Daily Inspiration: Meet Brandon Rodgers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Rodgers

Hi Brandon, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Like most people in early 2020, I had a lot of extra time on my hands. A lot of time to explore new hobbies and think about what the future held. I don’t remember the exact moment I decided I wanted to start a small business, but I do know social media was the catalyst.

I started following accounts that boasted new home renovations, colorful dinner entrees and people exploring the world of gardening. However, the world of DIY resonated with me in a special way; especially furniture refinishing. Like most people who watch someone else DIY a project, I said to myself: “Oh, I could do that”.

The very next day I set off to explore the aisles of one of the local Habitat Restores for something that I could “flip”. I settled on two small end tables and crammed them into the backseat of the car. After hours of cleaning, patching, sanding and painting, my first two pieces were done. Were they good? Nope, but I was in love. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of accomplishment and I wanted more. If I had to pick, that’s probably the moment I decided to pursue this path and Delaro Designs was born.

With time, I have grown to appreciate the craftsmanship of antique furniture. The level of detail and talent required by these craftsmen to create something that is still around today is something to be said. It began to inspire me to create something like that of my own. With time and a major learning curve I grew confident enough to begin offering custom woodworking services to clients. Today, I am proud to say that we not only offer custom woodworking services, but also a made-to-order furniture collection that is available now, with new pieces launching soon.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not! There are always good days and bad days, just like with anything in life. Sometimes those bad days turned into bad months which was both monetarily and mentally stressful. When times were tough, it was hard not to question my decision to start a small business in the first place. One major struggle I encountered starting out was figuring out how to sell and market my furniture pieces. Something that I thought would be relatively straight forward, turned out to be a bit of a headache. There were instances when I didn’t sell anything for months and I would start to feel like I didn’t belong in this business. I then realized having a good product isn’t always enough to succeed, which forced me to step outside of my comfort zone and create new opportunities for business.

Time management was also difficult for me when I transitioned from an employee to a business owner. Nobody was there to create my schedule and tell me what to do, I had set those parameters for myself which was easier said than done. I would often find myself procrastinating or struggling to meet goals I would set for myself. It took time to develop the skills necessary to manage my time both efficiently and responsibly and to set reasonable goals for myself to help keep me motivated and not feel overwhelmed.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We divide our services into three different categories: curating a collection of restored antique and vintage furniture, client services, and custom designs.

We pride ourselves on curating a unique and diverse collection of antique and vintage furniture. Instead of focusing on a particular furniture type or style, we curate furniture from all different time periods and regions of the world to bring to the forefront of the market for everyone to enjoy.

Our client services include furniture refinishing and restoration, lacquer paint, and custom designs. I am proud to work with my clients to bring their ideas to life; whether that is by restoring family heirlooms, refinishing a bedroom set or helping them design and craft a new family heirloom to be passed down to generations to come.

But of all the work that we do, I am most proud of our new “Nogal Collection”, designed to combine modern comfort with nostalgic style to create heirloom quality pieces that are both beautiful and functional. Constructed from hand-selected solid hardwood paired with technological amenities, each piece brings both convenience and quiet luxury to your space. The collection will feature several made-to-order-pieces that will be periodically released through summer 2024.

How do you define success?
My definition of success has changed a bit since starting a business of my own. If you had asked me this when I first started out, I would have told you some monetary or business milestone for the next 10 or 20 years. And while striving to reach such goals in business is important, I realized that it doesn’t necessarily define success for me.

I now define success as coming to the realization of how lucky I am to be in the position I’m in. I get to wake up each day with a passion for what I do, while having the full support of my loved ones behind me. And now instead of focusing on what I don’t yet have, I look forward to what is to come and appreciate what I already have. Because what I already have is pretty great.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.delarodesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delarodesigns/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/delarodesigns