Three Textile Brands Launch California Collective

September 30, 2020  by Jane Chero in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry   

By creating a new business model, whereby competing brands collaborate together and share sales infrastructure and proprietary resources, the Collective is reacting to global changes already taking place not only in how people interact and shop, but also more broadly in design representation – changes that have only been accelerated in recent months.

This new endeavor was a natural evolution for the three founders who, over the past few years, have consistently been supportive of each other’s brands, fostering an already informal collaboration and advice support system. Through the strategic creation of the Collective, the founders will be able to build direct relationships with designers in California with the goal of growing their businesses organically and with more ownership of their sales channels.

“We have always valued sharing resources and ideas, underpinned by the mutual respect we have for each other as businesswomen. By taking the exciting step to join forces in our sales efforts, we are motivated to expand our business development outreach and make deeper connections within the design community” says Alexis Hartman, founder of Lake August.

Although designers are already used to looking at multiple lines at a time for their projects, an evolving industry has resulted in a need for a more custom, bespoke service. With the deepest understanding of their brands and direct knowledge of the limitless opportunities for collaboration, the founders view the Collective as the best opportunity to respond to the needs of the design community in offering textiles from a distinct group of boutique lines for their individual projects.

“We are all inspired by the endless creativity of designers,” says Paige Cleveland of Rule of Three. “The goal of the Collective is to offer a more focused and intentional presentation of our collections. By getting to know our designers and their projects more intimately, we will be able to tailor an offering that will not only feel more purposeful but also inspirational and unique.”

Each brand offers a unique perspective on textile design, that celebrates the best of the Golden State. Brook Perdigon Textiles is known for screen-printed designs seen through a Californian lens, while Rule of Three embodies the maker movement with hand marbling work. Lake August’s textiles celebrate the botany of California, along with the continuous exploration of natural materials and traditional techniques. The Collective aims to solidify this messaging and reach a wider clientele.

“While we are competitors, our lines are exceptionally different and thus each of our design aesthetics speaks to a different customer. Our hope is that interior designers will be able to discover a more diverse range of products by connecting with The Collective,” explains Brook Perdigon of Brook Pedigon Textiles.

The Collective’s strength is the variety they can offer. Although the three have different aesthetics they are all artists first, celebrating the process and pride themselves on offering products to California designers, made in California.