In Business of Home’s series Shop Talk, we chat with owners of home furnishings stores across the country to hear about their hard-won lessons and challenges, big and small. This week, we spoke with Ruth Davis of the Houston store Found.
There’s something refreshing about chatting with Davis, a creative who seems to know exactly what she likes, exactly how to find it, and exactly to whom she’s selling—because yes, someone out there amid Houston’s most elite clientele is interested in hanging a big Styrofoam Oreo on their wall. Months away from her shop’s 20th anniversary, she demonstrates an unwavering taste level and steady faith in the city’s lively design community. Ahead, Davis discusses the art pieces she can’t stop thinking about, why she maintains a few pieces the price of the average American annual salary, and how she’d change the Houston style if she could wave a magic wand.
Tell me about your career background before the shop.
I started out in fashion and realized, I’m not going to make much money in this. I went back and got an MBA in finance and was a banker for a few years, and then retired to raise my two girls. By the time they got into high school, I was like, I cannot chair another committee, and they didn’t need me as much. I had time on my hands, and this opportunity presented itself. My husband was very supportive. He was a chief financial officer for a major American retailer; nothing to do with furniture, but he knew the retail business. He got us all set up, and that was in 2007. It’s always been just the retail store. When we started, I had a business partner who did design work, but I’m not a designer. But you certainly learn a lot from working in this business after almost 20 years.
How would you describe the store’s aesthetic?
I hate the word eclectic, but it applies. It’s a little funky. I might have something 18th century mixed with something midcentury [along] with new things, which I think makes everything more interesting. If we have a pair of antique chairs that we re-cover in a Pierre Frey fabric, it makes them more fun and interesting, I think.
What is your location like?
We are in the middle of town near the River Oaks District. River Oaks is a very nice place to live. We’re convenient to the Galleria and Westview and Memorial, the more affluent neighborhoods in Houston.
Who is your typical customer?
Definitely most of my business is to the trade. I’m a retail store and anybody that walks in can buy anything, but designers generally use us a week or two before an install. They come in, take pictures, go back, look at where they have holes. They email us and they may take $20,000, $30,000 [of merchandise] out on approval and put it in the house. I’m happy if 80 percent of it stays. Sometimes when they see it in place, the owner gets it and says, “OK, yeah, we need this.” We find a lot of success with letting designers we know do this on a regular basis.
What is your sourcing process like, especially given your wide range of items and styles?
I go to High Point Market, to Shoppe Object in New York. I go to France, Belgium. I go to the Atlanta Market sometimes; Atlanta has a lot of dealers who go to Europe, bring containers back, and want a quick turn. I can go to Atlanta and then have those things in the shop two or three weeks later, so it’s a very productive place to go. I’ve been visiting Maine in August because it’s so darn hot in Houston and shopping there. A lot of it’s a little too Northeasterny, but the prices are good. I’ve been to Maison&Objet in Paris. I am looking for new sources, though, because I’m finding High Point is getting really expensive. Of course, Roundtop has been expensive. I haven’t been to Brimfield, so that’s kind of on my list, as is West Palm Beach. Switching it up is daunting.
And I just started using Faire a couple of months ago. I got their emails forever and said, Oh, I don’t know. I like to go and meet people and look at things [in person], but I found it very easy, and the minimums are usually lower. If I just need to fill in with baskets or something, I don’t need a huge order. It’s really very productive.
What’s your favorite category to shop for?
I love chairs. I call them personality chairs or purse chairs. They’re not good for much else other than putting your purse on them, but they bring so much personality to a project. I’m always looking for interesting chairs that we can reupholster in a fun fabric. I have too many chairs in my house right now. We built a house about 10 years ago, and I had this fabulous chair that was quite large and we just never found a place for it. I sold it and I still regret that.
What product flies out of the door?
Two things: I’ve got a lot of different easels. I wish it were something that cost $1,000, not $50, but for some reason they were on the website and Google figured out that we were selling easels. They’re just not worth the time and effort to ship them out, so I took the cheaper ones off the website. And we have a lot of ceramics—these kind of wavy [vessels] in different sizes and colors, which are made by a local Houston ceramic artist. We do really well with those.
What’s your approach to e-commerce? I’m sure it’s evolved a lot over 19 years.
When we started, we had a website that just had our address and a couple of pretty pictures. We are about to launch an updated website that’s a little fresher. We are definitely getting more traction selling things online, but it is a huge effort. I find that a lot of designers in Houston use the site even before they come in, to put their eye on things that they want to see in person. So it’s not only for e-commerce, but for the trade to peruse the inventory. They know they can own that, they can email it to their client, it’s got the dimensions. But it is a huge job to keep it current.
What’s the Houston design scene like? It’s got to be one of the most bustling in the U.S.
It’s very active, and a very supportive community [of people] who all know each other. A big thing I’ve thoroughly enjoyed with this job is getting to know all these very creative, talented people. On the whole, Houston’s more traditional, whereas our shop is a little funky, and if I could wave a wand, I would make the city more accepting of something different. I like some funky things! Like, I had this very large neon ice cream cone. A funny story from a long time ago: My husband, like I said, was the CFO for a large retail company. We sent an email out about this new neon ice cream cone we got from an ice cream store, and my husband was like, “This is what I’m talking about. You shouldn’t be buying stuff like this!” Then I opened up my computer and the very first email in my inbox says, “Well, how much is this? Can you put it on hold for me?” One time I bought a huge Oreo cookie made out of Styrofoam. It was so neat. I thought, This should be in a traditional River Oaks home, over the sofa. I mean, I don’t know where it ended up, but that’s where I would’ve placed it.
Have you ever felt pressure to change the style of your store, or did you adapt to trends over the years?
Not really. I’ve been doing it long enough, and I want to do what I want to do.
You have a wide price range, and some pieces are really expensive. Do you just have faith, or the knowledge over all this time, that you will find a buyer for them?
Well, we do have an e-blast template that says, “Why is this still here?” Sometimes the best stuff—to me—doesn’t sell, and so we promote it like that. But yeah, prices are very high right now, and it makes me nervous; sometimes I feel like I’m buying too many small things because at least the smaller things have a smaller price tag. It’s really hard to find a chest or a big piece of furniture that’s not crazy expensive. Sometimes you just have to go for it.
How often does that e-blast go out?
Oh, every couple of months. We’re kind of making fun of ourselves, I guess. But it’s true, sometimes the best stuff doesn’t sell as easily as something more ordinary.
But as the owner, you get to follow your heart and pick what you like.
Exactly. Pick what you like. I’ve got four pieces of artwork that I bought at a Paris flea market. Do you know Helena Rubinstein? They were sketched by a French artist, [Jean Pagès,] in her salon, and they’re literally ripped out of his sketchbook. He went on to be hired by Condé Nast in New York. I wanted them to be purchased together, for a woman’s dressing room, and they didn’t sell, so now I’ve split them up and they’re individually priced. I just think they’re so fun and different, and they’ve got a story. I may bring one home with me now.
What are some of your hopes for the future of the business? Any categories you’d like to add?
As I mentioned, we’re making a lot of [exclusive] things with ceramics. We’re also doing metal and marble, and I would like to do more in upholstery. Right now, a lot of our upholstery is vintage, and I’m thinking about adding an upholstery line made here in Houston so we can have a faster turnaround and customizations. That’s what I’m working on right now.
What’s your favorite day in the shop?
Well, buying is my favorite thing to do, but that’s not in the shop. I don’t always know the end client, but over the years I have had a lot of people come in and say, “Oh, this designer did my home, and some of my favorite things in my home came from Found.” Or “It’s the thing that guests comment on the most.” That always makes me feel good. And a favorite day is when a lot of people are coming in, putting stuff on hold, and pulling for a project!
