“With custom furniture, you want to push the boundaries a little bit [in terms] of pricing because it’s a valuable thing we’re all doing. It truly is and you should come from it [thinking] that it is worth it, [and] live in abundance. If you find yourself having to seek out the slightest bit of profit, you’re probably not pricing well enough or you have a bad money conversation going on in your head.”

 

That’s the voice of Mark Jupiter, owner of the Brooklyn New York based Furniture Company Mark Jupiter. Mark is a fourth generation craftsman, someone who literally has building in their bloodline.

 

He knew when he started his company that a love and legacy for building wasn’t enough to pay the bills. So Mark focused equally on the furniture and the business side of his company to make it what it is today.

 

Nestled in the heart of Brooklyn, Mark, and the 15 person team that makes up his shop are turning out custom work stronger than ever before. But let’s take a step back before the large shop, before the business success, even before the furniture started to where Mark first learned what a hard day’s work was really about.

 

The Origins of Mark Jupiter

Mark has been building his whole life ever since he was about three years old. Mark’s father was a contractor so he grew up learning to be handy. For a while Mark used sculpting as his medium and then he decided to become the fourth generation of New York city builders in his family.

 

Mark’s father did mostly interiors. His father before him was a house flipper out in the Rockaways. Then his father, Mark’s great grandfather, was a tinsmith that worked on some of the first copper roofs in the skyscrapers of the city.

 

That being said, Mark was the first to actually decide to build the whole house. He started his career as a custom home builder and survived the housing depression back in 2008. He had 50 employees at the time and recalled it to be quite dramatic to say the least.

 

Still, Mark got tired of making custom homes for people and wanted to get back to his art and craft things with his own hands again. Mark got married during the time he was starting to think of what he might want to do to get back to his passions, and his amazing wife said “You need to stop building houses and start building furniture because you’re really good at it.”

 

Mark listened to her and he took a leap. He stopped his one business and reinvented himself to start his wood business. He found an incredible shop in Dumbo, literally a half a block away from his home and everything really started to fall into place.

 

Design Inspiration

Mark is a big believer in storied materials because they add a great tale to what he’s making. As he says, it’s not just about what you’re making, but what it’s made of.

 

Ethan asks Mark why he decided to start a furniture company in one of the hardest cities in the world to run this kind of business, Mark has an excellent reply.

 

“Well, I think the longer you keep telling yourself that it’s hard, the longer it’s going to be hard. You know, I get it. Yeah, it’s hard. But in terms of the labor part of it, I live for hard work, I love it. There’s nothing that gets me up in the morning faster and stronger than knowing I have a hard day’s work ahead of me, and I’ve always been like that ever since I was a kid.

 

So if you call it hard, it’s going to be hard. But if it’s just all in a day’s work, which is the way I look at it, then they’re just obstacles you have to navigate around and not get too frustrated by them.

 

It’s a busting profession. But I love it, I truly do.”

 

-Mark Jupiter

 

The Back Office: Let’s Talk Business

Mark’s advice is to go into it knowing that it’s a business, and not just an art form. If it is something you want to make a living at, you need to think business. Mark started conceptualizing his business from the very beginning thinking about his costs, profit margins, clients and pieces.

 

The first thing Mark did was name his company, and a lot of people remember the name. However, Mark recalls that he went through a lot of stupid names before finding the right one, ultimately he chose his own name because he wanted people to know who to call.

 

Next he focused on his website, he wanted it to be all about the furniture. He also considered his ideal customer and knew they would want tear sheets, so he made a tear sheet for each piece. Mark also attributes his background in graphic design as being incredibly helpful for fulfilling immediate needs and not having to wait for freelancers.

 

Then it was all about knowing who his audience was, and making sure that the business was flexible. So if you look into Mark Jupiter, you’ll see a through line in terms of aesthetic, but he doesn’t have a line of furniture. He knows a lot of furniture makers that, in his opinion, make the mistake of thinking they have to create a line.

 

Mark says it’s not enough about your clients, and too much about you and what you think furniture should look like. So when a client walks into his showroom, or shop or gets in contact with him online, Mark will take a blank page approach to it all and just start discussing what kind of materials they like, what sort of forms they like and if they want something a little edgy, with a little touch of elegant industrialism, then they already get Mark’s vibe. The rest is just really great listening, which is also crucial. Mark will also give them a price, right off the bat.

 

Ethan agrees this is the most important conversation to have as quickly as possible. Mark gives some advice on how to avoid quote confusion and pushback and stresses the importance of open and direct communication with clients.

 

Next the two dive into a talk about pricing and Mark gives his standard calculation for pricing a piece. He notes that with this industry you have to push the boundaries a little on pricing because custom furniture making is a valuable service and it shouldn’t be undervalued.

 

“You know,[remember when] you’re scared to say a price because you think it might be too high or you might lose the client, you can always lower your price, but it’s really hard to raise your price.

 

So go in high and see what the reaction is. If you have to take it down a little bit, know what your floor is.”

 

-Mark Jupiter

 

Long Lead Time Troubles

Ethan asks what Mark’s approach is to long lead times on top of high quotes. Mark’s advice is to not beat around the bush, and not to be scared about it.

 

Being in this business, the business side of it is not for everybody. Unless you can commit to presenting yourself as a business, being buttoned down about it, and keeping your paperwork, writing all your proposals, being clear on what you’re delivering, timelines and material samples etc., then keep it as a hobby or invest in making it work.

 

What Mark has learned is, if he doesn’t like to do it, he’s probably going to screw it up. So he hires someone who can. As Mark grew his business he also grew his staff.

 

As for Mark’s Final Piece of Advice to The Wood Business Community?

“The secret to it is when you have 10 balls up in the air, and that’s not just your projects, but paperwork and delivery, scheduling and sampling and proposals, all these balls.

 

The secret is not to let any of them drop.

 

Can’t let the balls drop. Once the balls start dropping, they all start dropping. You’ll drive yourself nuts, and you won’t be able to pick them up fast enough. So you gotta keep them all up in the air and be responsible. Make lists of your “to do” tasks every day, check them off one at a time. It’s a really gratifying feeling.”

 

To see more from Mark Jupiter Check out his Socials below!

Website: Mark Jupiter

Instagram: @Markjupiterdumbo

This episode is brought to you by Jobber – getjobber.com/ethan