Photo by Gieves Anderson Photography, Design by Peter Som Interiors

Translating Inspiration & Personality into Accessible Furnishings with The Inside

 

We sat with Christiane Lemieux, Founder & CEO of The Inside, a platform who truly understands the value of injecting personality and beauty into interiors. The Inside celebrates the diversity of style, designing a line of made-to-order furnishings in a variety of designer fabrics. Their estimated lead time is just three weeks, two weeks for production and one week for delivery. Lemieux shares with us The Inside’s design mission, production process, and the importance of embracing modern technology.

Lead Image: Photo by Gieves Anderson Photography, Design by Peter Som 


How did The Inside come to be?
CL: I launched The Inside, a line of made-to-order furnishings in a variety of designer fabrics, because I saw a major gap in the retail market for accessibly-priced furniture that had personality. Our mission is to deliver a product that appeals to everyone – from the minimalist to the maximalist – to ultimately make their homes feel good, so they feel good.

What’s The Inside’s design mission?
CL: To make custom furniture that’s easy, affordable, and fun.

Photo by Gieves Anderson Photography, Design by Peter Som Interiors

Photo by Gieves Anderson Photography, Design by Peter Som

How does The Inside manage to produce custom furniture in less than two weeks?
CL: We have spent a lot of time developing a specialized supply chain that allows us to make custom furniture efficiently and quickly. And it’s all made in the USA. It’s the secret sauce. We also employ digital printing and modeling techniques which enables us to have amazing patterns fast.

What’s your production process like from inspiration to production?
CL: We have a very open studio atmosphere where we discuss what’s inspiring us and then develop how that inspiration translates into pattern. We work with our textile designers to develop the perfect colorways, scales, and repeats, and then we digitally model onto our frames. From there, we select what we think people will love most and merchandise it onto our site. Once a customer places their order, our Chicago-based factory puts the piece into production, packs it up, and ships it out via FedEx.

Photo by Gieves Anderson Photography, Design by Peter Som Interiors

Photo by Gieves Anderson Photography, Design by Peter Som

Currently, what are your best-selling categories?
CL: Beds are a best-selling category, but our Cocktail Chair is especially loved.

The Inside partners with designers, tastemakers, and enthusiasts to bring a variety of inspiration home including Clare V. X and Peter Som. Do you have any other exclusive capsule collections in the works?
CL: Our most recent collaborations were with The Everygirl and Maisonette, and we have some very exciting collaborations on the horizon – stay tuned!

Photo by Gieves Anderson Photography, Design by Peter Som Interiors

Photo by Gieves Anderson Photography, Design by Peter Som

Who’s on your wish-list to collaborate with?
CL: I have so many – from my favorite artists and graphic designers to great interior designers. 

How important is content and social media marketing to the growth of your brand?
CL: I think it’s non-negotiable now. Social Media is part of any business, especially a visual one like ours. Also, we especially appreciate when customers post the pieces they customized on their Instagram feeds – it helps with brand building, but we also love that we’re building a community.

Photo by Gieves Anderson Photography, Design by Peter Som Interiors

Photo by Gieves Anderson Photography, Design by Peter Som

In your opinion, how is technology impacting the interior design industry?
CL: I think technology is totally disrupting it from platforms like Ivy to services like Homepolish and Havenly – everyone wants a beautiful home and technology is going a long way to make that happen efficiently and affordably. It’s a truly exciting time because it seems like everyone really wants their homes to be designed and considered, and that’s a beautiful thing!

Why would interior designers embrace modern tools such as Ivy to bring their business operations online?
CL: It’s absolutely necessary to have a digital presence, as any business. Tools like Ivy make everything efficient and leave more time for the creative process, something all designers want more of.

Photo by Gieves Anderson Photography, Design by Peter Som Interiors

Photo by Gieves Anderson Photography, Design by Peter Som

What’s The Inside’s focus for 2018?

CL: We are looking forward to some meaningful trade collaborations and new categories like sofas, bedding, and wallpaper. We are so excited to help designers make interiors exactly the way they dream them.


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