April 24, 2017

Meet Mutiara Tan of Kendedes Home in Midtown and Buckhead

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mutiara Tan.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In 2002, when my son started to go to school I was trying to figure out a more flexible work hours so I could be with him after school. I have always loved to design and create beautiful things, and so happened I knew some sources in Indonesia for furniture made of sustainable materials such as coconut shells, rattan and wood. So I started to create a collection and import the furniture for a handful of interior designers and small boutique shops around the country. It seems to work so we have bigger collection and warehouse for bigger distribution. About five years ago, we started to cater to hotels, creating custom pieces to their specifications. Our recent hotel projects include Sheraton Waikiki, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, Wyndham Kona Coast, Hawaii Prince Waikiki and Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. Our project at Mauna Kea Copper Bar recently won an award for the best amenities category, “2017 Bar of the Year” by Andrew Harper magazine. Last year, we opened our retail shop “Kendedes” located at 2055 Piedmont Road, between Midtown and Buckhead area. We would like to bring our unique artisan and modern furniture to Atlantans. So, after about fifteen years in the business, I feel that I come to a full circle to bring back my furniture collection to my own neighborhood in Atlanta.

Has it been a smooth road?
In most cases it has been a fairly successful venture, but of course not without any challenges. Some of the challenges are in the marketing, how to make people know and convinced in your business with very little marketing budget. Fortunately, we retain our customers so pretty much we grow from a few handful loyal customers and word of mouth. Another challenge is to retain good workers, which I rely very much on because I travel more than half of my time to visit the factory in Indonesia and to visit customers around the country.

So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Kendedes Home story. Tell us more about the business.
Kendedes Home, a furniture retail store, features Indo Puri collection. I create the Indo Puri collection, an artisan and modern design furniture, mostly made of sustainable materials available in Indonesia, where the furniture is made. Indoor and Outdoor furniture collection.

It is very rewarding when the customers notice and appreciate our furniture, the refined craftsmanship of how it is made and the creative use of materials. Also, to see the hotels we furnished transformed to beautiful resorts with well-designed furniture makes me proud of what we do. Besides the products we create, I am mostly proud of the dedication and service we provide to our customers, for small or large order. Whether it is a customer purchasing a table for her residence, or a customer for a large hotel project, we serve them with our utmost attention.

We want our customers to be happy that they know us and purchase their furniture from us because of the quality and service.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
As online retail and digital social media become more common, people will opt an easier way to purchase goods online. So, establishing brand and trust is important for the consumers to select our products. Pricing is also important as consumers now can easily compare and research in the internet. But by having a retail store Kendedes Home, I hope people in Atlanta take advantage of visiting our showroom.

As for the design trend, we still have an edge by providing furniture that is contemporary, yet handcrafted by skilled artisans to fit today’s lifestyle.

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