Greg BradshawAvroKO is a well-known global design firm with a strong focus on restaurants, headquartered in New York City. In 2006, the company added GoodShop to its portfolio, specifically to fabricate furniture for its clients.Here, Greg Bradshaw, co-founder and principal, discusses having an in-house fabrication company.
What are the advantages of having fabrication in-house?
GB: We provide good quality for the right price. That price might be too much for some projects, and the client may not be able to control that. But when we can be very open through the design process and say, “This is where the budget’s coming in,” we can provide a very good service.
We can also help clients get ahead of things and get certain things in fabrication earlier, so having that insight and knowledge can be helpful for certain projects.
What do you consider when custom designing and fabricating a piece of furniture?
GB: Comfort and style. Quality construction is a given. Often, we can design something for restaurants and work with our fabricators to get something at a lower price. We’re trying to create a unique and cohesive statement for a project. We work with fabricators to make sure things are of hospitality grade — you can’t put in a chair that might be appropriate for residential because in hospitality, it gets a beating. So there’s a durability factor that comes in to play.
What are the challenges in this business?
GB: It usually comes down to trying to balance the budget. In some projects, the FF&E budget is quite substantial, and we can pull out all the stops, but that’s fairly rare. So our designers have to be cognizant of that budget and have to reserve money for the things that can make a statement and pull back in another area that doesn’t need attention.
We’ve designed stools that are simple but still good quality and created something somewhere else, such as to make a first impression. So it’s a balancing of budget and being aware and making the right selections for the budget. GoodShop can help with that, but a lot comes down to the selections of the designers. And sometimes in that process, you end up having to choose less expensive things.
Why do restaurants opt for custom-designed items?
GB: It’s primarily to create a very bespoke and holistic environment. With lighting, it can be to wow the customer. We either design something that needs to
be really high quality that is unique and has details a customer can enjoy, or something that screams for attention.
Sometimes a client really wants something special. But often, it’s our designer who says a space needs a showstopper like a chandelier or an incredible lounge couch. Every restaurant needs a slightly unique detail; these are not always major things. Everyone knows a tufted Chesterfield banquette, but you can change just the tufting or the pattern and make something a little unique.
What do you love about this side of the business?
GB: It allows you to really focus on some really highly crafted details. We’re adding details to millwork, or on a chair, you’re focused on joinery or tufting or welts or piping details or how a metal component interfaces with a wood component. It’s a fine level scale of detail. And that goes for light fixtures too. +
It usually comes down to trying to balance the budget. In some projects, the FF&E budget is quite substantial, and we can pull out all the stops, but that’s fairly rare.
