Denver-based designer Ramey Caulkins spent the first six years of her career working in Ann Sacks showrooms before founding her firm, Griffin Design Source, in 2003. That experience on the vendor side has shaped her logical, layered approach to sourcing—including what she expects from her partners and how she decides which ones to work with.
You worked for showrooms before becoming a designer. How has that informed your vendor relationships?
One of the most important things for me is the relationship with my vendors and showrooms. When you let them become partners, they help you solve problems and go to bat for you. If you’re buying a fair amount from a few places, you have a little bit of leverage to say, “Hey, listen: I really need to get pushed up in the queue.” There’s a showroom here called John Brooks—they have locations here in Denver, as well as Salt Lake City and now Bozeman, Montana—that carries a lot of the high-end lines and European brands in the Rocky Mountains region, including some fabric lines that carry inventory. So I’m working on a project in Montana right now that has a tight timeline, and I’m able to say, “Who is the most efficient outdoor furniture vendor right now? Who can we rely on? Who do you have the best relationship with?” They know me and how I tend to shop, so if I say, “I’ve got a budget for Liaigre and Rose Tarlow,” we can go in that direction. But if I say, “I’m nowhere near that,” they can help me dig in more in the middle of the fairway. To me, those kinds of relationships are more important than ever.
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