In the early aughts, Serena Dugan was working as an artist and designer when she met entrepreneur Lily Kantor. She approached Kantor to pitch her painting, artwork and textiles, and the two hit it off, launching Serena & Lily in 2003, a company that began as a nursery bedding brand but soon blew up to the lifestyle giant it is today. “It went from crib bedding to big kids bedding to guest room bedding to adult bedding to upholstery fabrics to the actual sofas,” she tells host Dennis Scully on the latest episode of The Business of Home Podcast. “I could not have invented a more exciting opportunity for me at that stage in my life.”

Fourteen years later, Dugan stepped away from the company to get back to her artistic roots. “I was re-creating myself as a painter, an artist, in a way that felt very restorative to me, because in my essence, that’s where it all comes from,” she says. “I think that the business had drifted from artistry towards sellability in a way that was appropriate and that I respected, but I had in that experience also drifted from artistry, and I needed to get back to it.”

She spent a few years painting until a visit to New York’s Studio Four sparked the idea for a boutique textile line. She officially reentered the market in 2020, primarily working with the trade, and hasn’t looked back. “It has been an incredible experience to be able to focus on a business that feels entirely authentic—no more, no less,” she says of Serena Dugan Studio. “It gives me the platform to say what I want to say, and experiment and get some things wrong and get some things right and learn and grow. It’s been fantastic.”

Crucial insight: In an oversaturated market full of textile and fabric brands, Dugan emphasizes the importance of having a unique point of view to set yourself apart. “It’s a noisy place out there: There is pattern and color and design as far as the eye can see, and you’ve got to find a way to differentiate yourself, either in your look or the way you reach your audience. Those are the only two options, in my opinion,” she says. “It isn’t that your quality is going to be so much better. It’s hard to say something completely new in a printed textile where quality is concerned. We’re all using Libeco linens and printing with the same printers who do an incredible job. … Just putting out something that looks as good and similar to something that’s already there is no longer viable.”

Key quote: “A great brand is made up of a distinct point of view and the essentials. The reason [consumers] want to buy the essentials from you is because they respect your point of view. You might not sell point of view, but you sell the basics because of point of view. That was the secret to the success of [Serena & Lily].”

This episode is sponsored by Ernesta. Listen to the show below. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The Thursday Show

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a surprise acquisition, Trump’s housing moves, and why clients are craving an analog lifestyle. Later, journalist Rachel Kurzius of The Washington Post joins the show to talk about the downside of viral sofas, and tell the story of a 17-year-and-counting client lawsuit.

This episode is sponsored by Loloi. Listen to the show below. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.