LAS VEGAS— The jamesdar line of ready-to-assemble furniture is launching with urban fashion in mind.
The new line takes into consideration that consumers adopting urban lifestyles want a lot out of life and are spending a lot to get it. As such, jamesdar designs furniture to be lively in style but inexpensive to purchase, with suggested retail prices beginning at $19.99 and going as high as $399.99.
Urban shoppers whether starting out or confronting retirement, frequently have to cut corners, sometimes literally, to make the most out of their budgets, even if that means living in apartments that aren’t much bigger than the living rooms they once occupied.
“Our philosophy is: We’re dealing with city lifestyle and city scales,” said James Dardashti, the new company’s managing director. “It’s generally about small space. We’re not going to call it Millennial. It’s more about a lifestyle rather than a demographic. People today have an urge to live in the city with the great restaurants. They’re traveling more. One other trend we’ve seen is a lot more development being done in condos and apartments. People are paying top dollar to rent. They’re on second marriages. They want the good life. They want to entertain. So, we feel the pieces have to be multipurpose and affordable.”
The jamesdar entrance into the marketplace comes as five collections, noted Ted LeVine, the company’s marketing director.
“We go by the tagline: ‘Curated Urban Furnishings,’” he said. “Urban is the primary focus of the designs we are doing, taking into consideration smaller spaces that urban dwellers are moving toward or downsizing toward.”
Design is a critical factor in jamesdar furniture development, LeVine said. Although some of the product is fairly basic and directed at the most price conscious consumer, the styling in much of the line is sophisticated for its price/value positioning, and can draw “the more established, discerning individual,” he said.
As for the collections, Blythe assumes a modern cast with influences evident in the line including Nordic and mid-century modern as expressed from the 1950’s through the ‘60’s, LeVine said.
Carnegie, a collection influenced by industrial styling, uses more distressed
metal and rustic wood looks to provide a raw style suitable for urban lofts and similar environments. Product scale is such that consumers who both live and work at home can create the spaces they require and even transition items from use as a desk, for example, to use in entertaining.
Doheny is minimalist in design, very slim and open. As a result, products don’t block light or sightlines. Design for the collection emphasizes multifunctionality, as in a bench that can serve as a console.
Katrine has refined style tying in gold, polished brass and chrome elements, LeVine noted. Although the styling is modern, the line has a transitional turn that can make it easer to place in a wider range and more refined rooms.
Just Dandy is jamesdar’s opening pricepoint and comes in single material, single color form designed with plastic or metal construction. The collection is scaled down but stands out with pops of color to bring it into line with the sensibilities of a young, hip customer, LeVine said.
The jamesdar line focuses on urban trends, but interest in city, or city style, living is evident today not only in downtown neighborhoods but also in suburban expanses where developers are building apartment and condo blocks around once slumping main streets and train stations that before were devoid of people outside of rush hours.
Urbanity may encourage consumers to be more considerate of craft and fashion, in everything from beer to headphones, but it’s also expensive for younger consumers who enter the workforce with college debt and older inhabitants who have to think about retirement finances. All of these notions influence the development of the jamesdar product line.
“You see a gypsy lifestyle,” LeVine said. “It’s really clear in the readings. You see a lot of new upstart business relying on transient, temporary operations, things like Zipcar. Now you can take a Zip Car for a day and maybe Uber tomorrow. A lot of people really are not in the mood right now to make significant investment. They’re not into owning things and getting into long-term debt. The population is shifting, relationships can be mobile and less committed. People like that want furnishings in reach, as a lot don’t want to spend $400 or $600 on them.”
