Following is an edited transcript of a conversation with CHM's Publisher, Dan Shannon, Editor, Andrea Griffith Cash, and Elizabeth Edwards as it appeared in our September/October 2009 issue, just as Edwards was opening the Red Window.
CHM: Let’s start here: Why a retail store now?
I’ve always loved certain kinds of stores: bookstores, particularly children’s bookstores, button stores, stationers, and I love furniture stores. I love to be around furniture. I love to touch it, I love to buy furniture, and once you’ve filled up your house, I just wanted an excuse to keep being [around furniture]. I thought of a store my mother had in Japan at a Marine base called The Red Door, and I decided to open Red Window. And I always thought I would like the idea of owning my own store.
CHM: You’ve told me that you’re a terrific consumer, that you have always bought furniture for yourself and for your friends.
That’s right, whether they needed it or not. [Laughs] I would go to High Point with my friends for the sole purpose of being the person that sticks them with a prod to force them to buy something, saying, “Buy it, buy it, buy it.”
CHM: How did you get started with this venture?
In 2006, I went to High Point with some friends and we went to a place with just beautiful furniture with couches retailing for $15,000. I bought three couches, a love seat and a chair for $5,000. That’s when I started accumulating [furniture] for the store. Fantastic buys and beautiful furniture.
CHM: Where is everything? Your store here is tiny.
I would love to have a store where I could display everything I’ve bought, but I didn’t want to rent a huge space and be responsible for a big monthly rent. It’s not easy to find inexpensive space to rent in Chapel Hill, so I ended up buying this little store. I think of this space as a long-term investment.
CHM: So where is all your furniture?
All over the place. I’ve rented storage space. I could fill this place maybe 20 times with all the furniture I’ve bought.
CHM: Twenty times? That’s a lot of inventory turns. Have you thought about, umm, moderating your purchases?
You sound just like John and my children – they’re all on the same bandwagon, but for me it’s all about the deal. If I can get a really good deal, then I buy it.
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