performance standpoint.
Tiffany Woolley (03:47):
So, as you've evolved in this business, and
especially in the brand ofCentury, where have you seen
things shift of, like who yourcustomer is?
Is it high-end furniture stores?
Is it interior designers?
Like, where do you see?
Guy Holbrook (04:04):
or where does your focus?
That's an excellent question.
I mean, you know, our industryis kind of an ecosystem, so the
ecosystem has many parts andmany players that are kind of
interdependent upon each other.
Tiffany Woolley (04:14):
I've been in the business about 30 years, so
we got to start.
Yeah, let's go a little back sowe can hear how you did land
here.
Guy Holbrook (04:19):
Well, you know.
So my story is much like a lotof great people.
I was in college and worked fora furniture store.
I had a great gentleman whobrought me into the industry
when I was working graduateschool in the furniture business
and it was really kind of theforefront of the Internet.
So I was doing, I did a termpaper on Internet commerce back
in 1995.
And a friend of mine said hey,you know, I'm working in a
(04:42):
furniture store here in town andI think we need some part-time
help and we're starting toexplore internet and would you
be interested in that?
And I was like, eh, why not?
Scott Woolley (04:51):
But this is while you were going to college.
Guy Holbrook (04:52):
Yeah, I was in grad school.
Scott Woolley (04:54):
So grad school.
But what were you going tocollege for?
Was it to be in the furnitureindustry?
Guy Holbrook (04:59):
I was not going to be in the furniture business.
Scott Woolley (05:02):
I can assure you Did you have an aspiration to a
direction you know.
Guy Holbrook (05:06):
I thought at one time I wanted to be in finance.
I thought I wanted to be abanker and thank goodness that
no one really ever wanted me to.
I'd worked in finance a littlebit after undergrad and then I
worked in marketing for aboutthree years and then went back
to grad school and that's when Imet some folks in the furniture
business.
And it's just, there's so manyincredible personalities and
great people in the industry andyou know, back up a little bit,
(05:28):
my father was a merchant, was amen's clothier, and my
grandfather was too.
They had a great men's store inthe upper end and my mom was a
lifelong educator.
So my mom taught and was aschool administrator for 30
years.
So I kind of got the boast ofbest worlds.
You know I love, you knowpeople and I love fashion and I
love the emotion that iselicited when people get excited
(05:51):
about a product.
And furniture is that way.
I mean people get so excitedabout.
Think about, like your favoritechair or your favorite sofa, or
maybe your best meal thatyou've ever had at your house or
Christmas.
All those things happen tohappen on furniture and this
industry kind of drew me in.
Tiffany Woolley (06:08):
That's an interesting way to look at it.
I love it too.
It is yeah.
Scott Woolley (06:11):
So you're in college and a job is what takes
you in your direction.
That's right.
Guy Holbrook (06:15):
So just engaging people, a gentleman by the name
of Tom Shores who had a companycalled Classic Leather and I'll
get back to that here in asecond, but he also owned some
furniture stores and brought mein to work for him at retail,
part-time.
And then, you know, I think Iworked for him for six months
and he said your next job assoon as you graduate, you know
from my MBA, he said you'regoing to be a sales rep for us,
(06:38):
you're going to manage theterritory.
And that was the interview,really yeah, so territory.
And then that was the interview, really yeah, so he's a big
basketball guy, big sports guy,and you know I was.
I loved sports and just lovepeople and this guy had such a
magnetic personality he justdrew me in.
And that was about the extentof the of the conversation.
I'll cut to a very quick end.
That company, domesticmanufacturer of high-end leather
(07:00):
for roughly, I think, probably55 years Century, and our
ownership group, actuallyRockhouse Farm, bought Classic
Leather like three years ago.
What a full circle moment.
Tiffany Woolley (07:12):
Well, and I feel like that's what's also so
cool about the industry is itstarted with so many small, you
know, local vendors Well, notlocal, but American-made vendors
and there's just so much growthin an untapped industry.
Really.
Guy Holbrook (07:30):
Yeah, it's interesting.
I mean again, manufacturingisn't easy.
It's a different equation toimport.
I think that you'll see morepeople that probably get into
the import side and whetherthat's tabletop or bedding or
things along those lines, andwhether that's tabletop or
bedding or things along thoselines, but furniture has
migrated a little bit, or quitea bit, to basically what you see
(07:52):
is what you get, the oldacronym WYSIWYG, right.
So, hey, I really like that.
It's pretty and it only comesone way and, trust me, Century
does some cool things like thatthat we source from some of the
best sources around the globe.
But our calling card is thecustomization, and customization
is a broad term.
Customization could meanspecial order, you know, and
there's something like hey, canI change the fabric on this
(08:14):
chair or the finish on thistable?
That's mild customization.
Customization for us gets intoa much broader, you know,
spectrum of like hey, can Ichange the arm on that?
Can I change the depth on that?
Can I change the cushion onthat?
Can I change the stitching onthat?
Can I actually change the widthon this?
Or finish.
And once you get into, kind ofthose multi-axis opportunities,
(08:36):
there's a huge separator inbeing a domestic manufacturer.
Scott Woolley (08:39):
I don't mean to be so wonky, but that's a little
of it.
But I think a lot of peopledon't realize that or understand
or know that.
I mean Tiffany's been in theinterior design business as a
decorator for 24, 25 years.
I only started getting involvedwith her maybe four years ago.
Voice Over (08:54):
And had no idea that you could take.
Scott Woolley (08:58):
You know, I always thought about going into
a furniture store and that'swhat they sold, and that's what
that is, and that's all you get,Absolutely, but that one chair
could have five.
Tiffany Woolley (09:07):
Thousands of SKUs.
Scott Woolley (09:08):
Oh, yeah, and so many different ways.
Guy Holbrook (09:11):
There's a great book I think came out maybe 10
or 12 years ago and it's calledthe Paradox of Choice.
Right, and the paradox ofchoice is really that people
want choices, right, right, butonce they get to a certain level
of choices, they getoverwhelmed with it.
So if you've got three choicesto make, if I say, hey, here are
three shirts to choose from.
Do you like this shirt, thisshirt, this shirt, you feel
empowered, you get to make aselection.
(09:32):
If I say there are 50 shirts,you go whew, that's a lot.
The buttons are different onthis one and the material is
different on this one and thefit is different on this one.
And that's the lovely thingabout having interior design.
Who can come in and say here iswhat you need.
The scale of your house, isthis?
The architectural elements inyour home, are this or going to
(09:52):
be this?
Tiffany Woolley (09:53):
if you're doing a new bill exactly and here is
what fits in.
Guy Holbrook (09:56):
So finding great design professionals and
consultative selling, those arelinchpins to success of our
industry and certainly of ourprice point with all the option
sets we have.
Tiffany Woolley (10:05):
Yeah, right, definitely.
And I always loved, like myfirst, like I century did the
line with Oscar de la Renta andI was just like always because I
was an architectural digestjunkie through the years and you
know, just always craved allthat information of what these
people lived like.
Voice Over (10:24):
Sure.
Tiffany Woolley (10:24):
You know, behind the scenes intimate
pictures To me.
That was one of my firstintroductions to Century Sure.
Guy Holbrook (10:33):
And Century over the years has done multiple kind
of pathways to success and someof our talent has been internal
talent in terms of design.
So Bill Faber and these storiednames that have been in our
industry, that workedexclusively for Century,
designing product for our brand,you know, just over the years
we've had some incredible talentcome through and stay in tenure
(10:54):
at Century.
But occasionally we will reachout into the industry or an
adjacent industry and find aniconic name in Oscar de la Renta
.
Or you know our current, youknow stable is just incredible.
We have Thomas O'Brien, ad Top100.
Jesse and Mara from CarryingCompany are just phenomenal
people.
We've got Allison Palladinothat does some great things.
(11:16):
I'm going to leave somebody outso I'm sorry, but you know our
current that we've picked up isTara Shaw and Tara Shaw found us
and we are delighted she didIncredible designer out of New
Orleans.
She has done wonderfulcollections before and she has
brought her wonderful aestheticand eye and talent for
developing finishes and broughtthat into Century.
(11:37):
And we've got a new collectionfrom Tara that we launched
recently.
Scott Woolley (11:39):
So when you say she found you she approached
Century.
Guy Holbrook (11:43):
She approached us us it was almost kind of like a
funny thing a cold call atmarket, so we're all at high
point market, you know, twice ayear and she kind of knocked on
the front door and and said hey,you know, I'd like to speak to
somebody about, you know, maybedeveloping a collection for
y'all.
I admire your brand, uh, butyou know, don't know the and I
mean for that to you should hearher tell the story I was going
(12:05):
to say We've got it on ourwebsite.
It's like that is like thefurthest outlier you can find in
how these things happen.
And she kind of found us and Ithink she sat with like our
creative director and eventuallymaybe got with our CEO, alex
Shefford, and they looked at herportfolio.
They knew who she was and herimpact and she's just a
(12:30):
delightful person.
So did she come with aportfolio of designs or ideas or
pitching?
She is one of these wonderfulpeople that has this incredible
passion and desire and abilityto go over to Europe and all
around the world and find theseantiques and just bring back the
real thing.
Tiffany Woolley (12:41):
Which New Orleans kind of sets the stage
for that you get down to.
Guy Holbrook (12:44):
Magazine Street and just Royal and all those
wonderful places in the FrenchQuarter.
Tiffany Woolley (12:48):
There's so much inspiration too.
Guy Holbrook (12:49):
Incredible things and she can tell you the detail
of where this came from andoriginal design inspiration.
Tiffany Woolley (12:56):
She's really like a furniture historian to a
degree.
Guy Holbrook (12:59):
She is absolutely all of that in a bag of chips,
as the kids say.
It's great to see her do herthing and she does it in such a
genuine way and she is authenticand she romances it and she's
got this beautiful.
You know, I think she's gotthat New Orleans drawl.
Now I don't know whether that'snative or she's been down there
on magazine long enough to kindof pull it out of her, but it's
(13:19):
just beautiful.
Tiffany Woolley (13:20):
Well, I love what those collaborations bring
to the market too.
I think that they just add sucha special twist.
It makes people also, like Iknow, even when I'm selling to
clients and everything, I loveusing some of that information.
Sure, because it makes themfeel like they are getting
something more special, unique,something that is so curated and
(13:42):
found Not necessarily you knowyour run of the mill.
Guy Holbrook (13:47):
Yeah, we were talking prior to the show a
little bit about co-branding and, you know, are the sum of the
parts greater or you know, andso on.
And if you look at things likethat, you know Century has this
wonderful ecosystem, you knowrelationship, where we have
incredible partners that cansell our brand and trust your
clients with our brand.
And then if we bring anotherlayer of you know an 80 top 100
(14:08):
designer in there like ThomasO'Brien, or you know, bring
someone really phenomenal likeTara Shaw or Jesse Amira into
the relationship who have adesign, aesthetic or a specialty
that we aren't tapping into, itjust expands the offering and
it legitimizes you know ourproduct out in the marketplace
even more so it's a forcemultiplier.
Tiffany Woolley (14:28):
Agreed.
So how long have you been withCentury?
Guy Holbrook (14:31):
So I'm the newbie.
Tiffany Woolley (14:32):
Okay.
Guy Holbrook (14:32):
You know a couple weeks.
So no, in all seriousness, I amseriously the newbie.
I've been there about a decadenow and that's a newbie.
Scott Woolley (14:41):
That's a newbie at Century.
Guy Holbrook (14:42):
So you know, our company has been around 77 years
.
We've got a wonderful you knowjust group.
We call it a work family.
There's a family of ownership.
There's our teammates who aretruly our family.
There's our family of partnersand dealers in the field.
But you know Debbie Miller'supstairs and she's been with us
I think 51 years now in customerservice Unbelievable, and she
(15:02):
think 51 years now in customerservice and she's sharp as a
tack and if I have a question Igo to her and you know allison
watts has been with us.
I think you know pushing maybe35, 40 years and she looks and
she.
I think we got her in the crib,I mean allison harman now, and
she's married to one of ourplant managers, and so when we
talk about like family, yeah,it's that way.
But yeah, 10 years with thecompany, it's been uh, it's been
(15:22):
incredible.
Tiffany Woolley (15:23):
And was Century a goal for you?
Guy Holbrook (15:26):
You know that's a great question.
I had the joy of working forClassic Leather for a great part
of the start of my career.
I worked for a nice importcompany, so I learned that side
of the business kind of in themiddle of my career.
And what I like to tell people,especially as I'm interviewing
the territory managers that'sone of my roles as we bring new
talent in, like you know is thatyou know Century is where
(15:49):
people graduate to in theircareer.
Tiffany Woolley (15:51):
And you stay, they do.
Guy Holbrook (15:53):
And it's because you know I always you know we
talk in analogies quite a bitand it's like you know, the kids
that get to eat at the littletable, a kid's table, at
Thanksgiving and they get tomove up to the adult table and
that was kind of the way I feltat Century.
It's just, it is a company fullof great people with great
minds and it is a teachingcompany.
I love education.
I mentioned my mom earlier.
It's a company if you want tocome to learn, you can go in
(16:15):
there and go to the classroomevery day.
It's special and we get to comeout and share it with y'all and
I get to learn from y'all too,right, right, right.
Tiffany Woolley (16:22):
so as you get to go out and, like you said,
you're interviewing territoryreps and everything like that, I
always think that that's aunknown part of our business,
but such a special part of ourbusiness because there is, as
we've just said, suchrelationships founded there and
one of the things that keepscoming back to is with these
reps about like, how do you knowwhen it's time to take on a new
(16:43):
line, or how do you know youknow to add lines or not have
lines.
I mean, there's just so much ofthe of more entrepreneurial part
of a rep life where you're morein the corporate.
Yep Right.
Guy Holbrook (16:58):
So you know you have to come out in the field to
figure out what's happening inthe factory.
We say that quite a bit, true.
Tiffany Woolley (17:03):
But you know from like our standpoint.
Guy Holbrook (17:05):
You know when we are trying to find talent and
people to bring into our company.
You know we're looking forcultural fit and for us that's
really important.
There's several litmus testsand you know we have these
mantras I mean just as you do inyour organization and it's not
all posted up on the board whereeverybody points to it every
day, but it's like.
You know, we try to do theright thing.
So we don't always do the rightthing, but we always try to do
(17:28):
the right thing and that's howwe treat our customers and our
vendors.
We act like you know.
We try to put and lead withempathy.
We try to put ourselves in theconsumer's shoes.
If there's an issue that's comeup or a delay, we try to do
reasonable things to findsolutions for people.
We also try to look out in themarketplace and find people who
can think like what we think.
I mean we're a fairly complexcompany so we need people that
(17:51):
can explain that complexity insmaller terms.
You know we always point to,like our iPhones pretty complex
piece of equipment but it'sfairly intuitive.
So we're always fighting how dowe make things intuitive for our
company Right now?
The market's changing.
That's a great question.
I'm going to go and I'm notsure if I've got the answer.
I sometimes can ramble, but youasked about, you know, the
(18:13):
ecosystem and the exchange maybe, or a little bit of a migration
from retail to the designchannel.
Um, if you look at our salesforce, we've got some.
I mean, I could, I would neverhave been hired on our sales
force.
Our sales force is that good atCentury and I'm that proud of
it, and I didn't hire them all.
I've hired probably the lastthird or maybe 50%.
(18:34):
But we've got this great groupof folks many who came from the
retail background that were kindof retail reps, right, so they
sold big stores, they knewretail, they understood
multi-stores and distributionlike that.
And then the market has changedso we're now into more of a
design channel business.
So that could be design tradeshowrooms, it could be larger
(18:56):
design firms we're dealing withall that and even an emerging
kind of e-commerce channel.
So, and our reps are involvedin all of those things.
Voice Over (19:06):
Okay.
Guy Holbrook (19:06):
But we're trying to find good reps who can speak
both retail as well as addressthe designer channel.
And those are, you'd say, well,we're selling furniture, it's
all the same messaging, it's allthe same.
Sales, it's all the sameservicing.
It's actually very different.
And to find a hybrid rep likethat is a challenge right now,
and we've hired.
The last couple reps we'vehired have a lot of interior
(19:26):
background, interior designbackgrounds.
In fact, the last two that I'vehired were both licensed degree
interior designers who justhappen to want to be territory
managers.
Scott Woolley (19:35):
So, as the VP of sales, you live in North
Carolina.
Yes, sir, today you're in.
Florida.
Voice Over (19:40):
Yes, sir.
Scott Woolley (19:40):
Are you covering the whole country?
Are you traveling?
Guy Holbrook (19:43):
nonstop.
My job is I work for the salesreps.
Jim Duckworth is here with ustoday our great territory
manager.
I work for Jim and his 23 othersiblings on our sales force and
our several thousand customers.
So I roll up to the CEO.
But I travel quite a bit.
I'm probably on the road halfthe year.
(20:03):
I've got a lovely wife whounderstands that and you know
there's.
She will bring me my suitcasewhen it is time for me to take
my next trip.
But I travel a lot.
I work with our customers and Ienjoy it.
And you know I get out here andwe look for solutions and we
look for gaps in our lineup andwe look for opportunities that
we're not addressing.
And you know we'll go out.
(20:24):
I mean, you know my day, itcould be filled with hey, we go
going into a customer's home tolook at a product that maybe
isn't performing like it shouldbe and we may be working on a
you know, a multi hundredthousand dollar opportunity with
a new account.
So it could be a varied degreeof day of what we do and see and
and you, we might be doing areally awesome podcast.
Tiffany Woolley (20:45):
Right, right, and so it really is what your
reps your 23 children are kindof bringing to you and what they
need from you.
Guy Holbrook (20:54):
There are no two days that are alike, I mean, and
Jim and I will laugh about this, which I love that.
Tiffany Woolley (20:58):
That's what keeps it so interesting.
Guy Holbrook (20:59):
There are days where I'm the cheerleader and
there are days where I am thepsychologist.
There are days where I'm thecheerleader and there are days
where I'm the psychologist, andthere are days where I'm the
punching bag and there are daysthat I'm the disciplinarian.
And I covet all of those rolesbecause they're important to the
success of our team.
Scott Woolley (21:13):
What's the aspect that you enjoy the most?
Guy Holbrook (21:17):
You know they all have their merits and fun.
I really love the customer.
I mean, if I'm sitting with thecustomer and with our reps and
we're talking about business,but eventually we get into, like
you know, you're telling meabout your kids and your
projects and your passions andwhen we get into that, that's
the gold for me.
I mean, we were talking withsomebody yesterday and at an
(21:38):
account and lovely folks and youknow, one of the ladies was
from West Virginia.
Now, I don't know a ton aboutWest Virginia but I've got great
friends from there and itdidn't take us too long to find
a way to cross paths.
I'm also at the age where, likethe world gets really small.
Tiffany Woolley (21:52):
Isn't it crazy?
Yeah, I love all that.
Guy Holbrook (22:00):
But that is like my passion is just getting to
know.
You know, beyond just theaspect of business.
When the relationship is deep,it's meaningful.
And I have people call me onnights and weekends and ask can
we do something?
Can Century make thisconcession?
Can we find a way to get theyes for this client?
And if they're comfortableenough to call and contact Jim
or me or anybody in our companywhen they don't think it's a
convenient time, but yet we areeager to help them, that's the
magic for me.
Sorry for the essay answer.
Tiffany Woolley (22:21):
So are you intimate withU and every?
So it sounds like that's adifferent portion, right?
Guy Holbrook (22:28):
Yeah, that's a great question.
I probably, if you asked all ofour territory managers you know
the Jim Duckworths of the worldand the Rob Knowles of the
world and John they wouldprobably laugh at my product
knowledge or lack thereof.
Tiffany Woolley (22:39):
Which I think is so cool, though right,
Because that is like theecosystem there are things.
Guy Holbrook (22:46):
It's such a deep line and we've got thousands of
SKUs that we offer up and insideof those thousands we have some
that have iterations of like 7million permutations in our
cornerstone.
That's our best-sellingupholstery program.
So for me to know the nthdegree of all of that, I can
teach from a high level, and ifyou need me to get granular with
you, I have to go bone up.
(23:06):
So it's like studying for anexam before I lead sales
training.
So.
But the good news is andCentury's kind of is this we say
this quite often it's likeCentury is the Library of
Congress.
We have every edition of aboutevery book.
In terms of our offering, whatyou need are good librarians and
we're thankful that ourcustomer service team and our
product line team and ourterritory managers and
(23:26):
occasionally our VP of sales canhelp you out with some of that.
But usually the more granularyou get down into our team, the
better they're going to be.
Scott Woolley (23:34):
See, I think more importantly from how I look at
things is the amount ofinventory and products you have
is one thing, but what's comingin the future?
Yeah, what's being developed,you know if it's a new trend or
yeah, and that's a whole other.
You know how to take thatfeedback to the.
Guy Holbrook (23:51):
I'd love to be the furniture Nostradamus man and
tell you what's going to happen.
You know the wolf is in thebushes, but for us it is trying
to be relevant in themarketplace and a half step
ahead.
You know, I think, as I'vementioned, like our licensed
partners, help us see some ofthat.
They help us see the forest, thetrees, and help us kind of
coordinate our design effortsand aesthetics.
(24:12):
The other thing is getting outand travel and we've got a
really strong creative team whoare tasked with several things.
That's making our high pointshowroom look great and our Las
Vegas showrooms look great andour corporate showrooms look
great.
But they're also tasked withmaking sure that our product
line looks strong and relevantin the marketplace and trying to
look at colors and trends.
(24:32):
And we have great.
You know, there are greatfabric mills that bring us you
know, fashion trends like that.
So it's like you know, hey,what's the great fabric that we
can apply to anything?
But there is a lot of.
There is some science to it,but it's really more art and
there's some just incredibletalents in our industry that
have been just forefront leadersof that, and a lot of that
(24:52):
talent is graduating out.
So that's a big void in theindustry right now.
Or who are the tastemakers?
Tiffany Woolley (24:56):
So there really is growth.
Guy Holbrook (24:58):
There is growth, there's growth potential, but
who are going to be the nexttastemakers in our industry?
And it's going to probably moveaway from some of these big
singular names that we all haveknown from the 80s and 90s?
And 2000s and now it's a lotlike kind of direct-to-consumer
brands that we were justdiscussing.
Tiffany Woolley (25:19):
Really.
Guy Holbrook (25:20):
Those folks have such great taste and do some
really cool things out there,and now they have platforms like
what?
Voice Over (25:27):
we're doing now, or social media?
Guy Holbrook (25:30):
where they can become very, very influential
very quickly.
Scott Woolley (25:34):
Right, we were watching last night President
Trump at his cabinet meeting,but then, after we watched that,
the press secretary had a pressconference.
I found interesting, becausewhat you were just saying is
that they're changing the way inwhich it's been for the last 50
years.
They're now letting podcasterscome in.
(25:54):
That's awesome.
Guy Holbrook (25:56):
And interview.
Yeah, so you know, access andplatforms are very different
today than what they've been inthe past, and that could be
whether we're talking socialmedia or where you buy your
furniture, right.
I mean, it's very, verydifferent.
Some of the brands used to onlybe exclusive to the trade.
You could only go down to Dania, right?
Tiffany Woolley (26:15):
Well, and that's really how it was.
So when you see the partnershowrooms Dania is obviously,
isn't there one in Palm Beachtoo?
Guy Holbrook (26:24):
So you know, Century has kind of our
methodology in terms of how wedo things and how we distribute,
and the industry is similar insome ways.
But you know, so ourdistribution is you know,
century has corporate showroomsthat we actually own and operate
and that's part of our team inroughly six markets now.
And then we have kind of whatwe call our partner showrooms or
agent showrooms, and those arefolks We've got a couple that
(26:46):
are branded, that just have onlyour products in there from our
corporate brand, rockhouse Farm,right, and then we have agent
showrooms that are multi-brand.
Scott Woolley (26:54):
So Rockhouse brand on Century, do you branch
over into any of that?
You have any involvement?
Guy Holbrook (27:02):
you know, uh, so it's, it's now rock house luxury
brands.
That's where we are so I haveto make sure I say that right,
and our vp of marketing, who isalso one of our principals, will
probably correct me, um, on it.
But so, uh, it's quick storythat that's the background,
that's actually the, the farmthat our ownership team grew up
on, and and it's their parents'farm.
Scott Woolley (27:21):
We learned about that from Jim I know, I just
love all these backstories.
Tiffany Woolley (27:24):
It's amazing.
Guy Holbrook (27:25):
You know our ownership team and you know
whether they would ever listento this or not.
They're fabulous people andthey are incredibly intelligent.
If they weren't in thefurniture business, they'd be
running Fortune 500 companies.
I intelligent If they weren'tthe furniture business, they'd
be running Fortune 500 companies.
I mean, these are just brightpeople who happen to be very
passionate about the furniturebusiness, but they grew up like
(27:47):
working on a farm, like theirparents are just great people
and their folks were in thisindustry and grandparents were
in this industry, but I meanthey were like they were
shoveling horse stalls.
These are people that work.
Tiffany Woolley (27:54):
Which is work ethic, yeah.
Guy Holbrook (27:56):
And they have brought that into their
professional lives.
But back to your questionRockhouse Farm or Rockhouse
Luxury Brands is just thisumbrella and portfolio of these
incredible brands.
And Century is, I like to think, the crown jewel.
We are the organic native brand, but Holland House is part of
that.
Hickory Chair, hancock Moore,jessica Charles.
Tiffany Woolley (28:18):
Maitland Smith.
Guy Holbrook (28:20):
These just iconic.
Tiffany Woolley (28:21):
Holland Houses.
I can't even really wrap myhead around how that all started
too.
They captured all those brands.
Guy Holbrook (28:28):
Yeah, and it's golly, without throwing any
shade on anybody, some of these,like Hancock Moore story brand
Jack Lachine and Jimmy Moore andthat whole team just built the
best leather company basicallyin the industry and they were
looking for a way to retirewithout really messing up their
(28:49):
ecosystem and it's almost likethey selected the Sheafford
family at Rockhouse Farm.
Tiffany Woolley (28:54):
So that was their exit strategy?
Guy Holbrook (28:56):
I think it was like engage and see if there's
interest there.
And you know you hate to sayyou kind of bequeath your
company because there was atransaction.
But I think that they thoughtthey would be very great
stewards of what they had built.
The Shuford family would begreat stewards carrying forth
Hancock.
And you know, hickory Chair isjust an incredible story.
I've got Hickory Chair in myhome.
Tiffany Woolley (29:15):
I love Hickory Chair.
Guy Holbrook (29:16):
Kudos to them.
And you know it's my mom andgrandmother loved Hickory Chair
and we've got some of theirbeautiful pieces in my house
that.
Tiffany Woolley (29:22):
I covet.
Guy Holbrook (29:23):
Yep, and you know they got kind of tangled up in
three or four things indifferent ownerships and the way
I view that is they were greatkids with bad parents and they
just got rehomed and they gotrehomed into the Rockhouse
family and they are growing anddoing great things again.
But my involvement with them isthat I know all of my peers in
those companies.
We collaborate and we competeHealthy they do, and maybe I'm
(29:48):
looking for a rep in a territoryand they just interviewed for a
territory a year or two ago andthey've got a couple candidates
.
Scott Woolley (29:55):
So do you all get together or are there any kind
of meetings, of brainstorming?
Guy Holbrook (29:59):
well, we don't collude, so there's none of that
.
But the bottom line is is thatyou know it's a small industry
and we're friendly and you know,uh, john pig and wardo, quinn
and nathan and sam, all theseare great kind of peers my
counters, nathan's president ofhighland house, but the other
names I've mentioned arebasically the VP of sales, or
you know, and I'm the VP ofsales at Century and since I've
(30:21):
been inside a little bit longerthan a couple of the other peers
I've mentioned, right there,they will sometimes come to me
and say hey, you know, what doyou think about this?
And maybe I've got some insightthat's of value to them, and
maybe not, but they've got fresheyes.
So I value the way they see ourcompany as newcomers coming in.
So a little bit.
But we also share some fabrics.
(30:41):
There's a cool little RockhouseForum fabric story and we share
some trucking and it's all thestuff.
That isn't real sexy on theback end but it helps the
business run more smoothly.
Tiffany Woolley (30:50):
Right and I would say that, like as an
industry as a whole, it is such,you know, a very authentic
group of people.
It's definitely, you know,America, for you know, I just
feel like it's, and when you goto High Point you do feel that
and you get to be intimate withit, which I don't think the end
user ever really gets to reallyappreciate or understand.
(31:15):
So, it's kind of our job toeducate.
Guy Holbrook (31:18):
Well, you're great brand ambassadors, and that's
the thing is that you know thebrands you represent.
You are what your customer seesin that brand and it's a
two-way street, right.
So Century would be trading onyour goodwill, right?
You have the relationship withyour customer.
We are absolutely trading onyour goodwill.
You are recommending our brandto your customer and vice versa.
(31:40):
You know, let's say that we'redelayed on a fabric that you've
chosen for a customer and that'snot even Century.
We don't make fabric at Century.
We just apply it to ourfurniture, so we buy it from
mills all around the globe.
But let's say that fabric isdelayed, and it's delayed three
months, something terrible andyour customer're a big bridal
shower that you know, and youknow everybody's coming.
Tiffany Woolley (32:03):
That's my life, right oh yeah, we are.
Guy Holbrook (32:05):
we've heard this call before, believe it or not.
Um, you know they often.
The client often looks to youand are upset with you, and
maybe not century, and certainlynot our fabric mill.
So that ecosystem is superimportant and we often have to
write a note of apology, andI'll write handwritten apologies
(32:26):
every other week and we tellpeople I'm sorry, please don't
be upset with our customers, whoexpect our product and brought
our brand to you.
Be upset with us and we'll dobetter next time.
I love that.
That's the doing the rightthing or trying to do the right
thing Right.
Scott Woolley (32:42):
So there's another aspect that I find
really fascinating about Centuryis the sustainability the
program that's in place.
It's quite an amazing program.
Guy Holbrook (32:52):
You know, that's a great, great question, and we
prod ourselves as again of beingmakers, and if you're a maker,
you're held to a higher standard.
Scott Woolley (33:11):
And whether it's our forestry sustainability, the
lumber that we harvest and useto our finishing, to the way we
treat our employees.
We've got a great, great groupof folks your packaging, the
cardboard you use, even the factof water hyacinth plants oh
yeah, you know I read that and Isaw that and I'm pretty in tune
with that.
I ran a company that was an FDAover-the-counter product, that
was a plant-based product, right, and then when I saw the water
hyacinth plant and the fact thatfor your re-tan and whatnot
(33:35):
that you're doing, that I meanyeah, natural materials.
Guy Holbrook (33:38):
You know big thing for us and you know there are
lots of regulatory things thatwe have to kind of keep our
pulse on to make sure that ifwe're producing it you know we
certainly have to have a highlevel but we have visibility of
that If we're sourcing somethingaround the globe, we have to
have documentation and we'regood boy and girl scouts.
Scott Woolley (33:58):
Yes, I documentation and that we're um,
we're good boy and girl scouts?
Yeah, we are very, very, but Idon't think your century
promotes it enough, or well, youknow, or talks about it because
it's some great I think 10 to15 years ago people really got
into the green story, correct?
Guy Holbrook (34:10):
yeah and there was a little bit of kind of what
you kind of call green washingpeople like oh you know, hey,
we're putting less, you know,that's right.
We're putting less, you know,petroleum-based stuff in our
full, in our foam cushions andwe're using more, you know,
soy-based and all this stuff andit, it and there was some, some
very, very great stories andtruths to a lot of that.
(34:32):
You know the bottom line is justdo the right thing.
I mean tip over, for us hasbeen a big thing in the industry
with I'm sure you've probablyheard about, like you know, full
extension drawers and thingsthat fall over.
And there's some things thatwere in a couple of the big
boxes were some terribleoutcomes for some families and
small kids.
And again, a majority of ourproducts already were built in a
(34:53):
way that there was no issue.
But we had to go back in andback weight some things and
shorten some drawers.
Again, good Boy Scouts, goodGirl Scouts do the right thing,
and if you do the right thing,the outcome generally will be
what you want it to be, but it'sa great thing.
Scott Woolley (35:09):
It's a good philosophy.
But, when you read all thethings that.
Century does.
It's a very impressive list.
Guy Holbrook (35:14):
Yeah, with our VP of Marketing and one of our
principals the other day and wewere talking about that in
particular.
It's on our website, it's onour consumer website.
But you have to go deep intothe mind, in the bottom of the
mind, to find that.
But it's sustainabilitystatements and all the
accreditations that we have.
Scott Woolley (35:32):
No, even when you've got to dig to find that,
and when you read through itit's like wow.
Guy Holbrook (35:39):
Yeah, it's pretty slick.
Scott Woolley (35:40):
As big as this company is, as long as it's been
around, they're really carryingon so many different levels.
But even the video that youhave about the company and the
history it's kind of buried.
I watched the video.
Guy Holbrook (35:53):
It's a great story .
This is like coming out in thefield to figure out what's
happening in the factory.
It's like you know.
Again, we need to hear thisbecause we know this is
important information.
It's where do you house it andhow do you make it visible
without looking like we arebeating our chest and you know
being braggadocious about thingsthat are simply just doing the
right thing, but we were talkingbefore we had the podcast about
this one home that we'restarting on.
Scott Woolley (36:17):
I know that the owners of that house if they saw
that video they would be morein tune going.
That's the kind of stuff thatwe want.
Guy Holbrook (36:24):
These are the people I want to do business
with Right.
Tiffany Woolley (36:26):
Well, and people do want to know that what
they're buying does havesustainability and lasting.
Scott Woolley (36:33):
And the craftsmanship.
Sure, it's not being done insome factory in China, it's
being done in America.
And when you watch the videoand how it's being done, it's
very interesting.
Guy Holbrook (36:45):
You know, the thing is, too, is like people's
attention spans right, so theywill tune in and watch something
.
Scott Woolley (36:52):
So you take short , little you know tidbits of it
and put it on Instagram.
Tiffany Woolley (36:55):
About social media.
Like do you get involved withsocial media?
Cause, like what Scott justsaid, like those are the sales
standpoint.
Guy Holbrook (37:02):
Yeah, so you know, for us it's, it's um.
You know, unfortunately I'vegot a face made for radio right.
Scott Woolley (37:09):
They don't need me.
I wouldn't say that.
Guy Holbrook (37:13):
They don need me talking to customers and
building the relationships.
We've got some great peoplethat head up our social media
Lexikini and Comberware backfrom our marketing team, kind of
head ours up, and we'veinvested in that platform right
now or those platforms to kindof elevate us, Our customers, I
think, do it so much andpartners do it so much better.
Tiffany Woolley (37:31):
Well, that's just it, they do.
Guy Holbrook (37:32):
But you're marketing right.
You're kind of marketing to theclient.
Tiffany Woolley (37:36):
For you, yep.
Guy Holbrook (37:37):
And we are kind of marketing to our partners,
right.
So it's kind of a weird thing,but we're also marketing out to
the client, so they're pullingthe product back through our
partners.
But what we're finding is that,while we can have all that
information out there aboutsustainability, a short video
clip of that is what peoplereally want.
They want the news highlightsthe executive summary and the
(38:04):
same thing on product right.
Like we can tell you, we can goway down into the rabbit hole
and show you all the 7 millionpermutations of this upholstery
program Cornerstone.
That's phenomenal.
Or we can show you a 30-minuteclip that you can get multiple
depths and multiple arms andmultiple legs and put it in any
fabric you want and tailor, makethis to you and your clients
needs.
And if we can do that in a videothat's compelling and
professionally shot and looksgreat and resides in a very
clickable place, then we'remaking good things.
Tiffany Woolley (38:27):
What advice would you give an individual
who's looking to break into thefurniture industry?
Guy Holbrook (38:32):
That's a great question.
You know I'd probably need tofigure out a little bit about
where they're trying to get in.
You know, are you trying to getinto what segment of the
industry?
You know, the first thing Iwould say is is look and learn
about the industry a little bit,find someone that's already in
it and try to kind of connectwith them and say you know, what
are your passions?
Do you want to try to work witha customer?
(38:53):
Are you creative, you know?
Do you want to try to domarketing or media or product,
and they go?
Well, I don't know any of thosethings.
I think working for a designfirm or working for a furniture
retailer is the greatestexperience you can have in our
industry.
You have to understand wherethe customer transacts and the
client transacts and you knowthere are great opportunities
for people to come in designfirms and be like a junior
(39:15):
associate designer or alibrarian or resource manager or
pulling things or a little youknow, assistant project manager.
I think those are great things.
They're just kind of a gopher.
Hey, I need you to go out andmeet this client and you know,
give access here, absolutely,and that's how you learn.
You learn through that kind ofyou know, being submerged in it.
And then if you have the theopportunity to work in a
(39:37):
furniture store, I think youlearn so much, not just about
like dealing with the client andcustomer, but I think it's the
back end that is really themagic.
You learn how furniture isreceived and repaired and
installed and you also see thesales cycle of how it's entered
and just how all of those thingsare so important, of how they
work and how it's displayed.
You know, and just I learned somuch.
(39:59):
I mean, these little ladiesthat I work with when I was in
my early 20s taught me aboutthis industry inside and out,
and I mean they would grab me bythe arm and march me over to
something Honey, exactly, younever sell a bed without selling
a mattress with it.
Why would you they're getting anew bed?
Why would they not want a newmattress?
And I mean just things likethat that you go bing lights,
(40:21):
come on.
So I think, if you can get withsomebody that's in the business
and passionate about it and weneed, we need a farm system, we
need people coming into ourindustry and it is an untapped
industry.
Tiffany Woolley (40:33):
And another thing that I found fascinating
is when I was listening to somepodcasts, they were saying how
this industry really won't getdisrupted by AI.
Yeah, so I mean, I feel likethat's something that's so
important to the youth today,because, look, you're coming in
here obviously from a verybusiness side of things.
You know, like we talked to Jim, it's business but it's also
(40:55):
entrepreneurial.
You know, there's just so manyfacets, and for me it's more on
the designer and the sales to anend user, and it is a really
beautiful ecosystem of positivepeople.
It is family-centered for themost part, even as these brands
start to get bought up, which Ido sometimes worry, because all
(41:17):
these fabric companies are nowlike under one umbrella and all
these furniture companies, but Ifind it interesting too that
they are really being bought upby such like family brands.
So, like I like that, it's notnecessarily, you know, a venture
capital type of situation, youknow a venture capital type of
situation, it's still staying ina, you know, a family a more
(41:50):
entrepreneurial environment.
Guy Holbrook (41:51):
Well, there's so many different relationships
that make our industry go andyou know we've talked about kind
of the distribution side, fromdesigners and trade showrooms
and retail stores and so on, andthose are all incredibly
important.
But if you look back up channelyou start thinking about.
You know, for us as amanufacturer, think about all
the people that have to kind ofbe involved to make this happen
at Century.
So you know that could be ourlumber vendors.
It could be our fabric mills.
(42:11):
It could be our foam andcushion manufacturers.
It's our corrugated containermakers that make our boxes for
us, and then we have our owncustom box machines.
You know it's our fabric.
You know we have theseautomated fabric machines that
actually do incredible cutting.
You know it's our CatawbaValley Community College that
has our furniture academy thatis teaching an apprentice
program to get folks into doingthis.
Tiffany Woolley (42:33):
For apprenticeship.
Guy Holbrook (42:35):
Absolutely, and Century is a founding member of
that and there are all thoserelationships and that's just
getting product to supplies toactually get to the build side.
And then it's like you know,it's Duke Power, that's our
power partner and I know youwould say, well, that's so corny
to think about that, but it isso many parts and pieces before
we even get to starting to buildfurniture and you know there is
(42:58):
an apprenticeship that goeswith it.
Same thing, like in sales repsor territory management.
You find a lot of people thatbring their family members in.
When they find a good company,they bring their family members
in.
And I love that there aremultiple territory reps.
I'm sure that service youraccounts.
Tiffany Woolley (43:14):
I have a rep whose son is now coming in
Exactly, or niece or nephew.
Guy Holbrook (43:19):
Yeah, it's wild and it's really kind of a cool
thing and we talk about ourindustry being family-centric.
Scott Woolley (43:24):
It is, it's special, it really is when you
say apprenticeship,apprenticeship from a craft and
construction and building thefurniture.
Guy Holbrook (43:32):
You alluded to AI earlier and how that could maybe
be a big disruptor in certainindustries.
I think it can enhance ourindustry.
Well, enhance is great, butyeah but you know it's not going
to build furniture for ustomorrow it's not going to make
upholstery.
So you know, back to theapprenticeship is that you know
building furniture isn't juststamping out quarters.
I mean, you know there's asegment of the market that
(43:52):
stamps out quarters.
That's not what Century andanyone in the middle to high end
or luxury side of this does.
They build custom furniture andthat's a handcrafted thing.
That's rubbing finishes.
It is putting six pleats onthis arm and making sure that I
can work the left side as goodas I can work the right with six
pleats.
And this arm is six inches indiameter if it's a rolled arm
(44:13):
and that inch has got to be sixinches.
This one can't be four inchesand this one be six.
And it's that level of art andscience right, and more of it is
art, and we are in a little bitof a dry spell of bringing that
type of talent into theindustry and whether it's
building the furniture,designing it, selling it.
(44:34):
I mentioned the creatives.
Right now I'm really worriedabout the creative side of this
industry from the manufacturing.
Scott Woolley (44:40):
We feel the same way in certain aspects.
You know like really good, youcan do fantastic millwork on a
wall.
Sure it's like a dying craft.
You know millwork that's for aceiling yeah, and you hear about
somebody retiring please evenwallpaper hangers.
Tiffany Woolley (44:57):
Yeah, the trades.
Scott Woolley (44:59):
Yeah, there's certain trades that.
Guy Holbrook (45:01):
And if you're good at what you do, you know naming
your own price to a degree.
Scott Woolley (45:05):
Correct, you know , because there's not a lot of
substitution for it.
No, it's so true.
Especially when they're reallygood 100%.
Tiffany Woolley (45:11):
And you can rely on them.
I mean that you really truly,can, you know, attest to their
integrity, sure For sure.
Guy Holbrook (45:19):
You know what you're getting.
Tiffany Woolley (45:20):
Yes.
Scott Woolley (45:21):
Do you see a trend or a direction that the
industry may go in the future?
You know, like how I have seenthat A lot of furniture stores
have gone and I feel likethere's more designers or
interior designers or firms.
Guy Holbrook (45:41):
Yeah, you know, I think that there again it
depends on what channel you'rein.
If you're in retail right now,I mean we're certainly seeing
the independently owned, youknow the family stores.
We're seeing that probably wanea little bit.
It's not going intonon-existence but it is waning
(46:02):
and part of that is it's secondgeneration or third generation
is now in the business.
The property value has probablyfar outweighed the value of the
business.
So hey it's a piece of propertyover here on A1A and all of a
sudden it's like oh my gosh, youknow it's time to sell.
Scott Woolley (46:19):
We've seen that happen with cabinet.
You know kitchen cabinetcompanies that have.
Guy Holbrook (46:24):
So you know you're not seeing as many of the
independent furniture stores.
You still see, you know nicekind of multi-store chains that
are upper end.
Those still exist in this world.
There are fewer of them than Iwish there were.
But what we are seeing is moreof this kind of what we call
boutique retail and that mightbe.
You know, hey, out front it'son a really kind of cool area in
(46:45):
a cool little neighborhood, youknow, or shopping district, and
you know it's a coupledesigners and they've got a cool
storefront and there's somefurniture in the front and the
back is where the action happens.
The back is there are projectslaid out and there are two or
three designers back there justkicking it and they're selling
things up front and candles andfurniture and all that, but in
the back is where the projectsare happening.
That's the trend I'm seeing inretail.
Scott Woolley (47:07):
Right.
Well, the Internet hascertainly Sure, but from our
perspective, we don't doanything with the Internet or
the internet retailers that areselling.
Guy Holbrook (47:16):
I mean, for us the internet is logging on to a
century site, or logging on to,I agree you know, I think the
upper end struggles with theinternet because of the tactile
thing and it's hard to see thevalue without actually being in
the product and seeing andworking in a consultative way.
It's not going away.
I mean people shop on theInternet every day.
(47:39):
But I think design firms have avery healthy future.
We're seeing more and morepeople hang out their own
shingle and give it a try andwe're trying to figure out the
best way to keep that ecosystemhappy because we have vested
interest in our showrooms andour showroom partners and design
firms and interior designers.
We need good ways for people toaccess our brand and for margin
to stay healthy for all partiesand we are thinking about that
(48:03):
day and night.
Scott Woolley (48:04):
We are absolutely committed to that.
One of the reasons why Tiffanywanted to do this podcast is to
try to educate people more thefact that going to an interior
designer or a design firmactually doesn't cost more.
It actually it gives you somany opportunities.
Guy Holbrook (48:20):
We you know, my wife and I redid our kitchen
right before COVID I meanliterally right before COVID and
you know I know a bazillionpeople I have.
I am not a tastemaker.
Hopefully I match today.
So I'm sitting up here with twogood looking people who are
well-dressed but, like I wentout and hired an interior
designer to do my home and itwasn't one of these AD Top 100s
(48:42):
that are lovely, it was somegood people locally and it's
because I needed to be able tosee the forest and the trees and
my wife and I maybe weren't inagreement or something.
We needed someone to win thejump ball.
We needed somebody to say yourwife's right because she's right
.
But it helped us in some spaceplanning and doing some things
that are not my forte.
Tiffany Woolley (49:02):
Right Things that you shouldn't think you're
not thinking about because youdon't do it, and it was worth
every penny of it.
I love it.
Scott Woolley (49:07):
An interior designer or a firm will also
help you through, just like withCentury, the vast catalog and
opportunities and options thatwill make your home just so much
and you're going to be happy,and we talk about having
analogies.
Guy Holbrook (49:25):
So a Sherpa, the person that helps you climb
Mount Everest, is the mostvaluable person on the trip and
it's like they're the ones thathave climbed it before and it's
just another hike for them andit's a lifetime event for me.
Scott Woolley (49:37):
That's a good analogy.
I love that.
Guy Holbrook (49:38):
You need good Sherpas yeah.
Tiffany Woolley (49:40):
I love that.
Well, that's a positive note.
We have a fun little wrap-up ofsome interesting little
questions to ask you what isyour favorite restaurant.
Scott Woolley (49:52):
From a design standpoint.
Guy Holbrook (49:54):
Design-wise.
Do you have one?
Oh, from a design design.
Tiffany Woolley (49:56):
Why, oh, from a design standpoint, one that
you've walked into, it could bethe design of the food too, or I
even joke, it could be the lackof design.
You know like sometimes, likebarefoot in the keys is a good
idea, let me.
Guy Holbrook (50:07):
Let me come back to that.
That's a heck of a question,because you know it's funny.
I'm a.
I lived in new orleans for acouple years, so I love just
eating so let's start with that,which is such a foodie town.
Yeah, you know, like Commander'sPalace is just such a fun place
in New Orleans down in theGarden District and it's an old
house and that's kind of whereEmeril was the chef and it's
(50:29):
well-appointed and it's kind ofuniquely New Orleans.
It's just a cool place and thegreen is kind of their calling
card, which is now back in favorand that's just.
It's a wonderful diningexperience and it's a cool place
that just has a cool vibe to it, Also like Jean and Georgette's
Steakhouse up in Chicago, andit's not because there's
anything from a spectacularstandpoint of like aesthetic in
(50:51):
there, but it's just authentic,Like it's leather and it's
tufted leather.
It's an experience and it's likewalnut and mahogany and it's
throwback.
And when you fit, and you know,everybody in there looks like
they've worked there for 35 or40 years and they're wearing
white crisp tuck shirts andthey're these little Italian
guys that are phenomenal.
And you know, to me that's likewhen you're in there you kind
(51:13):
of smell the environment.
That's like when you're inthere you kind of smell the
environment.
Tiffany Woolley (51:16):
It's just awesome.
That's the beauty of what youdo too.
You get to go to all these.
Guy Holbrook (51:19):
Yeah, and I'm showing it.
I mean bring it with me.
Scott Woolley (51:22):
It sounds like a place in Charleston called Halls
.
Oh yeah.
Guy Holbrook (51:25):
Hall Steak Chophouse.
Scott Woolley (51:27):
Yeah, I've been there.
Guy Holbrook (51:27):
Yeah, great place.
Scott Woolley (51:29):
Great place.
Tiffany Woolley (51:30):
Yeah, so you can get a good, a lot of place
and charleston's done somereally cool things.
Guy Holbrook (51:39):
Charleston I'm I'm loving it.
Yeah, if you're a youngprofessional, you want to live
in charleston, austin ornashville you know, that's where
everybody's moving right now ifyou're right out of college
telling my girls.
Tiffany Woolley (51:47):
I think that's a good idea for college.
Scott Woolley (51:49):
So let's ask another question hotel design.
Is there any one that comes tomind that you would say that wow
, that was a really interestingdesign, or cool?
Guy Holbrook (51:59):
You know that's a great thing.
Typically, you know, I'm abusiness traveler so I don't get
to stay at all the fancyproperties.
We were out in Vegas a littlewhile back and you know we go
out for market and it's alwaysinteresting to go out there and
just see the things that arehappening in those large casinos
and it's, you know, it's justamazing to see.
I think we were in the Bellagioand it was right before Tet and
(52:22):
they had all the beautifulflowers and things happening out
there and a big flower pan.
I've got a picture I'll showyou here in a minute, but it's
you know I'm always amazed at,just like, how well-appointed
those places are and Caesars,it's so true right.
And just like you know, when youwalk through, you're just in
amazement, because they want theexperience to be something that
you don't and clearly haven'tforgotten it.
Scott Woolley (52:44):
Right, I walk through and I look at it and go
the architectural and who didthe design?
Tiffany Woolley (52:50):
Yeah, he's starting to appreciate all those
details now.
Guy Holbrook (52:54):
They're so vast yeah.
Scott Woolley (52:55):
He's seeing to appreciate all those details.
Guy Holbrook (52:56):
Now they're so vast, he's seeing the world
through a different lens andeverything came together.
Yeah, there's people like FrankGehry that did all these cool
melted things.
Tiffany Woolley (53:03):
My daughter just did a paper on him.
And it was just so much fun forme to re-appoint myself, and I
think that he did a children'shospital or something out in
Vegas.
Guy Holbrook (53:10):
That's right beside the Las Vegas market.
It looks like a building that'smelted down.
It looks like a building that'smelted down and it's so cool.
Tiffany Woolley (53:16):
Everything is with such intention.
Guy Holbrook (53:19):
Yeah, I've got a great friend that I met in the
industry kind of early on namedTack Galleon, up out of West
Virginia and he did masterresort design for, like the
Broadmoor Resort and the GreenBar and Hershey.
Lodge and I mean these guys areso much fun and they're just
like us.
They're not hoity-toity.
I mean, these guys are so muchfun and they're just like us.
Tiffany Woolley (53:37):
They're not hoity-toity.
They can put on airs but, theyare just great people.
Guy Holbrook (53:39):
Then they got into the bourbon business.
They're interesting people, butit was always fun to hear them
describe these properties andjust how excited they would get
about getting to work in thoseproperties their legacy property
.
Tag had a design studio in theGreenbrier in the basement.
These are just everyday coolpeople that are super talented.
Tiffany Woolley (53:57):
Oh, my God, I'd love to talk to him.
Wow, come on Netta.
So cool, so cool.
Well, thank you.
Guy Holbrook (54:04):
It's the other way around you guys are awesome.
Tiffany Woolley (54:06):
Thank you so much for joining us.
I didn't really know what toexpect.
Guy Holbrook (54:10):
Thank you, Tim, for bringing us by Y and thanks
for being just great andhospitable host.
Tiffany Woolley (54:14):
Well, we appreciate it.
Thanks, All right.
Voice Over (54:18):
Idesign Lab iDesign Lab's podcast is an SW Group
production in association withthe Five Star and TW Interiors.
To learn more about iDesign Labor TW Interiors, please visit
twinteriorscom.
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