Transcript: Episode 201: Collect 12 Postcards
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[00:00:00] Susan Barry: Holy Moly! This is Top Floor episode 201. You can find the show notes at topfloorpodcast.com/episode/200.
[00:00:14] Narrator: Welcome to Top Floor with Susan Barry. This weekly podcast ride up to the top floor features tangible tips and excellent stories from the experts and characters who elevate hospitality. And now your host and elevator operator, Susan Barry.
[00:00:32] Susan Barry: Welcome to the show. Kim DiMarco is a veteran of the textile industry with deep roots in hospitality design. Originally from Toronto, she began her career by bringing a major California textile brand to Canada through sheer grit and determination. Over the years, Kim has worked with multiple prominent textile companies, built sales and customer service teams, and managed international operations across Asia, Australia, Dubai, and North America. After a stint running a children's product company, Kim returned to her textile roots and ultimately founded her own hospitality-focused textile business. Kim is passionate about reviving creativity in contract textiles, building values-driven companies, and creating sustainable systems for end of life fabric recycling. Today we are going to talk about sustainability in hospitality textiles and the challenges women face in entrepreneurship. But before we jump in, we need to answer the call button.
Call button rings
The emergency call button is our hotline for hospitality professionals, and probably in this case tired adults who have burning questions. If you would like to submit a question, you can call or text me at (850) 404-9630. Today's question was actually submitted by me because this is something that I wanna know the answer to, and if this is too far afield, I completely understand and we can move on. But Kim, I grew up at a time when a certain big brand was very famous for the craziest looking carpet that I have ever seen in the history of time, and this was before white bedspreads. They also had crazy looking bedspread patterns and all that stuff, and I guess I always assumed that it was because those patterns hid stains. Is that assumption correct or is there another reason for that sort of wild pattern?
[00:02:49] Kim DiMarco: I really think pattern and color is kind of associated with the time that we're living in. So I really feel like there's moments in time where we really need color and we need texture, and we need brightness, and that reflects in the interiors. Absolutely in hospitality textiles, there is a tendency to pick either multicolor patterns for some of those issues on upholstery like staining, but really I believe pattern is more to do with what's going on in our environment in this current moment and that we really need a certain look or feel. You know, there's been a time, especially in hospitality fabrics in the last couple years where we went really neutral and creams and soft, and I think as a community we really needed that when we went into a hotel interior, right? We wanted to feel calm and simple and at peace. So I really believe design and colorful where we're moving back into, which is exciting, is common of the times. And I'm not sure of what time of period that was, but I think it was probably a very joyous time in the world. And I think pattern and color reflect that. And I'm happy to say we're moving back into that desire for color again and pattern. And I also think at that moment too, there was a lot of creativity happening in the world, which also encourages pattern and color because when we invest in artists and have creative people, they bring beautiful things to life.
[00:04:26] Susan Barry: Well, I'm happy to hear that you think that we are moving back in a more colorful direction. I'm very interested to see how that plays out. But I have to ask how you first got into the textiles in industry. I don't know what that career path is like. How do you end up in that?
[00:04:47] Kim DiMarco: Yeah, it was really interesting. I was actually in design school and we were very fortunate. We had a sales rep for a contract textile company come in and present to us as students. And I was in three years and of design school and I was like, you know what? I love design, but I really do not wanna do working drawings. I really was looking for something more creative. And I love connecting with people. And I believe hospitality is service and I always love the idea of contributing and serving a client. That's why I've always been in this business is really more about the connection. So we had the sales rep come in and she just presented these beautiful fabrics, all with a really interesting story. And they were gorgeous, with color and texture, and I was just so inspired. I went and spoke to her after our presentation and I said, “How do I work for you?” And she said, “Well, we just came up to Canada from New York. I'm the new sales rep, we're gonna work outta my basement. And you could come and volunteer for me.” And I said, “Absolutely.” So for four months I drove two and a half hours each way to work in this woman's basement.
[00:06:01] Susan Barry: As a volunteer?
[00:06:02] Kim DiMarco:As a volunteer.
[00:06:04] Susan Barry: Oh, wow.
[00:06:05] Kim DiMarco: Because I wanted the job. And so I really feel like — especially in this current climate where a lot of young people don't know what they wanna do — if you have a spark, you have to follow it. And you need to get to the right people that are going to ultimately train you and support you in a career. And so, I was so determined, after four months, they gave me a job as a sales assistant. And I worked there for a few years. Every experience in your career leads you somewhere else and so luckily I listened to my passion and I've been in this business for over 30 years.
[00:06:45] Susan Barry: So part of that 30 years was launching a brand from California across Canada. What did you learn from doing that? And I think it was at a pretty young age, too, right?
[00:06:59] Kim DiMarco: Yes. Every career I've approached, I always approach it from a point of view of like, this is my opportunity, this is my career. And so I was always very, very driven. So I flew myself to California to meet with this company and I had to do it twice. I told 'em I was going on vacation and they said, “We don't need any business in Canada.” And I said, “No. Give me a shot.” And I was I think about 25 at the time. And so my second trip to California, they gave me the line. I started in my little townhouse that I owned with some banker boxes up to the ceiling, put all the fabrics in there and off I went. We ended up building such a tremendous business, I was there for almost 16 years. And I wouldn't stay today, except that I ended up moving to California. But I always say that that was like my textile university. They were such a wonderful company and I learned so much from them. And it really was just determination and connection. It was just showing up every day, showing these collections because I have passion about it. I loved presenting to these clients, contributing to projects. And we built the business over time and eventually we opened a warehouse and I ran also customer service in Canada and then expanded into international sales. So I had a great relationship with the president of the company and we used to have this situation where we would agree, okay, I would set a goal, like I want a showroom. I would have to hit a sales number and when I did, they would do it. So I think that is a great idea. As you know, a company wants to grow a market to put these little like conversations out there, these little dreams. And I really think you can work towards them and capture them. and together everyone wins.
[00:08:50] Susan Barry: That is pretty amazing. Well, now you are an entrepreneur. What pushed you to make that leap?
[00:08:58] Kim DiMarco: I absolutely still love this business after so many years, and I had always both a business — my main role was director of sales in many different companies, and so I was running teams, sales teams, and I love developing territories. I love supporting sales reps. I love working in different markets, but I've always had a creative side. I wanted to take my creativity and my business acumen and success and put them together for myself. And out of all the markets, some of the textile companies I work for, work into many different markets, but hospitality and guest room was so close to my heart because I really feel like it's the most creative.
I'm also a foodie and I love hotels and I love restaurants, so I feel like if you are going to be focused in a certain market, why not jump right in? So we've been super creative in how we've gone to market and one of the fun things that designers really love about my brand has been we decided to do a menu. So that is our price list. I named all the fabrics after old restaurants from the twenties, thirties and forties that have closed and everything has food names. I'm sure everyone listening in loves hospitality, loves hotels. You really feel it, right? You feel like your shoulders come down, you go into this beautiful bed that's all cozy and crisp with linens and everything's clean and it really helps you rejuvenate and brings a smile to your face. So if we can contribute to the creativity of those rooms, we're grateful.
[00:10:38] Susan Barry: I know creativity is an important value for you. What are some of the other things that you're focused on with Somato Textiles?
[00:10:48] Kim DiMarco: So definitely the core principles are: people, planet, and product. And that includes creativity. And it's really much in that order because, it's very interesting as a startup. So I did try to pitch for some funding and I really got burnt out by the whole process. So I really have self-funded this business and I really believe that we need to invest in people. If we do not have people at the forefront of our businesses, we cannot thrive. And so as a startup, you also get to be a little creative. And sometimes it's not the easy route, but I have two incredible women that came from fashion that are making all of our sampling and also helping us in the warehouse. And so neither of them had really any kind of computer experience. One is from Peru and she's just so talented and so creative, and I see her creativity. And instead of just having them sit there and make samples, I've really pushed them to elevate their skills. And ultimately I want to be able to pay them the very most, not the very least. Some of the things that I've tried to do is be equitable and, and easy to work with. And so we also change their hours to avoid traffic, so they work seven to two. We also pay their gas — one tank of gas a week. So little things that we can do to lift them up. And ultimately I want them both to be managers when we have a huge team. And that is just going to improve their life, improve their family's lives, and I really think we need to have like more heart-centered businesses.
[00:12:33] Susan Barry: Interesting. Well, I'm curious, we touched on this a little bit in the elevator button question, but what makes hospitality textiles different from textiles in other industries like fashion, for example?
[00:12:49] Kim DiMarco: Yes, so we're very fortunate there is something called The ACT Association, the Association Contract Textiles, and that is actually a community of textile, upholstery, designers, distributors. And so what we do is we all pay into this membership. And so basically there are certain ACT standards that we all test for. So we take our fabrics and we give them to an outside lab and we have them all tested. And so the nice thing, even though we're all competitors, we come together with the same information. So if you're looking at a velvet from Somato Textiles or from a competitor, you can put those next to each other and read the specifications and understand what you're purchasing. So the nice thing about contract fabrics is they're highly durable. They have color fastness, meaning they're not going to fade. We have pilling tests. We have fire rating tests. So all of these things have to happen to come to market. And so that really is the difference between contract fabrics and residential fabrics and then of course apparel. It's just a completely different construction.
[00:13:58] Susan Barry: That makes sense. But I don't think I knew that there would be a difference between even hospitality and residential. It's funny though, because I think there is this misperception from new hotel investors or owners who think, oh, well why can't you just go to 14 different home goods and pick up the lamp that we need versus ordering it from a supplier? And that must be, the lamp is not a textile, but that must be the reason.
[00:14:30] Kim DiMarco: Absolutely. And I also think there are some smaller brands or maybe hotels that have used those kind of retail environments. But I think we have to be more conscious because those are just gonna not stand the test of time. Buying contract, buying companies that are making goods. You might be paying a little bit more upfront, but the longevity of the product is going to be much more significant. And so I think we just need to keep that in mind that it's worth it to pay a little bit more upfront to make sure you're buying contract goods from professionals that are creating it for that environment.
[00:15:08] Susan Barry: What about challenges? What are some of the challenges that you have faced in the process of launching your company?
[00:15:17] Kim DiMarco: Definitely one of the challenges is access to capital. I think we should all be very conscious of the fact if you do not try to go down the private equity route, which is always a challenge there just really isn't access to capital. And I think we just really, in all industries, need to understand that banks have gotten away from any kind of loans for startups, and there just really isn't any option. Venture capital, last year, there was $289 billion funded for startups, but again, only 6.7 billion, which is 2.3%, was given to female founders. And it's not about not vesting, it's not the men or women conversation, it's just we need to invest in some diversity. So including minorities, we just need more diversity and the questions that you get asked as a woman entrepreneur. I was in many, many meetings with very successful mainly male driven companies, where they were asking really kind of unrealistic returns.
Like, we wanted 10x our money for if we're gonna give you x. So I just really think that people should step back If you've made it in any business, how much more do you need? And if you believe in somebody and somebody's company and their vision or their experience, take a pause, think about, could I give them a little bit to give them a little bit of a head start? Do I believe in what they're doing? And I really believe that that is where we need to go as a society, is go back to helping each other. Whether it was a family business that possibly your parents had started, somebody helped them originally with terms, or family members maybe came in and worked for free. There was a day where it was much easier to build a business. And it's really challenging in this current time because understandably, it's very expensive and people need to be paid equitably for what they do. But if you don't have the right capital, you can't hire the right people that have experience. So I just want people to reinvest in each other, especially if you've made it in this business.
[00:17:43] Susan Barry: That ties nicely into my next question. What is your approach to sustainability in your line?
[00:17:50] Kim DiMarco: So this was something that I really sat with for a long time because absolutely we can buy recycled fibers, we can look at natural fibers, which are more sustainable, but like what do we really do with the fabric at the end of the life? I mean, that was my big question, like what can we do at the end of the life? So we've been working with a third party, and we should be launching this, hopefully at the end of the summer, early fall, There's a process called biochar. So biochar is taking a natural fiber and putting it into a chamber, reducing the oxygen and turning into almost like an ash. And that can be used in many different things, including tires and ground cover. And so we were looking at it from our textiles. So ours are not natural fibers and that's really partly because they have to be highly durable for these applications. They also have to be very cleanable. Right? So you've got polyester - polyester can look really beautiful, you know? You'll be surprised. But it's highly able to be cleaned, right? So we have non-natural fibers and until recently you weren't able to turn product with finishes or non-natural fibers into biochar. So that is changing. It's gonna be called Char. And so what that ends up doing is it's really an amazing thing to be used for clearing odor, this char. It can again also be incorporated into other types of products, including, like I mentioned, tires. So this is where I really believe we need to go. And the fascinating thing is it's really a closed loop system. So the idea is, let's say we have a big hotel brand. They buy a thousand yards from us. Five years later, they wanna reupholster that. We pull all the fabric off, we verify they bought a thousand yards. They ship it to this third party to turn it into Char, we'll verify that they'll, that they've done that and we'll provide a certificate that shows them that. But we anticipate that that char will actually have value in a couple years. So right now there's no charge to do this for the hotel brand. But that char can turn into a value proposition, then we can sell it by the pound. And then maybe those hotel brands decide to use that payment for that fiber, for the use of goods. Maybe they put that into a charity. Maybe they put that into, some kind of organization.
[00:20:32] Susan Barry: Well, what I've been thinking about this whole time is that if Char can be used for air freshener, then you create a line of air fresheners using the char from your recycled fabric. How cool would that be?
[00:20:43] Kim DiMarco: That is so cool. And actually we've been trying to find the right partner in that because the challenge is we have the third party to process. We need a buyer for the char. So we're working on that. That's our last little challenge. For a little company I just wanted to think about how can we do this differently and be a better partner and ultimately not include in adding more waste to this plant that doesn't need anymore.
[00:21:14] Susan Barry: That's really cool. We like to make sure that our listeners come away from every single episode of Top Floor with a couple of really practical, tangible tips to try either in their businesses or in their day-to-day lives. There are often huge product libraries for designers to go through when they're making design decisions. How do you recommend cutting through that sort of visual noise when it comes to looking at textile samples?
[00:21:46] Kim DiMarco: I think all products in the commercial space, there is so much. So I think we really need to step back and really look at product for the source. So I just believe like instead of shipping fabric all over the world, let's find out where that furniture manufacturer is. Let's source the fabric closer to that area and just make it more efficient. I think again, absolutely, it's a global economy. We absolutely have so many interesting options, but like, let's start again, selecting things from the source. I really think there is a lack of community in our industry because we're also busy. But there was a day where sales reps we're a huge resource. We got to go in, we got to present. Now there's so much product out there, you might get 15 minutes. But leaning into those sales reps, those senior people at those companies that have a lot of knowledge can save a lot of time. Just calling them up and asking, we need a blue velvet, send us whatever you need. And we can be a great resource for that. I also think producing less. I think all of us in all companies just could produce less. My goal is to only have two small collections a year and really keep the skews about 223 patterns. And so if there's a color that doesn't sell or a pattern that doesn't sell we'll just slowly, quietly move that outta the line and add something else. I really wanted the line to be, small, cohesive, and very classic and timeless. So we, what I call our solids and textures are our foundation fabrics, things that you need all the time. And then we have more decorative patterns, which I call anchor patterns, that kind of bring everything together and bring some life. I also feel like we can play with color because hospitality, there's these nuances on color and so my goal was let's have less product, but really beautiful colors within those patterns. So a little bit more launch on color lines, a little bit longer color lines. So I think producing less I think is important because I think it's overwhelming for designers to go to a website when there's thousands of different options and you sell a million different things. So staying focused I think is important.
[00:24:06] Susan Barry: I love that advice. I think that's really smart. You talked about your two collections a year. For someone who is considering launching their own product line, whether it's textiles or air fresheners or anything else, what is something you wish you knew before starting?
[00:24:25] Kim DiMarco: Well, I think this is more advice. Truly make sure that you love whatever business that you're going into. 'cause you have to be prepared to work longer and harder than you ever thought possible. and pos possibly make a lot of family sacrifices to do it. So just really dive into the business, make sure that you're truly passionate about the business and take a little pause. I spent a lot of time on my pitch and my business development plan. I spent about a year on it and I really took the time to look at the company and how I wanted to create it.
[00:25:08] Susan Barry: Well, we have reached the fortune telling portion of our show, so now you have to predict the future and then we'll see if you got it right. And I'm gonna add an extra surprise question to this section because I thought of something that I really wanna get your prediction on. But first, what is a prediction that you have about the future of hospitality design?
[00:25:27] Kim DiMarco: I definitely think the future of hospitality design is actually going back and reflecting on where the property is located and designing with intention. I recently was flying back from the UK and I was at one of those big brands at Heathrow and I walked in and it felt like California. And I was just like, this has no soul. You do not wanna be traveling out of London to feel like California, which is where I'm based. So I think we can't design in a bubble. So we really need to know, like, how do we get these designers out into the world, really experiencing a city? I also feel like. We're gonna move into creating product locally and bringing in some soul and craft into each environment. So I'm hopeful that, again, we're gonna go back to buying real art and investing in creativity again, which gives a soul to a space. So I think it's really important that we understand that designers need to get out into the world and experience hospitality and design and really understand the environment and the culture and then they will be able to create beautiful interiors.
[00:26:43] Susan Barry: This is my surprise question for you. The West End Heavenly Bed launched in 1999 and it was the first of what are now the ubiquitous, never-ending, pure white bedspreads. Which at the time people were like, how will you keep it clean? And of course, now every single hotel, top of the line to bottom of the line have white bedspreads. Is there ever going to be a backlash against the white bedspread, or is it too intrinsically tied to people's sort of definition of cleanliness?
[00:27:21] Kim DiMarco: I think we're going to stick with the white bread spreads. I really believe so, because I also feel like it’s obviously it's beautiful and fresh and clean, and it really goes with any environment. It's one of those things like if you wanna change the wall covering in that room or the upholstery, it's timeless. And I think that is why we're gonna stick with the white bedspreads. That's my feeling.
[00:27:47] Susan Barry: Okay. I'm gonna hold you to that prediction and if I see a multicolored one, I'm gonna send it to you. If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about the hospitality textile industry, what would it be?
[00:28:03] Kim DiMarco: I would just say let's produce less.
[00:28:05] Susan Barry: Mm-hmm.
[00:28:06] Kim DiMarco: Let's just really take a pause and instead of just throwing so much into the market and hoping things stick, let's just design with intention.
[00:28:15] Susan Barry: What about entrepreneurship? What do you hope that the next generation of hospitality entrepreneurs does differently?
[00:28:24] Kim DiMarco: I think it's time to invest in people. I really think hospitality is service and comes from the heart. And if you have servers or front desk professionals and they're checked out, and they're not interested, and they're not able to greet your clients in the way that you expect, I think we won't have the hotel business that we have today. And I think it's so important that we are also empathetic to their situation as well. And then to those employees, I say, put your phone, be a professional. If you want to move up into this career and you want to expand, watch your boss. Copy everything they do, and if they don't see your value move to another brand. I really think investing in people and also people investing in themselves, I think we all feel a little stuck in this current environment, but we have to remember we have the power to move forward and we need to also support and encourage people so. Nothing better. I was just in Vancouver last week or this week, earlier this week, and I had the most beautiful lunch at this hotel. And the server was so gracious and really cared and you feel it. And I want to tip that gentleman and call him out. And I literally said at the end of my mail, thank you for your service, I really enjoyed it. It put a smile to his on his face and I felt good. And I think we just have to remember, we just need connection.
[00:29:58] Susan Barry: The loading dock is brought to you by Siv, the platform helping hotel sales teams boost conversion by responding instantly and personally to every inbound group lead, 24/7/365. I talked to their CEO Mike Medsker in episode 198 that we recorded at HITEC, and I think I said this to him then, but I absolutely wish we had something like this when I was leading hotel sales teams. If you are tired of missed leads, ghosted planners, and your team spending hours digging through their inboxes, visit sivconverts.com to see how fast can still feel personal.
That's sivconverts.com. Siv is S as in Sam, I, V as in victor, converts.com. Okay folks, before we tell Kim goodbye, we are going to head down to the loading dock where all of the best stories get told.
Elevator voice announces, “Going down.”
Kim, what is a story you would only tell on the loading dock?
[00:31:09] Kim DiMarco: Well, this is a funny one. Early on when I started this journey of fundraising, I'm like, who in the world do I wanna work with? And I decided that I wanted to contact Danny Meyer. If you haven't read the book that I absolutely love from him Setting the Table. I highly recommend it.
[00:31:28] Susan Barry: It's so good. One of my favorites. I love that book.
[00:31:30] Kim DiMarco: Isn't it? It's so great. I give it to a lot of people because it's also business and creativity and passion and I'm a big admirer. So what I decide, I'm like, I don't know him, but I'm gonna figure it out. So I found out that he owns a company called Enlighten Hospitality, which is venture capital. Found out later that they don't invest in startup, but I'm like, how am I gonna get a meeting? So, I have a very good friend in LA who owns a beautiful clothing line. She made these incredible sweatshirts for me. We put our logo, our little horsey girl on the back, and I sent them to their 12 team members, and each team member, I wrote a postcard that explained why they had to invest in Somato.
So if it was finance, I would say, well, the margins are X, and, and I sent one sweatshirt nicely packaged with a note to all 12 team members. And for Danny, I said, you have to collect all 12 postcards to find out why you have to invest into Somato Textiles. So we did get on a meeting with one of his vice presidents at that moment. She did tell me that they don't invest in start ups, but to come back and I will surely come back. And that is just a way — I just wanna inspire people to like, take the chance. I didn't get funded, we didn't move forward, but there is a possibility that they know we exist now. And again just have some encouragement and make some connections and you never know what will happen.
[00:32:58] Susan Barry: That is so great. I love that approach. I love pitches like that that are just more than a PowerPoint deck, so I feel sure you registered in their memory. Kim DiMarco, thank you so much for being here. I know our listeners learned a lot about the textiles industry and I really appreciate you riding with me to the top floor.
[00:33:20] Kim DiMarco: It was a real pleasure. Thank you for your time and I love your podcast.
[00:33:25] Susan Barry: Thank you so much for listening. You can find the show notes at topfloorpodcast.com/episode/201. Jonathan Albano is our editor, producer, and all around genius. He even wrote and performed our theme song with vocals by Cameron Albano. You can subscribe to Top Floor on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen and your rating or review will go a long way in helping us give you more of what you like.
[00:34:00] Narrator: Thanks for listening to the Top Floor Podcast at www.topfloorpodcast.com. Have a hospitality marketing question? Reach us at 8504049630 to be featured in a future episode.