When news of Stagers Lifestyle, a new Irish, online homewares, and furniture destination reached us at GAFF HQ, we were thrilled. There’s nothing we love more than a new one-stop-shop for interior essentials, and thanks to founder Tish, that’s exactly what we’ve found in the new site.
We caught up with Tish to talk about her new venture and get the inside scoop on her must-have pieces from the store.
So, where did the idea for Stagers Lifestyle come from?
Where to begin! I always knew that at some stage of my life I wanted to own a business within a creative environment. For the last 10 years, I’ve worked in the furniture industry, from retail to wholesale. While working in the wholesale business I got a good insight into what Ireland has to offer. I have always had a big love for furniture, interiors and staging furniture pieces so I decided I wanted to combine my passion and turn it into a business. After much thought and consideration, I started to work on Stagers Lifestyle about 12 months ago and double jobbed for much of that 12 months, as a very wise friend advised me to stick in my employment and do as much as I could while I have guaranteed pay cheque at the end of it.
Tell us about your experience working in the industry?
I have worked in the furniture industry for the last number of years and travelled a lot throughout Scandinavia and noticed how the Scandies do business, which seemed very appealing to me! Over those years, I have attended many trade shows which gave me an idea of how suppliers work and who delivers to Ireland. I loved working in wholesale, my head office was based in the UK where I worked with great people and gained such valuable experience but I knew that would have to come to an end to focus full time on Stagers Lifestyle.
Who are some of your favourite suppliers?
I don’t work with many suppliers as I made a deliberate decision to keep them limited but without giving away too many trade secrets, I do have a love for my suppliers based in The Netherlands, the motherland of furniture design. As a retailer, you always have to chop and change suppliers, keep ideas and products fresh so it will be great to visit trade shows over the next few months and maybe find some new suppliers to work with.
What are some of the key trends you think people should be focusing on as we come into autumn?
I’m not one to follow trends but we will see lots of colour again such as mustards, reds and greens. The Pantone Colour of the Year for 2020 is Bleached Coral which has undertones of greys and blues so that will keep the product looking very natural and fresh.
Shop the entire collection at Stagers Lifestyle and follow on Instagram here.