Deep Knowledge Guides Those Exploring Interiors Segment

For wide-format producers seeking to enter the growing interiors opportunity, where models are changing toward more bespoke approaches and higher levels of customization, a first access point is knowledge, says Kristen Dettoni, owner of Design Pool, who presented at this week’s PRINTING United Expo in Atlanta.

Know Your Customer

Starting the quest for knowledge, she says, includes knowing the difference between interior designers and interior decorators. She said interior designers primarily focus on commercial spaces – hotels, retail settings, offices – and have been formally trained in their profession, which often includes apprenticeships and requirements for continuing education credits.

Conversely, interior decorators generally focus on residential spaces, and their less formal training can include taking courses, by may only be their own personal aesthetic.

Understanding the market and its opportunities also includes understanding the process of designers, which is different from the print buyers may be accustomed to. For instance, Dettoni shared that doing business in this space can take as little as 2-6 months, or as long as 1 to 1.5 years between inception and completion. “It’s a hurry-up-and-wait industry,” she says. Many designers were brought up on traditional methods of sourcing materials, using material “libraries” to understand available choices. Increasingly – and driven by digital printing and digital manufacturing – viable online models have emerged. Dettoni expects that, over time, “everything will go on-demand.”

Amid the longer development cycle, Dettoni says it is important to engage customers, keeping them “top of mind,” be responsive, and identify ways to make their job easier.

Primary Interiors Markets

Dettoni provided an illustrative view of significant interiors markets for which digital printing can be used. They are:
Healthcare: Including hospitals and acute care, pediatrics, senior living/independent living/assisted living/memory care/reception areas
Hospitality: Including hotel chains, boutique hotels, casinos, restaurants, and cruise ships
Contract: Which focuses on office interiors, including home offices, which in recent years have become much more common.
Transportation: Includes automotive and RV markets, and, again, cruise ships.
Residential: Decorative applications for homes.

In describing these markets, Dettoni added that the ability to access “aftermarket” application may be a strong additional opportunity, and that different markets despite their relative volumes, possess widely different price points. Further, many interiors markets include standards and specifications that must be understood and adhered to for successful production. These realities speak to the need to truly know the market before stepping into it.