Interview: Viyet’s CEO Elizabeth Brown on Her Sotheby’s Connection and Trends in Online Shopping for Design
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The four-year-old startup Viyet, an online marketplace for interior design, was recently acquired by Sotheby’s. We catch up with the lady who started this project with a team of three in a small Upper West Side apartment. Read on as Viyet’s CEO, ElizabetInterview: Viyet’s CEO Elizabeth Brown on Her Sotheby’s Connection and Trends in Online Shopping for Design
The four-year-old startup Viyet, an online marketplace for interior design, was recently acquired by Sotheby’s. We catch up with the lady who started this project with a team of three in a small Upper West Side apartment. Read on as Viyet’s CEO, Elizabeth Brown, shares her observations about the new association with Sotheby’s, popular styles in interior design, trends in buying design pieces online, and what makes Mid-Century design attractive.Interview Excerpts:What has been your vision for Viyet? Do you see it changing or evolving with the Sotheby’s association?Viyet started as a solution to a practical problem – every time you move or redesign your home, you always have great pieces that you can’t take with you, that don’t fit, or just don’t suit your taste anymore. A high-end designer sofa or table will be valuable to someone, but how do you connect to that person? We knew an amazing product was out there – it just needed the right digital channel. We weren’t sure how it would resonate within the broader market. When we launched, it was a team of three people working out of a small Upper West Side apartment. I remember the turning point: about a month after launch, we were featured in a piece in The New York Times that led to an influx of traffic, including several prominent interior designers who quickly became regular clients. We thought if the experts saw value in what we were building, then we must be on to something. We are also excited to begin serving Sotheby’s clients, as we introduce a new digital channel to be considered alongside the traditional auction model.What is Viyet’s business model and how does it benefit from partnering with Sotheby’s?Our goal is to provide an easy, seamless way to buy and sell luxury furniture and décor online. For sellers, we offer a full-service consignment solution through our network of 30-plus curators across the country, who come on-site to photograph, measure, and collect all details for a listing. From there, we recommend pricing and take care of all logistics around pickup and delivery. For buyers, we are able to offer a unique assortment of products online in real time, presented in a highly curated way. The challenge of a startup is rising above the noise and catching people’s attention, so to immediately align with a historic, well-known brand like Sotheby’s gives us an added layer of trust and allows us to reach a global network of clients that would have taken many years to build.How does Viyet stand apart from other leading brands in the online retail marketplace for interior design?In many cases, you can’t find these products anywhere else online. Often, only trade professionals can purchase them, or they are one-of-a-kind custom items or are no longer in production. Viyet introduces these pieces to an online audience for the first time, at great prices, and without the four-to-six-month wait that is typical for furniture of this quality. This is finally an option for individuals to buy a gorgeous piece with character, often for far less than what you would pay for retail. What are the most popular styles and trends in interior design?Bohemian, Farmhouse, Industrial, and Mid-Century are always popular as far as style. Going more in depth, we are seeing a return to natural elements like drift or reclaimed wood, and pieces that are more conscientiously designed, be that in how they impact the environment or the community where they are produced. Trends that continue to hold in 2018 are Scandinavian and Mixed Metals. Vintage pieces are always top sellers as well.Would you like to share any interesting observation or trend related to buying design pieces online?Our clients, particularly the designers, love buying custom pieces. These can vary from iconic pieces that have been reupholstered to pieces that are custome designed from scratch. These are unique pieces that cannot be found just anywhere. As far as trends, we always do well with clean transitional pieces that can easily blend in any environment (modern or classic).Why do you choose to specialize in Mid-Century design?We don’t necessarily specialize in Mid-Century Modern, although we carry a substantial amount of items from that period. I don’t think the draw to this particular style will ever fade. There is a simplicity and an understated charm to it. Plus, many of the pieces are easily matched with a lot of different styles. You can have a boho chic aesthetic with the same Mid-Century pieces you can use to decorate a Park Avenue penthouse. We don’t believe one size fits all; it’s always refreshing to see how our buyers choose to use what they find on Viyet.Any new services that are on the cards in collaboration with Sotheby’s?Currently, Sotheby's has more inbound material than it can sell online and in live auctions; owning Viyet will make it easier for Sotheby’s to accept entire estates. Specifically, Viyet will be the place to find incredible pieces from Sotheby’s decorative arts and furniture categories offered for around $5,000 (and below). In the future, we may offer even more items from other categories, but for now, we’ll be concentrating on those particular ones. Read more