I ended up at a party at VOOS the other night, on N 3rd St. in Williamsburg, and felt like I’d just walked into some strange alternate reality. This huge space that I’d never seen before was filled with designs by many, many of the people we’ve interviewed. Takeshi Miyakawa’s Fractal 23 cabinet was there. So were Sonic Design’s clocks! And pieces by Eskayel, and Brave Space, and Uhuru, and DESU… How cool!
We may have been late to the party, but we’re making up for it by bringing you an interview with the founders, Serap Demirag and Deger Cengiz, about how they started and their vision for the space.
You’ve got a great group of designers in here. How did you go about finding the people you wanted to work with?
We researched and came up with 35 different designers. Then we called them one by and one, and visited their studios. I’ll be honest with you, when I first came up with the idea, I though the designers would have huge egos and rock star personalities – but every time we left a studio, we’d be overwhelmed by how nice they were.
What made you decide to open a furniture store?
I saw this beautiful table by Palo Samko at the Architectural Digest show. I was so drawn to it. Then I realized he was a Brooklyn designer – I didn’t even know Brooklyn had a design scene! That started everything.
I started looking into it, going to BKLYN Designs, and realized how much much talent is here. And I realized how much beautiful furniture there is that’s not being showcased. I wanted to open a store in Williamsburg to show it. I’d already been in the home furnishings field for 15 years. I loved furniture, I knew about it. I realized opening a store was too much work for one person, so I asked my friend Deger if he wanted to be partners. He jumped right in, and we started doing it together.
[image via Apartment Therapy]
I found the space last March. It was still under construction, so there was some time for us to prepare. Initially I was going to open in October, but it was postponed, which was good because that was the worst time in the economy.
Why weren’t these great pieces already represented in showrooms?
Since the work is made locally, out of beautiful materials, it makes the pieces very expensive. It’s expensive for the designer to even sell to customers directly. And normal showrooms need to mark up the prices two or two-and-a-half times to be able to make money and take the risk of buying a piece of furniture. With that kind of markup, these pieces become so expensive they are unsellable.
[image via Apartment Therapy]
So how have you gotten around that problem at VOOS?
We came up with the idea of making this more like an art gallery. We take a small commission, and sell the pieces at their list prices. Then we approached designers with the idea, and they loved it. We asked each designer to show us what they already had in stock, and picked from those pieces for our initial opening inventory.
Moving forwards, we are going to switch out the pieces in the space every two months or so, to showcase more of their work. The idea is to sell a designer’s pieces off the floor, to give them the means to make something new.
Also, since all the designers are local, they can customize their pieces. If a customer comes in here and wants a coffee table longer or shorter, or in a different material, it’s possible. We’re the place for those kinds of things. Anyone can come here, talk to us about what they’d like, and we can help them work with the designers to get exactly what they want.
[image via Apartment Therapy]
I love the concept. You’re not just a store – you’re also a community resource.
People like to know about the designers. We can tell you how Takeshi works right down the block. Every piece has it’s story, and we know it because we are friends with the designers. People like that. It makes it all much more personal.
Now I feel this pressure – we really need to make it for the designers we represent. Some of them are expecting babies. Some just became dads, others are having another child. They’re real people.
How do you want VOOS to grow?
We need to become a destination for interior designers and architects. What I didn’t realize was going to be so difficult, is bringing the Manhattanites into Brooklyn. Our real clientele, who is going to buy the $9,000 table, usually uses an interior designer. That’s why we need to get them to know about us.
People are starting to hear our name though, and once it really sticks in their mind it will be easier. You can see these are very beautiful, solid pieces. They are not just a fun design. We passionately love the work that is made here.
[image via The Architect's Newspaper]