Design Leaders

After a decade of being a vibrant part of the San Francisco Design Center community, the HEWN showroom has spread its wings to a 10,000-square-foot space just a short walk down the street. Known for their excellent customer service, which includes an innovative new app, the visionary co-founders Jeff Holt and Peter West are looking forward to creating a space accessible to more customers and a business model that reflects the times and current shopping habits of designers and consumers. We briefly chatted with Jeff and Peter to learn more about their business's new location and growth.

CH: What can you offer your customers in the new space that you could not at SFDC?

J&P: Now that we have a street-facing entry, we can control the HEWN experience when you walk in the door. A dramatic entry welcomes you to our 10,000 SF showroom space on the second floor. With six dedicated parking spaces in the parking lot and a 30-minute metered space out front, it will be easier for our customers to visit, shop and load any purchases or samples. Leaving the SFDC was a tough decision; it’s been our home for 11 years. We want to introduce new customers to our incredible makers and craftspeople. We’re planning monthly events to continue bringing our community together to educate, celebrate and collaborate! It’s just what we do. 

CH: Tell us about your new App.  

J&P: The App was conceived to address the inefficiencies of shopping for textiles and requesting memo samples in the showroom, but the concept grew. Handwriting fabric names, numbers, and colorways are cumbersome and offer no way for us, as a showroom, to capture metrics on what samples are requested. Now a simple scan with the App on a mobile phone sends the designer’s request to our Memo Sample Department to be pulled. A push notification advises when the order is ready for pick up. 

As we developed the App, we added a feature that allows one to scan a price tag in the showroom, and a tear sheet immediately uploads to the App. With that digital copy on your device, you can save or share it with teammates and clients. But one of the most outstanding features is the SHOP option. You can shop and request samples from anywhere and select whether you'd like them sent directly or prefer to pick them up. We have developed a Social platform within the App to foster community and, lastly, our HTV feature featuring in-house video content from the HEWN team. We encourage you to download the App today!

CH: How do you select the lines you carry?  

J&P: We ask ourselves if the product or aesthetic is a category we don't currently offer. Is the company well-run with effective sales tools and support? And do their company values align with our Core Values? We aren’t changing the world, but we are changing how people live and experience their world, so if it makes sense and fits our vision, we bring it in. 

Hewn, 299 Kansas Street, San Francisco, 415-962-7833 hewensf.com