Grace – sailboat
Go Factory Direct
Blume Living was started in 2008, when I bought a houseboat with an open top deck, which needed quite a lot of outdoor furniture to fill the space. I looked around town and was taken aback by the prices and quality available on the market. Interestingly, my neighbours were all in agreement with my finding. With my R & D background and over 10 years manufacturing experience, it just seemed natural for me to find a reliable factory and go direct. I combined my order with neighbours’ and filled a container. A couple of months later, X’mas came early for us! We were so excited opening all these big packages. Blume Living has been selling outdoor furniture ever since.
Low Prices & Good Quality
When I started out, I was selling outdoor furniture primarily to residents in Discovery Bay, where I lived at the time. Every few months, I would stuff my brochure into mailboxes of the garden houses – gotten chased by security guards a few times in the process.
I had done my market research and was sure my prices were low & attractive, so I always included prices on the brochures. Apart from reasonable prices, I also worked with factory closely to ensure high quality. Before each delivery, I would go up to the factory, checked each piece myself, oversaw them being loaded onto container, then rushed back the same day to join my team to deliver furniture. Once, I had 26 orders packed into one single 40’ container, all to be delivered the same day. The organisation and logistic arrangements were like a military operation.
Launch into Hospitality Industry
Whenever there was a fair on the Island, I would haul my furniture pieces to different venues for display. I once put Astroturf on a beach and displayed my furniture on it. I did that for about 2 years, and it was physically hard work.
In 2011, I start combining different colour wickers to create pattern for chairs. I had these colourful chairs patented and showcased them at the HK Convention & Exhibition Centre. With these chairs, Blume Living was able to launch into the hospitality industry.
In early 2012, we made our first delivery to a restaurant, Innside Out Bar & Grill in Causeway Bay. The same year, Blume Living received our first hotel order from Angsana Hotel in Phuket.
It is exciting to see the business transitions from retail orders to commercial projects catering to restaurants, hotels, universities & cruise ships. However, Blume Living will never forget our domestic customers.