EP 019 | How Interior Designers Build Strong Vendor Relationships with LuAnn Nigara

July 31, 2017

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Great design projects don’t happen alone. Behind every successful interior designer is a network of talented vendors, suppliers, and trades who help bring ideas to life.

In this episode, Kimberley Seldon speaks with LuAnn Nigara, window treatment specialist and host of A Well-Designed Business®, about the importance of cultivating strong vendor relationships. From communication and professionalism to understanding the pressures suppliers face, LuAnn shares practical insights that help designers build partnerships that support better project outcomes.

For interior designers looking to improve efficiency, strengthen industry relationships, and deliver a better client experience, this episode offers valuable lessons from the vendor side of the business.

In this episode, we learn:
• The differences between working with a concierge service and a traditional workroom
• Why understanding your vendors’ challenges leads to stronger partnerships
• How thorough communication helps prevent costly mistakes and delays
• Why mutual respect builds trust and long-term loyalty
• How strong vendor relationships improve the client experience
• Why successful designers view vendors as essential partners in every project

 

Take Aways

1. If you are loosey-goosey about the details at the beginning of the project you better be prepared to be loosey-goosey about what’s delivered.
2. When you criticize your trades and suppliers remember, YOU were the one that introduced them to your clients. Never throw a supplier under the bus.

 

LuAnn Nigara is an award winning window treatment specialist and together with her husband and her cousin she owns Window Works, which provides custom window treatments and awnings to both retail clientele as well as to the trade. They are located in Livingston NJ, a suburb of NYC but regularly serve the entire Metro area from Philadelphia, to the Hamptons to Connecticut.

Window Works exemplifies their tagline, which is Experience Expertise Excellence. In business together for more than 30 years they have designed, created and installed window treatments and awnings for more than 24,000 clients.

Designer clients include prestigious firms such as Sussan Lari Architects in Long Island, Anyon Designs in San Francisco, House of Funk in NJ, DiMare Designs in Miami and Charles Pavarini in NYC. Their work has been featured in Design NJ and on House Smarts TV.

LuAnn recently was the keynote speaker at the IWCE (International Window Coverings Expo) in Charlotte and a presenter at The Design Bloggers Conference in LA. She spoken to ASID groups, at Hunter Douglas conferences and is often called on by Design NJ as a resource for articles specializing on window treatments.

LuAnn also hosts the 3x weekly podcast, A Well-Designed Business, which features in depth conversations with interior designers and industry professionals on the business of interior design, which can be found on ITunes, Stitcher and IHeart Radio.

www.windowworks-nj.com

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Legal Disclosure | This podcast is for educational purposes only and provides general business advice for interior designers and design professionals. It is not intended as individual legal, accounting, or professional guidance. Kimberley Seldon and Business of Design® make no guarantees regarding accuracy and are not liable for how information is used. Strategies shared may not apply to every situation—listeners should seek qualified legal, financial, or professional advice before making business decisions. References and resources mentioned may change over time.

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