- Tess Van Straaten Photography by Lia Crowe

Chris RotheryB次元官网网址檚 passion for furniture and design dates back to when he was still in high school.

B次元官网网址淚t might have started in shop class!B次元官网网址� says the 45-year-old owner of , a high-end furniture store in Victoria and now Nanaimo, with a laugh. B次元官网网址淚 became interested in furniture in my late teens and I like doing something with my hands. I appreciate quality and I appreciate other people creating things that are beautiful and interesting and quality, so IB次元官网网址檝e always wanted to be a part of that.B次元官网网址�

After graduating from , Chris spent a few years making furniture for different companies before starting his own custom furniture business, making dining tables, chairs, free-standing cabinets and other pieces out of a little workshop in Rock Bay.

B次元官网网址淚 then opened up a little gallery in Dragon Alley [where he was living at the time] and eventually, we moved out of there to a slightly larger place, and then another slightly larger place, and then another slightly larger place,B次元官网网址� Chris explains. B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 have much business experience, so I was just kind of winging it, but with just a lot of passion and care and love for design and interiors.B次元官网网址�

The next progression for Chris was to move more into a retail direction, after he found his passion for creating furniture waning.

B次元官网网址淚 found that it was difficult to do it as a job and still love it,B次元官网网址� he explains. B次元官网网址淚 was just trying to get by, and I felt very compromised making furniture. But I enjoy talking about furniture, and I enjoy interacting with people about it, so the retail aspect came from that.B次元官网网址�

That store, Only Human Modern Furniture, would also teach Chris the toughest lesson of this entrepreneurial evolution. After a couple of hard years, he was forced to close the store in 2014.

B次元官网网址淚 was in way over my head and I think I let my passion interest rule everything, when really I needed to balance that out with a successful business,B次元官网网址� Chris admits, saying it was the biggest mistake of his career.

B次元官网网址淭hat was a very painful mistake at the time and the failure was excruciating. But in retrospect, itB次元官网网址檚 what got me to where I am now, which is a place where I feel comfortable, and I feel good and confident about what IB次元官网网址檓 doing. All the things that IB次元官网网址檝e been picking up were worth something and they got put back into a package that is Chester Fields.B次元官网网址�

Chris also decided to partner with Ross Taylor and Amber Leask, who had a lot more business experience, when Chester Fields launched in Victoria more than nine years ago, offering modern, high-quality, and mostly Canadian-designed furniture and lightning.

B次元官网网址淲e have a really unique offering in that what we sell here, with a couple of small exceptions, isnB次元官网网址檛 sold anywhere else in town, and probably 80 per cent of whatB次元官网网址檚 in our showroom is designed by Canadians, which is a point of pride for me,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e always been purveyors of things that are sort of on the cutting edge in terms of design.B次元官网网址�

With people driving from all over Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址攆rom Campbell River and the Comox Valley to Port Alberni, Nanaimo and the Cowichan ValleyB次元官网网址攖o visit the Victoria store, Chester Fields opened the Nanaimo location in May, and Chris says the response from the Central Island market has been great.

B次元官网网址淲e get a lot of people walking in and they say things like: B次元官网网址楩inally, thereB次元官网网址檚 something like this!B次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 so glad youB次元官网网址檙e here!B次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址楴anaimo needs something like this!B次元官网网址� So, itB次元官网网址檚 been very positive. And then thereB次元官网网址檚 lots of people who are just seeing this kind of stuff for the first time.B次元官网网址�

For Chris, who recently completed a Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Management at Royal Roads University, the biggest lesson in his small business career has been that you canB次元官网网址檛 be everything to everyone.

B次元官网网址淵ou have to kind of stick to what youB次元官网网址檙e very good at and push that, and roll with it, and really go for it,B次元官网网址� he advises. B次元官网网址淒efining what we areB次元官网网址攁nd what weB次元官网网址檙e bringing to the consumerB次元官网网址攈as been really important, so that we arenB次元官网网址檛 chasing something new all the time. WeB次元官网网址檙e doing what weB次元官网网址檙e really good at.B次元官网网址�

Chris says this all stems from the best advice heB次元官网网址檚 ever been given, which is to really understand your customerB次元官网网址檚 needs, and then be very good at satisfying that need.

B次元官网网址淵ou really need to ask people what they want,B次元官网网址� Chris says. B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 presume you know! Just because you think you have a good business idea, doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean it will work. Ask and make sure, and youB次元官网网址檒l probably find you might be wrong or you can tweak something and really hit it out of the park.B次元官网网址�

Chris says he did that a lot before opening the Nanaimo store, joking that any chance he got to talk to someone moderately interested in modern furniture north of the Malahat turned into a mini market-research session.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 lots of research you can do without a budget and those answers are very valuable,B次元官网网址� Chris explains. B次元官网网址淭hey can make you a success and save you a lot of pain.B次元官网网址�

With constant challenges from online competitors and more manufacturers moving toward a direct-to-consumer model, knowing your market is more important than ever in such a competitive landscape. Chris says having a physical showroom where people can actually sit on and feel things also helps.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a lot easier to buy a pair of shoes online than to buy a sofa,B次元官网网址� he says with a laugh.

As for the career and successful business heB次元官网网址檚 crafted after many design iterations?

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been a bit of a long winding road to get to this point and my advice to other entrepreneurs is to expect that things wonB次元官网网址檛 be a straight line,B次元官网网址� Chris says. B次元官网网址淏e comfortable with uncertainty but at the same time, donB次元官网网址檛 be reckless.B次元官网网址�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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