Vendor in Focus: Tandem Arbor’s Tantalizing Custom Furnishings
Embrace the magic of total customization
How did you start working with designers? We launched the Tandem Arbor site to give consumers the power to design their own pieces. We have 23 collections of classic styles, fabrics and color options. This led to the designer market doing completely custom work, or COM.
Where is the furniture made?
We are trying to lead the way on sustainability and environmental impact by focusing on our carbon footprint. Everything is made and sourced within a 10-mile radius of our factory in North Carolina. We use locally sourced sustainable wood, a lot of the fabrics are milled down the street, the down fill is from the area and the cushions are made nearby.
Featured Products: Horatio 10 ft. Velvet Sofa in Blue Print, Hudson 7 ft. Crushed Velvet Sofa in Oyster, Charlton 7 ft. Crushed Velvet Sofa in Graphite
Where is the furniture made?
We are trying to lead the way on sustainability and environmental impact by focusing on our carbon footprint. Everything is made and sourced within a 10-mile radius of our factory in North Carolina. We use locally sourced sustainable wood, a lot of the fabrics are milled down the street, the down fill is from the area and the cushions are made nearby.
Featured Products: Horatio 10 ft. Velvet Sofa in Blue Print, Hudson 7 ft. Crushed Velvet Sofa in Oyster, Charlton 7 ft. Crushed Velvet Sofa in Graphite
How do you show designers what they’ll get? It’s all done digitally and with renderings, so we can go from prototyping and sampling to showing customers what they want very quickly. This is helpful for designers, as they can then show clients schematics and renderings of what the furniture will look like in their room.
What fashion trends do you see showing up in furnishings? Clients are incorporating decoration onto furniture the way that they would accessorize fashion garments, so fringe, ornamentation, ribbed surfaces and channeling all continue to gain popularity. There is also an overlapping trend on sculptural silhouettes that make a statement (especially styles with curves, slopes and rounded edges), while being oversized with a serious interest in luxe comfort.
What fashion trends do you see showing up in furnishings? Clients are incorporating decoration onto furniture the way that they would accessorize fashion garments, so fringe, ornamentation, ribbed surfaces and channeling all continue to gain popularity. There is also an overlapping trend on sculptural silhouettes that make a statement (especially styles with curves, slopes and rounded edges), while being oversized with a serious interest in luxe comfort.
Fun 2019 orders? We did a double-chaise sofa in Perennials marzipan velvet with a 2-inch ivory fringe. There was also a swivel chair that looks like a tweed Chanel suit with a peach-and-green weave finished with a 7-inch fringe, and a chair with ornate Lucite feet.
Are people excited about ordering custom? It’s opened the floodgates for designers. We’re saying, “Here’s access to a factory; design whatever you want.” The sky is really the limit.
More Featured Products: Varick 6 ft. Sofa in Silver Streak, Madison 5 ft. Leather Sofa in Pumice, Ludlow 5 ft. Crushed Velvet Sofa in Alabaster
More Featured Products: Varick 6 ft. Sofa in Silver Streak, Madison 5 ft. Leather Sofa in Pumice, Ludlow 5 ft. Crushed Velvet Sofa in Alabaster
As a retail fashion designer, Jana Garvin had very specific furnishing needs — whether it was 50 identical bubble gum-pink velvet chairs or a set of curved sofas for a fitting room — and realized others might too. So in 2016, she founded Tandem Arbor in Denver, where the public can order personalized furniture online and where designers can create custom seating and beds. We spoke with Garvin about how her designer line lets the imagination soar.