{"id":453741,"date":"2019-05-10T16:47:51","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T20:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/?p=453741"},"modified":"2023-01-14T01:19:05","modified_gmt":"2023-01-14T06:19:05","slug":"meet-bend-goods-founder-qa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/research\/articles\/topics\/design\/meet-bend-goods-founder-qa\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Bend Goods: Founder Q+A"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Los Angeles based Bend Goods \u201cblending form & function with injections of fun & funkiness\u201d isn\u2019t just a good tagline\u2014it\u2019s a business plan. Bend Goods creates wire furniture inspired by mid-century modern shapes and designs but with a subtle originality that grows with closer examination. It\u2019s a collection that\u2019s fresh, colorful, and consistently delightful.<\/p>\n

Gaurav Nanda, the founder of Bend Goods, began his career as a sculptor for General Motors creating models of the interiors of cars for more than seven years. In 2010, he decided to make a change. He traded the auto industry and the Midwest for Los Angeles and the vision for Bend Goods. 360 recently sat down with Gaurav to hear about these beginnings and the rest of Bend Goods\u2019 story.<\/p>\n

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Discover, create and collaborate with ease.<\/h3>\n

Now it’s easier than ever for designers to bring their vision to life. Save time, collaborate effortlessly and place orders with a click.<\/p>\n

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360: How long ago did you start Bend Goods?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gaurav Nanda:<\/strong> I started the company about 10 years ago. Before that I grew up in the Detroit area and after college, I worked as a sculptor at General Motors for nearly seven years. I was sculpting the interiors and exteriors of vehicles in the design department. There came a time when it wasn\u2019t enough and I needed to branch out on my own. I already had a great interest in mid-century modern furniture\u2014specifically the wire Bertoia Chair from the 1950s that really started that whole type of furniture. I wanted to see if I could take that in a new and original direction. So, I quit my job and started designing chairs. I\u2019ve been doing it ever since.<\/p>\n

360: In the early years, how did you get people to notice Bend Goods?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GN:<\/strong> I launched the company in Los Angeles soon after I left General Motors. I\u2019d always wanted to move to the coast. Plus, it made sense for the furniture as an indoor\/outdoor product to be founded in that type of climate. It was just me in the beginning. I started off doing trade shows just to get the product in front of people. Then a few publications\u2014Design Sponge, Design Milk, Apartment Therapy, Elle Decor\u2014they were really interested in what I was doing. That catapulted the brand. This was before social media was really a thing, so getting those endorsements was important to getting the brand out there and allowing us to grow.<\/p>\n

360: How were you manufacturing your product at that point?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GN:<\/strong> In the beginning, I was designing on the computer and then having to find fabricators to make samples. Once I had those samples, it took nearly a year to find the right vendors who could manufacture the product at scale. It\u2019s very complicated and intricate. There\u2019s a lot of precise cutting and bending. Many of the wires are different shapes or lengths. Then each of those are curved at different radiuses. Everything is hand bent and hand welded. Now, we\u2019re able to create jigs to help make sure everything is the same.But it still remains very precise and time consuming. Each piece is still totally handmade and, at the same time, they\u2019ve been BIFMA tested to hold more than 400 pounds.<\/p>\n

360: How have you been able to grow the company over the years?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GN:<\/strong> I took a very slow approach. Our first collection was only five pieces and we made sure they were successful. We initially launched with those and then have slowly added products each year. As we\u2019ve added more products, we\u2019ve also been able to add more team members and so it\u2019s all felt very natural.<\/p>\n

I also think it\u2019s helped that we\u2019re so customer centric. For instance, we\u2019re able to carry a lot of stock for easy shipping. In this day-in-age, everyone wants things immediately after they place an order. We carry stock so if a restaurant needs 20 additional chairs at the last minute, we\u2019re able to provide that for them quickly. We have a standard line of colors but can also provide custom colors. We\u2019ve matched colors to logos, for example. All of our colored chairs are powder coated for indoor\/outdoor use. We also do metallic versions\u2013gold, copper, chrome\u2013we recommend those for indoor use. It\u2019s allowed us to be very customer focused and provide a product they remember and talk about.<\/p>\n

360: After 10 years, where are you finding inspiration for your designs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GN:<\/strong> Inspiration comes from everywhere and anywhere. We might see a product need in the market and evolve and develop it. It might come from looking at different materials. We\u2019ve been looking at adding wood, terrazzo tiles or retan leather to our designs. We have this chair we\u2019ve recently developed called the Wooden Wire Chair that we\u2019re really excited about. We\u2019ve only shown it to a few people but we\u2019ve gotten really positive feedback. So, various new materials we can incorporate with the metal we\u2019re currently using is definitely something that\u2019s inspiring us. Then, we\u2019re constantly finding inspiration in the world around us from architecture, travel and just things you see every day.<\/p>\n

360: What has you excited for the future of Bend Goods?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GN:<\/strong> We are very excited about this partnership with Steelcase. We\u2019re excited to continue to get our products in front of new people. I also think some of those mixed material designs we\u2019re working on are going to be successful. We\u2019ve gotten some really good reactions to that.<\/p>\n

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EXPLORE BEND GOODS<\/h3>\n

Bend Goods\u2019 wire furniture is inspired by mid-century modern shapes and designs with a subtle originality that grows with closer examination.<\/p>\n

GET STARTED<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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