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What is going on D2C pod today we are joined by Hailey Wiedenbaum who is the CEO and co founder of Everham Haley. I'm super excited for this conversation because kind of like what we were talking about before, there's all sorts of brands and consumer brands that pop up and you guys deal in a very interesting category which is homes and particular, particularly trades or shades and drapery curtains, that sort of thing. Which is a really exciting category because if you've ever designed a home or tried to get these sort of products in your home, it's not as straightforward and easy as you may think. So you know, I'll let you kick us off. Why don't you tell us a little bit about your background and how you started and landed on Ever.

Okay, great. Well thank you for having me, Blaine. I'm very excited to talk with you today. So yes, I founded Everham in 2019 with my husband. Actually before 2019 I was a working interior designer in Los Angeles. I worked as an interior designer, I think about eight years. I had gone back to school after graduating USC in communication for interior design. So I had that foundation of interior design, and I knew I wanted to be an interior designer.

So right out of school, I just started taking clients, and it's sort of word of mouth, and I just had a huge client list after about two or three years. And with that, I was, like, thrown into the interior design world, dealing with, like, all types of things that surround home and commercial design. I, majority of the time, was working on people's homes. A lot of it was first home owners here in Los Angeles, and I was exposed to all different types of projects. So I'd be dealing maybe with new builds or renovations or just furniture design or window treatment or just paint. And so I really got a crash course in everything interior design. And I was working for about eight years in, like, 2018. I think it was a combination that I was getting a little burnt out as an interior designer.

Really, the only way to grow and scale is if you hire people on your team. You know, I could only be somewhere at one time and do so much in one day. So I tried to build my team, slowly hired one girl and another person, but I just wasn't seeing, like, the revenue that I was hoping for. And at the same time, I was dealing with a lot of issues surrounding window treatment. So that's the drapery and the shades, like you mentioned. And I was starting to get introduced to the right people at the right time. And I had, like, a bit of an aha moment where, like, I was like, okay, let's maybe shift gears. I love the home design space.

I have been obsessed with it since I was a little girl. When I was younger, I decided I wanted to, like, be in the hotel business and design hotels. So I always knew, like, I needed to be a part of the design industry. And I had, like, this aha moment. As I said, I said, okay, maybe I should, like, start a better window treatment company that not only offers the products that my clients are looking for, because at the time, like, no company had what I needed. I would go to, like, downtown L. A. To source the fabric.

I would show a manufacturer pictures on Pinterest, and I'd make it work, and I'd get the product made. But the other aspect that was so difficult was the customer service trace. Tracking down these people, chasing them down, getting, like, no responses. When you have a client who's paid for a product and expecting it to be delivered on a certain date, I just was, like, getting nowhere with the customer service in this industry. And, you know, I tried, you know, a local person, a local workroom, I tried a mom and pop. I tried, like, the big names in the industry, the more commercial names. Like, nothing was a good answer. So all I knew is, like, I'm going to try to open a window, custom window treatment company.

And at the same time, my husband was a graphic designer, and so I knew I needed his skill set to help me brand the company, name it. I didn't even have a name. And before my husband was in graphic design, he had a previous life as an investment banker. And so I was like, oh, you can, you know, help with all the financial models too, because I'm truly a creative and I have a vision, but I really need help with the details of it from a creative aspect and also from the financial aspect. So he joined me and we launched in August 2019. And he knew nothing about window treatment when we started the company, which was great because today he knows more than I know, which is hilarious because, you know, it is complicated. However, we, from the beginning, like, our goal was to simplify the process. And we did that through building a direct consumer website that was user friendly.

Like, that was, like, novel for the custom window treatment industry because it didn't really exist. And with my husband's ability to brand it in a way that really spoke to our generation. Like, millennials are our consumers. They knew how to work a website, and if it looked beautiful and was user friendly, we knew it would really be a big hit. So we spent almost 10 months to a year working on the build of the website. And my husband designed the whole thing. He doesn't know how to code. But we worked with developers and we're able to launch in August 2019.

And we were, you know, it was basically word of mouth in the beginning. We didn't do any sort of huge marketing push. It was word of mouth of my interior design world, my Instagram, and at the time, you know, had like 10,000 followers. And this was in 2019, which was small, but I, you know, spread the word through there, spread the word through friends and family. And slowly but surely, like, orders started to come in. And we were working from home before COVID just because that's where the office space was. We didn't get office space. And then Covid hit in 2020, and it was obviously very scary for everyone involved in any sort of business.

And luckily we were able to see that we were supposed to. We were able to have the effects of the home industry boom that took place in 2020. We had to shut down our work room for about three months, but we were still able to keep our online store going. So we had a message saying, we'll honor these orders, and we were able to open back up in May 2020. And our lead time at the time was like, 12 to 14 weeks. And everyone whose orders were in the queue, they got fulfilled. And ever since then, it's just kind of spiraled into bigger and bigger sales each month.

Yeah. So one of the things that I'm really interested to talk about here is, like, solving your own problem as a founder. And I think that, like, developing those first. Getting those first couple orders has to be, like, really exciting, especially when, you know you've got some expertise in the area, you've got kind of client list. But then when you start to see the first orders come in that are, like, not through your own workflow, that. That's got to be a really exciting moment. Right. So why don't you walk me through what was.

Was, like, everything fully functional. Were there any challenges? What was it like, started getting those first couple orders? Who were they? Were they people that you knew or were they, like, totally random? Like, just walk me through the first sort of, you know, signs attraction that.

You were like, were really. I mean, it's so funny looking back now. Like, you know, I think our first month, like, don't quote me on this, but I think it was, like, a $10,000 month. And we, like, couldn't believe it. Like, we were so shocked. We were so thrilled. And being in Los Angeles, yes, a lot of those orders were, like, here in la, and we'd go and help the people measure, but our goal was those passive orders. Like, we built the website so that it was.

Anyone who's never even dealt with window treatment could go onto everhem.com and start building their custom shade and put it in their cart and purchase it within, like, minutes. And when we got the first, like, passive orders, I was like, I want. I was like, I'm so. I'm so founded in customer service. I didn't mention this, but before I was in interior design, I worked in hospitality because that's what I thought I wanted to work in hospitality. And then I quickly realized, no, I want to, like, design the hotel. But my. My foundation of working in hospitality was, like, working with people and understanding the value of offering great customer service.

So in the beginning, we had some passive sales, but there was some communication because of, like, we didn't have automated shipping quite yet, so we would still have to email customers. And when I loved, I was like, oh, I'm the founder of Everhem and your order's about to ship and I think people are like, whoa, the founder's emailing me. And it's like back then we just like didn't have things all, you know, automated on Klaviyo or whatever it was. So it was really great to be so like on the ground with the customers and like on the flip side, I know companies don't want to deal with customer service issues, but I always feel like it's an opportunity to really wow a customer. So whenever there was a problem, and often there can be with window treatment, it's a custom product. People can measure wrong, we could make things at the wrong size. Human error does happen, but it's how the company handles those problems that really make or break your customer service department. So I was customer service in the beginning and my husband was too.

And you know, any problem, we don't know what the problems are going to be. But any problem that came our way, we're not here to be like, sorry, you purchased, there's nothing we can do about it. It's a custom. Like no, like we're going to work with you. If some of you arrive damage. It's not supposed to arrive Damage. So we will replace it and you know, bear with us. We have to remake it.

It's a made to order item. You will have to wait like couple of weeks to get that back. Like obviously apologize. But being able to like work so closely with the first with the customers in the beginning of our business allowed my husband and I to like build our customer service department to what it is today. We feel so lucky that like the reviews on we, we use trustpilot for our reviews. They are so wonderful. I just like going through and reading them because I'm just like proud of my CX team because like I built the TX team, I don't manage it anymore. I have wonderful people doing it for me.

But it's still founded in our values and we are exceptional. Customer service is always going to be one of our number one values. And it's. I don't know if it's because of my background in hospitality, but like I feel like it's so important and essentially easy to provide. As long as you believe in your product, you're making a product that is lasting quality. And it's the type of thing where like it will leave a good taste in somebody's mouth and they will spread the word about your company, they will come back and purchase like we are not a replenishable good, you know, Window treatment, you're going to buy for your home once and you're not going to buy again until maybe you're renovating or you're moving. So we need people who purchase from us to spread the word. And that starts with customer service.

Yeah, I think that is right on the mark. Super interesting how every category, every product category is a little bit different, right? You've got, you know, fast moving, perishable goods that you know are things that you might buy several times. But it's like, it's super inexpensive to purchase and it's something that's repeated. Whereas in your case it's a super expensive purchase. It's, you know, maybe someone will come to you if they're doing multiple houses or something like that, but you're depending on that person to refer other people if they have a good experience. And that can be a massive lead gen tool for you. So my next, my next question is, you know, just like we're saying every business is a little bit different, I'd love if you could kind of characterize the main problems that you're trying to solve and like what your solution offers. So like if I have a home, right, and I'm trying to do window treatments, like talk to me about like, what are all the things that you were able to effectively solve for and scale up using the website that you would typically have to do manually, like how does the site and your brand ever have like solve that problem?

So we're essentially like a one stop shop. You can get everything in regards to window treatment@everhem.com a lot of places might like have the soft goods side like the drapery, but they don't sell the hardware. So you have to like piecemeal it together. And like when you do that because you have to, because you're at a store that doesn't offer both or you do that to cut cost. Let's say you're like, okay, I'm going to buy the Everham drapery here, which we do offer, just drapery only, but then you have to go get the hardware somewhere else. You think you're saving money, but then like the pleat style does, the pins on the back of the pleats don't match up with the number of rings you got. So we wanted to be like the one stop shop where you can get everything at our store. And if you have any questions or need customizations beyond what we offer, like, we're here to help you.

And measuring is a very scary process for a lot of people. Half of Our business is interior designers, and half of our business is the regular consumer. So when we created our customization tool online that walks you through step by step on how to measure, we had the regular consumer in mind because we wanted to be like, someone who knew nothing about window treatment could pop on. And I actually said to Adam, I go, if our moms can pop on while they're not millennials, but if our moms can do it and get through the website and order shades, then we've done it right, because, like, the user experience is so important and the measuring aspect can be complicated and confusing. So we've really tried to make these got thorough guides that walk you through it so you feel confident. And the other thing that we have offered since the beginning, even before, you know, Zoom and Google Meet Video Call has become so popular, is free virtual consultations. So you can pop on a camera with a CX expert on our team and, like, show us your window, and we can help you measure right there or email us. You know, we're just available because we understand it's complicated.

So the guides are so thorough. They're really like, shouldn't be a mistake. And once you have your measurements, you add it. You add everything into the cart and you're picking your specifications. In the world of window treatment, there are, like, hundreds of possibilities for pleat styles, linings, functionality, how to open and close the stage, fabrics. So a big value, core value at Everhem is curation. So that means taking out the bad options. Like, there are so many options, but we don't need those options.

Like, there are just a handful of good options that you can kind of like plug and play and mix and match to get exactly what you need. So it's a combination of figuring out from a function point of view, like, okay, am I. Is this for a bedroom? Do I want blackout lining? Do I need privacy lining? And then from a design point of view, okay, well, which fabric is best in this space? Like my white walls, Do I want white fabric or do I want an off white? And so to that point, we have now we launched, I think, with, like, 25 fabrics. We've changed them out a little bit. We've gotten better fabrics, we've changed colorways, but we have around 25 fabrics only, which keeps it less complicated for the consumer. Now for our designers, which is a huge part of our business, we have a bigger trade program where we allow some more customization. We allow designers to provide their own fabric, which designers love, because they like to, you know, make it more unique to their design. So we really tried through like the lens of both of our consumers, the regular end consumer and the trade community to like look out for all the issues that might come up.

You know, little things like I'm so when I was a designer I was so concerned about like what's the pulling mechanism? Not only what is the pulling mechanism to open up the shades, but what color is that cord? Like I did not like the white basic cord. I thought it looked less expensive. It just didn't flow with the designs of anything I did. So at Everhem we do like an, you know, the beaded chain that's typically white or silver, we do an oil rubbed bronze chain. So it's these little details that are always backed in design that like help us curate the right options for the customer and do everything like so they don't have to think about it. That's ultimate goal.

Yeah. And I'd love to kind of double click on what you just talked about, about how you've almost got two sides of the business. You've got a consumer friendly version where anyone who's working on, you know, their own home can come in, make an easy order online and be good to go. But then you also cater to interior designers. So what is, what does it look like in terms of like running and serving both sides of those business? Does it, you know, how do. Why don't you just break it out for me how it works. So you've basically fully automated the, the consumer side of things and then what from an operating perspective? Like what does it look like to be able to, you know, work with all of your, you know. Yeah.

Trade partners.

What we keep in mind is that like anyone coming to Everhand like needs to cover their windows. So like everyone has a common goal. It's like how you get there looks different if you're a designer or regular end consumer. So the regular end consumers are very passive. Everything's online. Or you can do a virtual or we're like a click away. Reached by email. The designers are dealing with homes on larger scales.

Like that's the biggest difference. Like most of the time, not the whole time. Like we're dealing with like 10 plus windows. So telling a designer to go and measure those windows themselves, they don't want to do that one. They don't want the liability. They're, you know, we are such a, you know, we're a higher priced item or a considered purchase. They're expecting like essentially the white glove service when you join the trade program. And that's what we're trying to offer.

And I also, you know, I love, we promote the fact that I'm founded the company and an interior designer founded the company because I think interior designers are like, oh, she speaks our language. They understand like, what position we're in because nothing felt worse than when you're working with a furniture brand or a home decor brand that dropped the ball and then you were the one that had to like, be the messenger to your client that's paying you. So I just want to be the, like, go to vendor for interior designers where they know, like, nothing will go wrong. Like we are, you know, making product that's going to fit all the windows and they're going to have a happy client at the end of the day. So we treat the clients the same because we really want that for everybody. But I think because we speak the designer language, they appreciate that. We manage expectations, though. Like, there's people that come to us, designer or not.

They're like, we want this in three weeks. And we're like, that's, that's virtually impossible. We're a made to order company. We don't want to be sewing things super duper fast because. Or gluing things which people do out there because that's not a quality product. So I think it's about communicating to the trade community and the regular consumer like, this is the, we call it, we call it the ever home way. Like, this is the ever home way. You will be so happy with the experience at the end of it.

We promise you. And designers, another big thing which has been a hurdle with the trade is the fact that they don't want to measure themselves, so they want someone to come out and measure. And we service customers throughout the country, but we are based in Los Angeles and so we make everything here. Currently we make all of our soft curds here in la and then we have a new hardware vendor that's in Atlanta. And the network of people that are out there to measure has been a hurdle for us. It's basically finding trained window treatment installers that we can vet and send out on our behalf. And we have been able to do that in the major cities. It's the smaller cities where it's really hard to find those people.

But we are like, every year we're like, have a goal, okay, now we see we're getting a lot more orders in Boston, so let's focus on Boston and vet those installers so that we have those people in our back pocket when we're asked and installing Window treatment is, it's like, it's a special trade. So it's one of those trades where you really need measuring. Can pretty much be anybody who's good with the tape measure and fractions. But the installation part, which everybody needs from a regular end consumer and an interior designer who has clients they, they know they need like trained installers. We do give thorough guides on installing yourself. And you 100% can as a regular consumer, if you know how to use a drill and you have two people and a ladder, like I've done it, I learned to install. But when you're dealing with like multimillion dollar homes, I understand they expect an installer to come and do it professionally. And lucky enough, we have some great installers and all of California, New York, Florida, Texas, like our major markets.

But it's about growing to the other smaller markets. That's been a bit of a hurdle and continues to be one of our main focuses.

And how do you think about that? Because I think that's such an important sort of concept. It's like as you're growing a business, you can't really do everything. And sometimes you almost have to know like which buyers to let burn and where to focus in terms of prioritization. Because like you're saying if your major markets are New York, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and you're able to get, you know, 80% of your order volume there, it sucks if someone is in a random county. But for you guys to be able to onboard the right person train and then they don't even have like the kind of deal flow coming in, it's just kind of a tough proposition. So how do you manage those expectations from like a strategy point of view? Do you monitor where you're getting requests? Do you kind of like evaluate, you know, where you might go next and maybe what cities take priority? Or how do you think about like. Yeah, I mean that on scaling it.

Up, we ship to any, any city. We can ship anywhere. It's that installer aspect that is a bit more difficult. We honestly have been starting to fly our trusted installers out to these projects, but. And we'll offer it to anybody. If someone in Montana reaches out to us and says like, I have four Windows and I need an installer, like we can get you a quote, but at the end of the day it's not going to be, they're not going to want to pay for it because it's not worth the money to fly someone to Montana for four Windows. But if it's, you know, a Big fancy vacation home that's got 40 windows. That client's going to do it because they want, you know, the white club service.

So it's honestly just about managing the expectation and being like, transparent. Like, here's the lay of the land, here are your options, and here is what we can facilitate, facilitate the process with, like, with the installer network. We don't want to send product and be like, good luck, like, we're not done. We need to make sure the product gets installed and we're here to facilitate that any way we can. But if we don't have an installer, we're, we're very honest. We're like, hey, like, we can fly someone from tech Dallas to Montana, but it's probably not cost effective. If you have a contractor on the job, like, they can fully do it. Like, contractors can do it.

And typically a lot of contractors are willing to do it, especially if they're like, handling the job from A to Z. So it's the type of thing where you're, you're just ha. You're not like a robot on the, you know, on everhem.com getting like, did this answer your question? Like, you're talking to real people and like, there can be frustrating moments. So we want to, you know, make sure that like, we are not adding to the frustration and rather like easing the frustration.

So we are really excited to announce that DTC Pod is officially part of the HubSpot Podcast Network. The HubSpot Podcast Network is the audio destination for business professionals and we're really excited about being part of the network because we're going to be able to keep growing the show, bringing you guys amazing guests and obviously helping you guys learn from the best founders, marketers and builders of the most successful consumer brands. So anyway, keep listening to DTC Pod and more shows like us on the HubSpot Podcast Network@HubSpot.com Podcast Network. Yeah, no, that, that makes a bunch of sense. And the other thing I'd love to talk about is just in terms of like market landscaping and everything. Could you talk about, why don't you talk about like, what some of the options are? Right? Like, I know, for example, there's like the Shade Store, which is like popped up and they're kind of everywhere and they're kind of like a retail meets D2C solution. I know you've got like local providers in all these different locations that maybe don't have like the same D2C presence that you guys have done, but will come in and like, you're saying they're doing the whole custom sort of job where they have to come in, they measure, then they go back, they get the shades and they come and they install them. Because these are, you know, more significant projects that like, you know, homeowners are sort of taking on.

So if you just had to, like, think about that landscape, where do you see your guys fitting in? Do you see it for like, the person who knows what they want, who can browse, have a great experience and be able to know they're getting a great product and install, you know, that way? Or is there another way you would break down the kind of the competitive sort of landscape?

Yeah, I think, like, the way we like to think about it internally is like, where. Where is our blue O? Like, we understand that we are getting into an. We are in an industry that's been around for ages. And as you mentioned, the shade store is like, they're like the shark. Like, we're not trying to be the shade store. Rather, we want to capture the customers that have either have been frustrated with the process and are looking for, like, a better way to do it, and we are just improving all of the ways. So we are improving on product, we are improving on shipping, we are improving on web experience, we are improving on customer experience. And it seems like this industry is sort of like stuck where there is like a really blue.

There's a really big area for us because it is stuck in this, like, you know, local work room where the person's hard to reach, but their craftsmanship's amazing. So it's like people are like, hanging on to that string. Or you have the mom and pops that have been very successful throughout the United States. And I think the problem with those mom and pops is they only can take on. They can only scale so much because they have smaller work rooms and smaller, you know, you know, workforce. And then you have the big dogs, like a shade store or, you know, even more commercial than that, like three day blinds and budget blinds. And they, you know, manufacture at a rate that is much bigger than ours and faster. And I really love that we have the mix of kind of both.

Like we, we are, you know, founded, like, as a founder, I hope I am involved in this company for years and years and years to come because I wanted to feel like you're working with an interior designer that does window treatment. Not ever feel like I'm going to like this big commercial brand or I'm dealing with someone who doesn't know how to handle customer service. So it's like that sweet spot where we're kind of in between the market landscape right now. And there's definitely other brands out there that have popped up that like, like look cool and probably have good offerings, but they, they're like a little like, you're like, where is this made? Who is there? Is there a soul behind this? And like, we never want to be that. Like, we want this to feel personal. We, it's so personal because we're doing people's homes. You know, I, you know, my passion in life is homes and I really believe that like the space that around you and how where you go to bed at night, where you wake up in the morning, really impacts your every day. And that is why I got into interior design in the first place.

So knowing that I am like just a fraction of interior design, which is window treatment, however able to like be at the homes of hundreds and thousands of people is really cool to me because the space that you design for you and your family is really, really important and very personal. So it's nice to know that like people are coming to Everham because they're like, want that, you know, piece of the brand that is going to be able to complete their space. And it's, it's interesting because we sometimes, my husband is like, why did we get into this extremely complicated business? Like, he's like, you couldn't have picked anything else, anything else. But it's like, well, somebody has to tackle it. Like, that's why there's not like, you know, it's not like the match, you know, like the mattress companies out there, so many mattress companies and they're all kind of iterations of each other, but there's not so many window treatment companies out there. Like, it's not, it's not a saturated business because it's very complicated. And the other aspect of it is the sewing and making of the product is so important that you don't cut corners or try to cut costs there because it will not last. The quality of the product is so important and people often ask, like, are you going to, you know, do in stock panels or make it cheaper somehow? And it's like if you make it cheaper, you're going to be replacing it quicker.

So I think the answer will be no because we want to focus on longer lasting products right now.

Yeah, I think that's also really important, what you just mentioned about one product quality, but also like knowing where you sit in the market, knowing that you guys want to basically have the feeling of like, we're working with a scalable interior designer as opposed to, like, we are, you know, just this like, massive thing where you don't have the customization options and you're not building out something that's like, really personal to the homeowner. So. And then the other thing that you mentioned is just like the complexity. Right. Like a mattress. Even though mattresses are definitely tricky from a, from a supply chain point of view, you know, there, there's a couple limited products. You, you know, they come in a king size, a queen size twin. It's like very, you know, the form factor is very much established where like you were saying in, in the, the home, in the window treatments category, you've got so many different types of fabrics.

You're dealing with every different, every project has a different number of windows. They're all different sizes. Yeah. You know, they might want different accessories with those and they want it to all be custom. So it makes for a trickier sort of, you know, supply chain, if you will. And that leads me into some of the product stuff that you were just mentioning. From a supply chain point of view, from a, like, manufacturing point of view, how do you think about it? Because you were saying you have 25 different sort of fabrics and that you work with on your site. But like, as you sort of scale up, like, what is your, you know, what is your thought process? How do you not overwhelm the customer while making sure that they have what they need for their home? Like, how do you think about that?

So we look to the design community to kind of forecast the trends because they are up on what, what the consumer wants or will want. Because the con. The designers really understand trends before the rest of the mass population sees it at, like a big box store. So how we do that is we look to requests from interior designers. So when we started our business, you know, I had drapery and shades. In the first two years, I got probably like 20 to 30 requests from designers for cafe curtains. So those are like those little baby curtains on a little baby rod. And I was like, oh, people want these.

So we introduced cafe curtains, I think in 2022, I believe 2022 or 2023. So we didn't come out the door with it. It was based on requests. And often it's from interior designers or, you know, people maybe sending a DM on Instagram or emailing, being like, oh, do you sell cafe crews? So it's really listening to our design community and our customers about what they want and also being able to, like, understand when we should say no. I mean, there's a difference of what we offer. Sometimes designers ask us for everything under the sun and I have to like, at a point say, like, no, we can't do that. And we can't do that because it's not our expertise. Like, I want to only offer things that I know we can execute well and they'll, you know, I think they appreciate our honesty and will then go to another brand or another window treatment company that can do that.

So, you know, in the beginning we weren't offering roller shades to the trade. Now more recently, we have understand the landscape of roller shades and we're testing it on the trade community, which will probably mean it will land on everhem.com one day. You know, we like to kind of make sure we figure things out and what works and what doesn't work before. We just like, say like, okay, we're going to offer this one day. And in regards to fabrics, you know, we really listen, we really look at trends. This year we launched a new 100% linen line that was like moodier, darker fabrics. And in the interior design world, we are, everything's leaning more browns. Like, everything before was like white kitchens, black hardware, like fresh.

Now things are kind of going more to like the darker wood kitchens and darker colors. So we introduced fabrics to complement what we see coming up in the design world.

That makes a bunch of sense. My follow up question to that was going to be as it pertains to supply chain, right? Like when you're shipping some, like, what are you shipping? What are you shipping? The rods, are you shipping? The curtains are these big boxes. Like, what does it take to like, once someone puts in an order, from a logistics point of view, how does your business work?

So we, if you order, let's say drapery, you're going to get hardware from one fulfillment center. Because our hardware workroom is in one location and our soft goods work room is in another. Everything is packaged very carefully because rods, you know, are our metal rods. We can't, you know, the shipping companies do whatever they do with packages. So we need to make sure everything is packaged really nicely. And sometimes people get the boxes of like shades and drapery and they're like, they'll email and be like, we don't think everything's in here because it's so compact and nice. And that's because you can really stack things nicely once you know what you're doing with packaging. And we're like, no, trust me, everything's in there.

And then they open they're like, wow, there are ten shades in here. Couldn't believe it. Because the boxes are certain sizes, we really know the ins and outs of packaging. Our first vendor, hardware vendor, was here in Los Angeles. They did not pack and ship. So my husband and I did it for, I think, a year out of our garage, which was insane to do. But I feel like it's one of those stories of like a startup where you're just like, doing everything yourself. But we were able to really learn, like, what works and what doesn't work.

And it's so important to know, like, we wanted it to, like, look really cool and have this, like, opening ceremony experience. But, like, at the end of the day, the most important thing is that the package is secure. So we kind of learned like, okay, let's stop caring so much about, like, what the box looks like and throw some really cool, like, ever him tape on it. And then like, the customer is going to open it up and have that, like, amazing moment once the product is hung. But with everything, like, we send everything, we send, like, all the tool, all the, like, screws needed and the anchors that you need. Really all you need as a customer is a drill and the proper, like, drill bits. And we explain all of that information in our guide.

Perfect. And as we kind of wrap up here, Haley, the last question I have is, what do you guys have? What are you focused on as you continue to grow the company for the next year or so? Right? Like, what's on the roadmap? Is it, you know, doubling down on trade partners? Is it doubling down on the consumer thing, offering more functionality? Like, where do you see the biggest opportunity to grow over the next year?

So we have really seen a lot of success in our, like, organic partnerships. From the beginning of launching Everem, we have had, like, people DM us, like influencers and designers who want to work with us. So we have kind of gone like, on this roller coaster ride of like, what works for, like, our partnership, collaboration and affiliates. And what we want to focus in the future is building, like, authentic relationships with these partners. And the partners, I believe, should be founded in design and interior design, because if they are spreading the word about Everhem and you follow that interior design account, you trust that interior designer, then you're going to trust the company they're recommending. And, you know, just like, you know, the whole, you know, influencer affiliate world that we live in today, it's just going to look a little different because our cons, our product is such a considered price that people are not like, swiping up and buying it right there on their phone. So we really want to build these, like, authentic relationships with influencers, designers, and other brands that just feel harmonious with Everhem, to kind of build, like, build this full picture of what it feels like to have Everhem in your home. And we're really excited with the potential of collaborating with some designers to be able to bring their creative offerings that they envision in spaces to everhem.com so that's how we're going to grow.

Our product offering is really lean into these interior designers to help them shape our product offerings.

Yeah, I think that's really cool. That's something I've seen a couple big, even bigger brands in the interior design space do where like, you know, a Crate and barrel or a CB2, for example, they'll bring in, you know, a famous designer to create a line for them. And I think the opportunities are great because not only do you already have the trust of an audience built in, but, like, you're actually able to help that creator create something that's, like, really meaningful for them and really exciting and something that can go out into the world. So I think that's. That's very exciting. As a growth channel, excited to see that sort of come to life. And for our listeners who are tuning in, where can we connect with you? Where can we learn more about Everhem? Why don't you shout out your socials?

Okay, so our website is everhem.come v e r h e m dot com. Our Instagram is Verhem and if you message chat, it goes to a real person. So reach out and we're here to help you in any way with your window treatment.

Sweet. Thanks so much, Hayley.

Thank you, Blaine. Nice to chat.

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