Designers fit right in at Phoenix store
By Gary James -- Furniture Today, March 1, 2010
PHOENIX —
Maria Benson, co-owner of Nyla Simone Home here, recognizes that she has a hot line in the furniture she sources on an exclusive basis from her father, Arthur L. Bailey.
That's why she has created a Trade Partner program, encouraging interior designers in the Phoenix area and beyond to source the line and use her store as a meeting place with clients.
Founded in 2007 by Benson and her business partner, Katherine Alford, Nyla Simone offers a range of leather and fabric seating designed and produced by Bailey at his Atlanta-based shop. The 4,000-square-foot showroom here is named after Bailey's two granddaughters, Nyla Irene and Bailey Simone.
Arthur Bailey started his furniture career more than 40 years ago, working with the renowned Italian furniture craftsman Carlo Ugoccioni. Bailey eventually branched out on his own, building custom-made furniture for professional athletes, entertainers and other celebrities.
His designs have received national recognition through TV shows such as “MTV Cribs” and “My Super Sweet 16” and publications such as Southern Living.
“He's done a lot of work with the Atlanta Falcons and Hawks and most recently the Pittsburgh Steelers,” said Benson. “He has a couple of dozen clients from these teams. But he's mainly worked with designers. This is the first time his line has been available to the general public.”
Benson, an industrial engineer and former executive with American Express, spent five years planning her store before taking the leap — which she did in 2007, right before the recession hit.
“It's been a very challenging time to start a business,” she said. “Who would have predicted that gas prices would spike to nearly $5 a gallon in my first six months? But we've hung in there and steadily built a following. I now feel like, 'If I've had this much fun during a down economy, how great is it going to be when times are good?' ”
One reason Nyla Simone has been successful, according to Benson, is that it focuses on meeting customer needs by offering custom sizes and numerous options in fabrics, finishes and details. In addition to the higher-end Arthur Bailey line of upholstery, dining chairs and beds, the store's product mix also includes Vanguard upholstery and Brownstone case goods and occasional items so that consumers in the mid-priced segment of the market also have choices.
And the store does a big business in accent items such as decorative vases and pillows and original artwork by Dante Yarbrough.
Benson describes the feeling of the store as “upscale, sophisticated urban — very swanky and chic.”
In the Arthur Bailey line, the dimensions of any piece can be custom fitted to a client's body. Close attention is paid to the optimum seat width, arm height and pitch.
About 80% of the company's sales are built to order. A small warehouse in Phoenix is used to stock a limited amount of other goods.
“So much furniture is 'one size fits all,' ” said Benson. “We take the opposite approach, making sure that our furniture is designed to fit individuals. We create furniture for everybody from basketball stars to jockeys and all those in between.”
This attention to detail has already won Nyla Simone a loyal following in the local sports and entertainment community. Celebrity clients include golfer Mark Calcavecchia and his wife, Brenda, and football's Troy Palomalu and his wife, Theodora.
To serve its affluent, demanding clientele, Nyla Simone offers a full range of design services, including color consultation and furniture planning and staging assessments. In addition to Benson, “who does a bit of everything, including selling,” the store employs two full-time interior designers and an administrative person.
In addition, the store's Trade Partners program — in which it encourages other designers to shop its products and use its facilities — has 30 registered members, including some in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Vancouver, British Columbia.
“We have an executive conference room available for their consultations, equipped with the latest technology and a vast selection of finish samples and fabric swatches,” said Benson. “Our unique styling, livable comfort and artisan craftsmanship thrills clients and helps designers grow their businesses.”
Trade Partners are eligible to receive discounts on services, regularly stocked merchandise, custom furniture orders and bedding.
Nyla Simone also offers discounts on custom furniture, bedding and accessories to approved companies that are furnishing model homes, condos, apartments, hotels and other hospitality areas.
Nyla Simone usually ships its custom furniture in four to six weeks, according to Benson. “This production period sometimes is even shorter, depending on what's being manufactured.”
A pioneer of green construction, Arthur Bailey has long avoided synthetic materials. And the company's EcoLuxe model beds, introduced in 2008, feature hardwood harvested from sustainable forests, springs forged from 100% recycled metal, non-petroleum-based foam, organic cotton padding and hemp webbing.
EcoLuxe is an option for any of the Arthur Bailey custom beds and headboards offered by Nyla Simone Home.
“He was ahead of most everybody with this approach,” said Benson. “And now we're finding that consumers are asking about the green aspects of the line. It's an immediate selling point.”
Down the road, Benson said, Arthur Bailey and his family (Benson's brother and an aunt also are involved) may expand the wholesale part of the business to retailers in other parts of the country. AmericasMart in Atlanta may be the first place it shows, both because Arthur Bailey lives in the area and because of the event's strength with smaller, boutique-type stores.
Bailey is developing a catalog, called Arthur L. Bailey for Nyla Simone, as a first step toward reaching out to other retailers.
“We see a lot of potential to grow the business,” said Benson, pointing to what she sees as the company's three key strengths — the fact that its products are “eco-friendly, made in America and fashion forward.”
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