Importance Of Effective Marketing Strategies For A Wood Marketing Company
Steve Larosiliere
April 24, 2024
“I think that’s the commonality between woodworkers. Not everything goes right, so you can’t beat yourself up about it, and we roll with the punches.”
Welcome back to Building a Furniture Brand with Ethan Abramson, the show that talks about the business behind the furniture business. In today’s episode, Ethan sits down with Darryl Dunn, the owner of the San Antonio, Texas-based furniture company Dunnswood.
Darryl has been running his own successful company since 2014, and the last few years, in particular, have shown him hitting his stride as he has a packed client list, new employees, and an ever-growing press package. Throughout it all, Darryl has stuck to his own vision, his own set of rules, and his own artistic sensibilities, which have paid off for him throughout the years.
Darryl’s father was an officer in the Air Force when he was growing up and he describes himself as a military brat. He notes that he never did any woodworking when he was younger, and he didn’t attend school for woodworking either, so when he finally got to work with wood for the first time it was an eye opener for him.
Around seven years ago, Darryl’s best friend Mike (a carpenter by trade) told him that they should try something fun, and build a bed. Though it was a relatively simple project, it blew Darryl’s mind, and it provided the spark that really got him curious about woodworking. A few months later, he bought a circular saw and drove around looking for shipping pallets to bring home to start seeing what he could do.
From the moment he started to today, Darryl has never used anything other than reclaimed wood. He notes that he loves the process of finding wood, and is always amazed by the quality lumber that people just throw away. He believes that his work is functional art. He is not going out to build a chair, he’s making art that will function as a chair, and that sense of imagination is what keeps him passionate day in and day out.
“Built into that I have a list of rules that I go by. I have to use my Dunswood rulebook, we’ll call it that. I’m just making that up, but I have to use what I find. Every piece that I make has to be different which is kind of built-in, because I use what I find. And so my inventory is always changing. The wood I have is always changing, which translates to, everything that I make is not the same. Could be a crutch, could be just the way I operate. But I like that challenge.”
While this unique materials mentality keeps things fresh, creative, and exciting for Darryl, Ethan notes that it can be challenging when working with clients, because they don’t have the understanding of the process or the limitations involved with that kind of work. Darryl explains that rule number one in his dealings with customers is that he cannot make the same item again. If a customer sees it on his website and wants one “just like it” it’s not possible.
Above all, Darryl believes in being upfront and honest with customers and people in general no matter what. He adds that while he as a maker is not for every client, if they have come to him they’ve seen his work and he explains that he doesn’t believe that any customer should have the same thing as another. He wants to make his projects special for each and every person, and so far he hasn’t had a situation come up where it hasn’t worked out.
“Having to try to find consistent amounts of the same wood is a challenge in itself. San Antonio is a big city, and I have routes all over town where I can find what I need. I just did some barn doors for a repeat client, a total of six barn doors. The two large ones were 80 inches by 100 inches, so I know where I have to go to get that length.
With tempered glass, I found some recycled sliding doors for an apartment. These are massive doors. So I knew, okay, I need to go to this particular industrial park where I’m going to find the length that I need. And so it’s kind of like a squirrel going out to get his nuts and then coming back to this little hole.”
There is a foundation to every business and every person working within the wood industry, and while every person takes a different path to get where they’re going, some things are universal. Like anyone with as many years of experience and success as Darryl has had, he has had good days and bad, but he cherishes the good days, learns from the bad, and he has some excellent advice to pass on to woodworkers and other people aspiring to get into the furniture industry.
Right away, Darryl explains that you are not going to be good with the beginning, and that’s okay. It’s perfectly fine to buy less expensive tools while you’re in the early stages of your business because as you hone your skills you can spend the extra money to buy the top-of-the-line stuff when the training wheels come off.
Darryl believes that if you want to start getting into woodworking you don’t have to spend a lot of money. You can if you want to, but you don’t have to. There’s a lot of wood sitting on burn piles or in dumpsters, and all it takes is some time, effort, and elbow grease to get your hands on it. He adds that when you go about it that way, it’s free, and if you mess it up there’s plenty more around so you can easily get your hands on more.
“It’s all about learning, and it’s all about experiences, and you take all of that, and eventually, you mold it into your business. After a while you develop your own personal style, your own personal niche, which, in my case, people have actually gravitated to, and so my clients are awesome, they give me the ability to be as free as I want.
Part of the joy that I get is trying to do my absolute best, and surprise them with it. I like that shock value. I like hearing, ‘Oh my god, I had no idea what you were gonna do. But I knew it was gonna be good!’ I feed off of that, that is such a high.”
Website: https://dunnswood.me
Instagram: @dunnswood
