Nadine Lerner is an amazing woman with a fascinating life story who has started her own little design business from beautiful Montreal, Canada. She was kind enough to share some of triumphs, fears and thoughts about the design industry in general and her business in particular with us in the below interview. If you’d like to see more of Nadine’s items from Bluedogz Design make sure to check out her site. Enjoy!
You’ve done so many interesting things. so why don’t we start there with the questions…
How did you go from being a professional dancer to an artist? One is so physical and the other so visual. What was your “ah ha” moment when you decided to actually go into business?
For starters, I always knew that I wanted to be my own boss. So it was just a matter of time. In terms of the physical/visual, that’s an interesting question. I do spend a whole lot more time in a chair than I do moving now, however, although ballet is incredibly physical it is also incredibly visual, it is ALL about lines and not at all about how it feels, but entirely about what it looks like. I was so damned tired of myself at the time I retired. So tired of looking at myself in a mirror, working on my lines, my body, me!, tired of striving for perfection in the most anti gravity way ever! and being judged primarily by male artistic directors who’s tastes changed from one day to the next. Don’t get me wrong, I loved being a dancer, and I had amazing opportunities to work with some of the most talented choreographers and dancers on the planet Earth, but it was enough, I was SO ready for a change. After I stopped dancing, I stayed on in Switzerland, where I had been living for many years and attended university there. I didn’t take one business course, go figure. I studied psychology and sociology. But once university was over, I was absolutely jonesing for art again…NOT dance, but art. You see, you can’t spend your entire life in the world’s most beautiful theaters, working with the world’s most talented designers and craftspeople and not have that rub off on you…combined with the fact that I always drew, made stuff and generally loved to create cool things. I see this pattern in my life all the time, I know that whenever I am getting over a period of business-y work, or a trade show or during my studies just exam time, I would always need my dose of making art. I would paint a piece of furniture, or sew something or need to paint my apartment…it’s always been that way for me. BlueDogz design started exactly this way, life was in flux, I had just finished my BA and I was making stuff…people noticed and boom, within a few months, stores were asking to buy. It really happened that quickly.
Once your business began to grow beyond the scope of what you could manufacture yourself, you outsourced to China. Tell me about that… how did you find a production house? Did you actually go there yourself? I guess I’m imagining you in this rural village trying to communicate to people who only speak Szechwan.
This was a big jump for my business. I had been painting every piece myself and sourcing all the raw materials and blanks locally. Although it was great in terms of not having to carry much inventory or a huge financial outlay, I was living in a basement painting stuff and it became a little dull. My first venture with overseas manufacturing was a nightmare, yes, you have probably heard one of those stories where the container arrives and all the pieces look like crap?, or, not only crap, but the factory had wrapped them when the paint had not dried and they were a total mess!, that was my first experience. I had net my contact through trade shows and it was shown to me that if I could have my line manufactured for a lot less time/money and effort, I could sell to that many more stores and actually really start to make a living at this…it made sense. The only hitch was that the stuff looked horrible. I started over again. This was a HUGE lesson for me. I learned that I was not the product or the manufacturing and that I wasn’t going to be able to control it all forever, if I really wanted to go this route. I called clients, I told them the order came in looking like crap and that I just couldn’t ship it. That simple. I would say that 95% of my clients told me not to worry, they would order again when things were settled down and I had my manufacturing where I wanted it. They actually thanked me for not shipping the crap, saying that many companies simple do!
I redesigned the whole line, I called another contact that I had, and I tried again. This time it worked. I work with wonderful people who understand my product and what I am designing. What a difference! They have treated me like family, and I will be forever indebted to them.
Here’s the shocker…I still haven’t been to visit/check.
I know for a fact that there are no children working where my goods are made, and that the workers are treated properly and paid well. However, with the wonders of the internet and all things digital, there really hasn’t been a need for me to go there. Sorry to ruin the romantic picture!
What advice would you give to people who were interested in starting their own design business?
Take it slowly, know what it is you want to do/make/sell/service…and be prepared to surf! Here’s , my surf story:
I had this amazing professor at university, Dr. Backus. He was a British man with an amazing sense of humour and so smart it was scary. We were talking one day and he said, Nadine, you just have to be able to surf and you will always get through life’s ups and downs…Surf? I asked. (He was kind of old-ish and didn’t look much like a surfer…REALLY NOT actually)…He said- listen, you can have money, you can lose it, you can have fame you can lose it, but if you can surf you will always come up and float…some days you’ll fall all over the place, others will be choppy and windy, some will be amazing and you’ll ride…but whatever will come your way, just surf it, and you will always have security and balance (and mostly, the ability to adapt and change with the conditions!)…I never forgot that, and I so believe it…I’d have to say that’s one of the best things I learned at university!
I am totally surfing right now in my life…a 22 month old, a very hard 2 yrs in my industry, ready for a change, an adaptation but not 100% there yet…total surf trip…but as I get older, and get more “surfing experience” I have to say, I am learning to really enjoy just waiting for the next set to come in (surf lingo!) 
Let’s say I’m the spoon in your coffee and can be in the room with you when you go through your design process. What would I see? Where does your inspiration come from? Take me through it start to finish?
Oh, I like that “spoon in your coffee” very cute! I am a magazine junky, always have been and get the craziest inspiration through flipping through magazines…funny thing, is that it’s never from a photo or design, but from a feeling I get when I am looking at color, shape or layout. One thing leads to another to another to another…and when I look at the same “inspiration” photo/page at another time, I often go right back to the original idea or thought that I had the first time…does that make sense?
I recently looked at an old file I had of things I loved (mostly interiors)…from around 10-15 yrs ago…As I looked through, I knew exactly why I ripped the page out, or what I liked about it the first time…I LOVE that!
Once I have an idea, I usually go right to display (in my head)…I know, it’s a big jump, but that’s where I go in terms of product design. What will this idea look like in a shop, how will it make an impact, how can I create a space for it…If you look at my line now, most pieces are sold with in-store display boxes that I have designed and hold several pieces. Honestly, that is totally my theater background, I create sets or backdrops for my products…
I just can’t not do it!…I like to create little stories, whether it’s a little box or a headboard for my loft, I spend alot of time thinking about a piece before I ever start to make it. I use my mind like a slide show and I play around with color and pattern in my head until I am getting close…then I will start to play with it on paper or on my computer. I LOVE to take simple things and make them special, utilitarian pieces and elevate them.
What or who has most inspired you in your life and your art?
Wow, that’s a great question! I have been touched and awed by so many of the artists that I have worked with and near, I have been so lucky. I also have parents who have been incredibly supportive of the decisions that I have made, while not all being the most usual or everyday of decisions. Today I have this gift of having this amazing tiny little girl in my life who makes me want to always do what’s right and be better than I was just yesterday.
You’re sitting in Montreal, Canada and your products are in California (where they’re shipped from). How does that work? What kind of challenges does that present and how do you overcome them?
I move around a lot, and I am in the USA most of the time…however, I am not in California most of the time, so yes, I am not near my inventory.
When I got my manufacturing in place and the quality where I needed it, I was given the name of a warehouse out in California that came highly recommended. I very wise and kind man, Gilles Amyot (who has since sadly passed, and who’s son in an amazing artist, Patrick Amyot) suggested that I make the leap. He said, Nadine- you are never going to get out from under the boxes and packing…do it!. I did it. It was one of the best decisions I ever made for my business.
R&L A warehouse stocks my inventory (so when a container comes in from Asia, it is delivered right to them). Here’s what happens. I receive an order from a retail store or end user. I enter it into my system, an email is sent to R&L Warehouse and they pick the order out of inventory, pack it and ship it for me. All orders usually ship within 48 hrs max. It’s not a huge warehouse, but they do this kind of work for all kinds of businesses and it’s small enough that you can call and talk to a human and get the answers that you need if a problem arises…and it will.
Honestly, the benefits far outweigh any challenges the geography might cause. Plus, California is the first coast that my containers hit coming from China, so that really speeds up transit, which is so so important.
Where do you see Bluedogz Designs in 5 years? Do you plan on adding anything to your line?
Anne, this is where things start getting tricky. I wish I could tell you that I have only seen huge growth year after year and that the plans for expansion and world domination are aligning perfectly for 2012, but it has not been the case. As you know, in the past few years, the US economy has been rough…the gift industry has been hit hard, like most other industries and for a small company like myself, it has been a VERY rough ride. I am hanging on…just barely. It’s all a balancing act, you design new product, if buyers are not buying like crazy, or trade shows are quiet it’s hard to sell the volume that you need to manufacture overseas. If you manufacture domestically, you won’t have to outlay in terms of volume, but your costs will be that much higher, thus driving up your pricing. The past 2 years have been really hard and so it has put me into somewhat of a stalled state. Without enough capital to keep manufacturing new pieces, taking them to market and spending what it actually costs to sell what I need to sell, it has been really hard to keep creating new. Without new, how can you keep your clients? and keep selling?…No matter how much they love what BlueDogz Design sells, they need new. This past August in NYC, I actually had a few clients come up and hug me, they said- OH thank goodness you are still here Nadine…there are so many small companies that are gone now!, we were congratulating each other just for still being in business…crazy!
My dream right now would be to sell BlueDogz Design and to stay on and design for the company that would purchase it. I have so so so many ideas, product development and design is absolutely NOT a problem, capital is! and the need to have an established network to sell not just USA but worldwide. In 10 years it’s amazing to me how many stores/people have bought my products. I know it sounds rediculous, but every order is still a thrill to me and gives me such amazing satisfaction. I would love to see BlueDogz get into the right set of hands and do what it could do!
A fabulous giftware company, paper company, office supply company, tabletop company even ceramic or jewelry company that is looking for a niche to fill. I can see the company in my head, the products, the trade show booth and the types of buyers…but at this point, it will require more than I can manage myself. Know of any companies looking?
Now, to bring it back to my surfing story, I have started designing for other companies in the industry and absolutely love it! It’s amazing what fun it is to design and not have to manufacture, sell and ship! talk about traveling light!
If you could have invented anything from electricity to pampers, what do you most wish you had created?
Telephone…that would have made me so damn cool. I would sit at cafes all day and as people picked up their phones, I would whisper, “hey, I invented that you know!”…come on, that would be amazing!
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received and how have you implemented it into your daily (business) life?
Surf! see above story…and may I just say…these days it’s been like HAWAII around here!
Ok, I have to ask… how did you get into roller derby? And doesn’t it hurt when you get bashed into?
well, I am old enough to remember derby of the 70′s…about 6 yrs or so ago, A&E had a show called “Rollergirls”, it followed a group of women in Austin TX that were part of the whole resurgence of the game…I LOVED the show! and…actually knew how to roller skate. I would watch the show and say, when derby comes here, I am going out and playing! Well it came, and I went, and I play!…I am actually on my way out of the game right now…I injured my shoulder pretty badly last season and the time commitment is more than I can handle right now with a baby and my own business. I played for 4 years and also I helped train and coach to my team for several seasons, recently the fun factor was slowly starting to wane for me. My years in derby have been incredible, I have met amazing women and made friends that I am sure I will have for a lifetime. The whole journey was something I so needed and it delivered! …getting bashed into can hurt, yes,…and bashing into can be alot of fun too! but for a relatively petite person, it was so empowering to learn what I could really do with my body, impact wise, and on wheels!
It is the polar opposite of the perfectionistic ballet world and I really needed that, (but touches on some of the fabulousness!).
Nadine also has a gorgeous loft that I will be featuring in a post later on this week, so watch for that!
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Great interview! What beautiful designs!