Katy came to speak to the club about her furniture and home accessories business that she founded in Brooklyn, NY in 2012.  She has a Masters in Furniture Designs from SCAD and and the mission of her company is to create high quality products made in the USA with competitive pricing (typically products made in the United States are 2-3 times more than imported products).  90% of her products are sold to interior designers leaving 10% being sold via her website.  All of the lighting is made here in Savannah.  

 

When Katy was starting out, she knew she needed to advertise and quickly realized the power of bloggers featuring her products as well as being featured in magazine editorials.  She believes what helped get the ball rolling was starting with products that retailed for less than $500.  In 2016, she and her husband decided to move the business to Savannah.  Soon after relocating, she received a phone call from Elle Decor asking for some lights for one of their magazine spreads.  Since then, lighting has taken on a more prominent roll in her business now accounting for 65% of sales.  Katy says the move to Savannah was great for many reasons but has faced a challenge in finding good work space and not being on a direct shipping route (most of her clients are in NY and LA).  Her company has grown to 4 full-time employees and 1 part-time worker.  She initially started with 6 products and now has 45.  Katy is always looking for ways to give back to the community and is in talks with Employability to hire some of their workers.  To look at Katy's designs, please visit katyskelton.com