2017 in Review
Posted on January 06 2018
Hello all, I'm Kate, the founder of Koeppel Design and wanted to share a few thoughts about our business in 2017. Last year was a big year for Koeppel Design; while we are still a small business, we've grown and learned a lot this year- and I am proud of it. What was just a little side-project has now grown into a rewarding full-time career. Our products now reside in homes all over the world, and we've had chance to meet, chat with and learn about record collectors across the globe.
We start preparing for the holidays in September, ramping up production to increase our inventory. We continued with a very challenging production schedule all the way through the first weeks of December. While the year was wild and challenging in many ways, Koeppel Design sales revenue grew an unanticipated 45% - a significant increase that surpassed our goals for growth in 2017. Our overall number of sales grew 33%, which again was ahead of our goals for the year.
To celebrate a big year, we're temporarily pausing production this January to take a short break to recharge and reflect on what is next. I'll be heading to Italy for two weeks with my family to my favorite place for inspiration, Rome. We're looking forward to fresh pasta, long cold walks, a bit of art (and lots of history) and a few Negronis to help us celebrate, unwind and start the new year.
During our production break, all orders placed between January 7 -January 22 will begin shipping on Tuesday, January 23. Please refer to individual product pages for pre-order production lead times, as out-of-stock, pre-order and custom items may take longer to ship. We'll be back rested and ready to get back to work and back into production on January 23rd.
For a quick review of 2017 for Koeppel Design, read on!
Last year introduced new products, The LP Block our tabletop Now Spinning display stand, and two new color-ways of our redesigned Record Tote. We streamlined some of our production processes, which has allowed us to increase record divider production more efficiently. Our workshop underwent a slow remodel and got a few fresh coats of a very aggressive and happy pink paint.
We began a great new relationship with photographer Elysa Weitala. Working with other creative woman-run businesses is one of my greatest sources of inspiration. We worked with Elysa on several new product photoshoots in 2017, and look forward to continuing working with Elysa in the year to come.
We had the great pleasure of shooting with Elysa at Sightglass Coffee, a beautifully designed coffee shop on 20th Street in the Mission. Sightglass is my favorite local coffee roaster, and they have been longtime supporters and users of our products. Another reason I love Sightglass? They play a great selection of vinyl records in most of their locations around the Bay Area.
In closing, I want to thank everyone we've worked with and all our customers who have helped us grow. Through our products we've been invited into the homes and collections of folks from all over the world. I've always loved music, but my love for collecting records continues to grow as I learn and connect with others who love it too. Music is most often a social experience in our home- you can learn a lot about someone through the music they love and want to share. Here's to another year filled with music, learning and growth!