Beds and beyond: Cult linen brand Bed Threads to launch “tightly curated” furniture range
Members of the Bed Threads’ loyalty program, Dream Club, will get early access to the pieces ahead of the general release.
Selling and shipping furniture is a completely different “ball game” to selling linen, says Bed Threads co-founder Genevieve Rosen-Biller. But after two years of development, the entrepreneur and her team are bringing their first furniture collection to market this month.
The first range of Bed Threads furniture will include nine “essential” pieces, including bedheads, bedside tables, a sideboard and accessories, and will go on sale in Australia and the US on April 27.
It is a “tightly curated” range, says Rosen-Biller, with members of Bed Threads’ loyalty program, Dream Club, set to get early access to the pieces ahead of the general release. Already, the brand’s more than 300,000 email subscribers have been told about the launch and a catalogue can be viewed on the Bed Threads website.
Each of the pieces have been designed by the Bed Threads in-house team and ethically manufactured in India and China. Customers will need to partly assemble the pieces, which will come in a form of “in-between” flat-packed and fully assembled.
While Rosen-Biller admits she didn’t necessarily envisage expanding into the furniture category when founding Bed Threads back in 2017, she says her husband and business partner Alan Biller did.
“He always had a vision to bring furniture into the range and bring in categories that were larger scale,” she says.
“Furniture is a considered purchase. And it’s a really big decision. Alan always believed in that vision from the beginning and over the last couple of years … our entire team, including myself, has been working really hard to bring that vision to life.”
This latest extension to the Bed Threads brand was hinted at back in May 2021, when Rosen-Biller told SmartCompany the brand was working towards expanding into more home categories, and it follows the launch of Bed Threads table linen and kitchenware, cookbooks and art collections.
“It’s been a long time in the making, and it’s been really exciting to branch out into a different, but adjacent category,” she tells SmartCompany.
“Having worked exclusively in linen and homewares, I guess furniture presented a whole new range of logistical challenges. Obviously working with manufacturers and we are very rigorous with our sampling process … it has to be perfect and meet the kind of standard that our customers are used to with our linens.
“There’s so many boxes to tick, and then the challenges of bringing your design vision to life.”
Of course, the global pandemic and its effects on supply chains also contributed to the lengthy development process, but Rosen-Biller is clear that Bed Threads “didn’t want to rush it”, but rather ensure its first furniture collection is a “best-in-class offering”.
The designs themselves have been developed based on direct insights from customers, says Rosen-Biller, with the brand taking note of each time one of their social media followers asks them about the furniture used styled in their photoshoots or collaborations with influencers.
That being said, Rosen-Biller is candid that branching out into a new category of products is difficult, “especially when you’re comfortable in what you’re doing”. Her advice to other entrepreneurs thinking of taking that step is to expect delays and not be disheartened by any setbacks.
“If you kind of have a feeling that your customers are looking for something else, or there’s something complimentary that you can offer them that other people or other brands aren’t really, they’re not playing in that space, and you can offer something unique with your own kind of aesthetic or tone of voice, then I would really encourage anyone to embark on it,” she says.
“I would says don’t be discouraged by the process. It is difficult, but it’s nice to show your customers that you’re listening to them”.
