- Tess Van Straaten Photography by Lia Crowe

Chris Rothery香蕉视频直播檚 passion for furniture and design dates back to when he was still in high school.

香蕉视频直播淚t might have started in shop class!香蕉视频直播� says the 45-year-old owner of , a high-end furniture store in Victoria and now Nanaimo, with a laugh. 香蕉视频直播淚 became interested in furniture in my late teens and I like doing something with my hands. I appreciate quality and I appreciate other people creating things that are beautiful and interesting and quality, so I香蕉视频直播檝e always wanted to be a part of that.香蕉视频直播�

After graduating from , Chris spent a few years making furniture for different companies before starting his own custom furniture business, making dining tables, chairs, free-standing cabinets and other pieces out of a little workshop in Rock Bay.

香蕉视频直播淚 then opened up a little gallery in Dragon Alley [where he was living at the time] and eventually, we moved out of there to a slightly larger place, and then another slightly larger place, and then another slightly larger place,香蕉视频直播� Chris explains. 香蕉视频直播淚 didn香蕉视频直播檛 have much business experience, so I was just kind of winging it, but with just a lot of passion and care and love for design and interiors.香蕉视频直播�

The next progression for Chris was to move more into a retail direction, after he found his passion for creating furniture waning.

香蕉视频直播淚 found that it was difficult to do it as a job and still love it,香蕉视频直播� he explains. 香蕉视频直播淚 was just trying to get by, and I felt very compromised making furniture. But I enjoy talking about furniture, and I enjoy interacting with people about it, so the retail aspect came from that.香蕉视频直播�

That store, Only Human Modern Furniture, would also teach Chris the toughest lesson of this entrepreneurial evolution. After a couple of hard years, he was forced to close the store in 2014.

香蕉视频直播淚 was in way over my head and I think I let my passion interest rule everything, when really I needed to balance that out with a successful business,香蕉视频直播� Chris admits, saying it was the biggest mistake of his career.

香蕉视频直播淭hat was a very painful mistake at the time and the failure was excruciating. But in retrospect, it香蕉视频直播檚 what got me to where I am now, which is a place where I feel comfortable, and I feel good and confident about what I香蕉视频直播檓 doing. All the things that I香蕉视频直播檝e been picking up were worth something and they got put back into a package that is Chester Fields.香蕉视频直播�

Chris also decided to partner with Ross Taylor and Amber Leask, who had a lot more business experience, when Chester Fields launched in Victoria more than nine years ago, offering modern, high-quality, and mostly Canadian-designed furniture and lightning.

香蕉视频直播淲e have a really unique offering in that what we sell here, with a couple of small exceptions, isn香蕉视频直播檛 sold anywhere else in town, and probably 80 per cent of what香蕉视频直播檚 in our showroom is designed by Canadians, which is a point of pride for me,香蕉视频直播� he says. 香蕉视频直播淲e香蕉视频直播檝e always been purveyors of things that are sort of on the cutting edge in terms of design.香蕉视频直播�

With people driving from all over Vancouver Island香蕉视频直播攆rom Campbell River and the Comox Valley to Port Alberni, Nanaimo and the Cowichan Valley香蕉视频直播攖o visit the Victoria store, Chester Fields opened the Nanaimo location in May, and Chris says the response from the Central Island market has been great.

香蕉视频直播淲e get a lot of people walking in and they say things like: 香蕉视频直播楩inally, there香蕉视频直播檚 something like this!香蕉视频直播� and 香蕉视频直播業香蕉视频直播檓 so glad you香蕉视频直播檙e here!香蕉视频直播� and 香蕉视频直播楴anaimo needs something like this!香蕉视频直播� So, it香蕉视频直播檚 been very positive. And then there香蕉视频直播檚 lots of people who are just seeing this kind of stuff for the first time.香蕉视频直播�

For Chris, who recently completed a Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Management at Royal Roads University, the biggest lesson in his small business career has been that you can香蕉视频直播檛 be everything to everyone.

香蕉视频直播淵ou have to kind of stick to what you香蕉视频直播檙e very good at and push that, and roll with it, and really go for it,香蕉视频直播� he advises. 香蕉视频直播淒efining what we are香蕉视频直播攁nd what we香蕉视频直播檙e bringing to the consumer香蕉视频直播攈as been really important, so that we aren香蕉视频直播檛 chasing something new all the time. We香蕉视频直播檙e doing what we香蕉视频直播檙e really good at.香蕉视频直播�

Chris says this all stems from the best advice he香蕉视频直播檚 ever been given, which is to really understand your customer香蕉视频直播檚 needs, and then be very good at satisfying that need.

香蕉视频直播淵ou really need to ask people what they want,香蕉视频直播� Chris says. 香蕉视频直播淒on香蕉视频直播檛 presume you know! Just because you think you have a good business idea, doesn香蕉视频直播檛 mean it will work. Ask and make sure, and you香蕉视频直播檒l probably find you might be wrong or you can tweak something and really hit it out of the park.香蕉视频直播�

Chris says he did that a lot before opening the Nanaimo store, joking that any chance he got to talk to someone moderately interested in modern furniture north of the Malahat turned into a mini market-research session.

香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 lots of research you can do without a budget and those answers are very valuable,香蕉视频直播� Chris explains. 香蕉视频直播淭hey can make you a success and save you a lot of pain.香蕉视频直播�

With constant challenges from online competitors and more manufacturers moving toward a direct-to-consumer model, knowing your market is more important than ever in such a competitive landscape. Chris says having a physical showroom where people can actually sit on and feel things also helps.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 a lot easier to buy a pair of shoes online than to buy a sofa,香蕉视频直播� he says with a laugh.

As for the career and successful business he香蕉视频直播檚 crafted after many design iterations?

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 been a bit of a long winding road to get to this point and my advice to other entrepreneurs is to expect that things won香蕉视频直播檛 be a straight line,香蕉视频直播� Chris says. 香蕉视频直播淏e comfortable with uncertainty but at the same time, don香蕉视频直播檛 be reckless.香蕉视频直播�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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