As home décor supplier The Howard Elliott Collection gets ready to celebrate its 25th anniversary this year, we catch up with Owner and President Brian Berk. He started with what he thought was a one-time opportunity to help with product distribution and turned it into a thriving home décor company that now includes stateside manufacturing for its soft goods as well as a wide array of furnishing options for residential, hospitality and commercial applications.
Tell us about your decision to start The Howard Elliott Collection.
Howard Elliott came about by accident. Long story short, I was going to start my own law firm with two other guys, but they were dragging their feet. [Prior to starting his company, Berk was a practicing trial lawyer specializing in civil litigation]. While waiting, I took a meeting with my dad for some party rental people who needed to distribute furniture, and we went to work helping them. As crazy things can happen, all of the furniture for these guys broke. I networked with any human I knew and found someone in China who helped me fix that furniture and replace it for these folks. Off and running, we moved on to producing some of this furniture.
From there, the next move toward Howard Elliott was hatched on the golf course. One of the people I was golfing with said they had a great idea for me: I should consider selling décorative mirrors. We went to try and find this mirror factory in China. It turned out that the mirror factory was 15 minutes from where I was sourcing plastic chairs for the party rental company. So, we set up a meeting.
My dad said this was the dumbest idea he’d ever heard. So I showed him — from the Home Accents Today Universe Study — that wall décor at the time was a $6 billion industry. My dad still said it was a dumb idea, but he said he’d help just to prove it was dumb. Now his homes are furnished with Howard Elliott.
Where did the brand name Howard Elliott come from?
My middle name is Howard; my dad’s is Elliott. He suggested Elliott Howard, but I said, ‘How about Howard Elliott,’ and that’s who we are now.
Does your father have a role in Howard Elliott?
My father has been an advisor to the business, but he’s never had an active role in the business. He does flip houses with Howard Elliott furniture!
Howard Elliott has grown substantially over the last 25 years. What has driven that expansion?
We started Howard Elliott in October 2001 with maybe 30 styles of mirrors, and we had a small showroom at the High Point Market. From there, we segued into accessories first and then got into accent furniture and then pillows, which we manufacture domestically, and then artwork.
I look at all the products we sell — even if it’s a smaller cabinet — as an accessory. We’re not upholstery or case goods. We’re an accessory home décor line. That’s how I characterize how we’ve stayed focused as we grow. We are comfortable focusing on accent pieces and with the accessories buyers. When we’ve tried to deviate, we’ve risked losing the buyer we’re most familiar with. I don’t have unlimited resources, so any time we’ve been pulled to something more ancillary, I’ve tried to steer us back. Even with the outdoor category, we offer pillows and poufs, and they’re fairly limited and novel. It’s not your typical outdoor furniture. We’re also adding more OEM work in our factory to create products for others.
When and why did you decide to buy your own domestic factory?
With our connection to the party rental industry, we were looking for furniture we could sell that was versatile and would be durable. We became friendly with a Chicago textile company that was distributing to the party rental industry, and there was an opportunity to acquire the company. We were buying and selling but not manufacturing at the time. So, we absorbed it. The best part of that acquisition is that we got Colleen [Daly, Howard Elliott’s Vice President]. She’s been fantastic and a great partner for many years.
What excites you most about the company you’ve built?
I think what excites me most about Howard Elliott is the creativity aspect of participating in shaping design and beautiful products. I’ve enjoyed creating an organization that’s lean and mean and never seems to wane. It’s exciting to see all of the different ways the business can go. We don’t just wait for a store to reorder. We try to figure out our customers’ pain points.
In addition, the products we manufacture domestically — the soft goods, the poufs and ottomans, for example — help us open new customers and segway into the mirrors and accessories. And we can go back to the customers we sell accessories to for a custom pillow program. We adopted a committed partnership customizable program to listen and learn what opportunities are available and what solutions we can deliver. It gives us the flexibility to work with our partners in different ways. Being flexible has presented us with myriad opportunities.
What was the best advice you’ve gotten along your business-building journey?
Don’t sweat the little stuff. Don’t get outhustled. Stay focused. You have to be flexible but more focused and disciplined. The top line doesn’t matter as much as the bottom line.
Howard Elliott showrooms are fun to visit at markets. How do you keep your attention focused on your customers?
We approach markets as if we’re throwing a party. We send invitations. We like to make sure that all of the senses are touched when someone comes into the showroom. We work on playlists and serve delicious foods and come up with aesthetically pleasing drinks, which we’ve become known for. Customers come to get their Bloody Marys at every market. We always have enough staff in the showroom to greet and welcome our guests. As we’re only at market for a few days, we’re there for the buyers who want to be there, whether it’s early or late. I’m not at market to go to dinner or shows. I’m there to be there for our buyers. It’s worked for us for many years. We try to be as accommodating as we can be.
What do you look forward to as you continue to head up and grow Howard Elliott?
People don’t realize that in this business after your inventory and customers, your next biggest assets are imagery and data in a world where everyone is gravitating toward an online presence. We have to be able to provide our partners with the latest features so consumers can make decisions if they aren’t in a showroom. The ability to work on product development is getting easier, too, with AI and other tools. I’m excited to see how that continues to play a role as we learn and adapt to the ever-changing world and capabilities that are out there.
JUST FOR FUN
What is your favorite non-work thing to do?
Golfing. With my golfing crew, we don’t talk much about work.
Favorite travel destination?
Europe. More specifically, Paris and Rome. I just love the culture and history. It’s so easy to get caught up in a more relaxed culture and see all the history behind you. It’s always great for our industry to see what’s going on with colors, textures and architecture, too.
Have you always lived in Chicago? What do you love about it?
I’ve been in Chicago my whole life. I love everything but December through March. I love that it’s a big city but has more of that midwestern friendliness to it. We love finding new restaurants. There’s a festival going on every weekend. Chicago has great food and great music.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
It’s challenging. When the kids were young, I always made sure I was at the major stuff — dance recitals, lacrosse games. I made sure I made space for those to be present for my kids. Unfortunately, I have to travel extensively. I really try to carve out time where my wife and I can sit and decompress together, not on laptops. We make time for that. When the kids were younger, it was rare that we had a family dinner. When they are around now, we eat dinner together. My wife and I make sure we eat together and have a couple of hours to ourselves during the week.
