February 26, 2017

Meet Travis Nagle of Medley in West Hollywood

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis Nagle.

Travis, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I didn’t come from a background in furniture and was only 23 at the time which made it challenging, but also allowed me to bring a fresh perspective to a more traditional industry. In 2005 my brother and I had an idea about a new approach to furniture where our website offered customizable pieces so people could get exactly what they wanted. So, we built a simple website (www.viesso.com), came up with some designs that we build in Los Angeles, and started using Craigslist to sell sofas out of our apartment. We created a professional environment and people felt comfortable doing business with us. After a few months, we sold enough to get our first store so I quit my job at an ad agency and dove in full time. Since launching we’ve become a leader in utilizing eco-friendly materials and started adding a curated selection of other brands to sell alongside our own. Just last year we rebranded our own collection and called it Medley, seen now at https://medleyhome.com. With the new brand, we’ve added a 100 day home trial, added more exclusive designs and continued to evolve the way people shop for furniture. You can currently see the Medley collection at our Viesso store and will soon have its own standalone store in Los Angeles as well.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Because we’ve never taken any funding and had basically no resources to start, it’s grown organically. This is good in that it forced us to find the right product/market fit but also has made it more challenging for quick growth. When we launched we had no mentors or experience in the industry so we had to learn very quickly in terms of design, manufacturing, shipping, and the other elements that bring physical goods to the market. It’s been a constant learning process along the way to help inform our business decisions. The recession hit the furniture industry really hard so we had to get very efficient and scale back to survive. We were able to ride it out and it made us stronger, including shifting our business model to add other brands in addition to our own to create a larger offering. Overall we’ve been stable though and our team has been able to maintain growth and innovation.

Medley – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Viesso offers a curated collection of the best modern design for the home, with a unique spectrum of brands from around the world. On Medley’s site we sell furniture that is tailor made for each customer and their home. Each piece is personalized by the customer and then we build it in Los Angeles in only 3 weeks using eco-friendly materials. This allows people to get the perfect look and fit and something unique to them. Medley is recognized nationally for how eco-friendly we are which I’m very proud of, and we were also one of the first to utilize technology for customizable furnishings. I’m also very proud of our customer service and the way we treat our customers, we go much further than most companies to ensure satisfaction at Viesso or Medley.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I think it’s been opening a store. The first time in 2005 was in Santa Monica and to go from selling out of my living room to having an actual store was an amazing feeling. At the time I was the only one working there so it was thrilling to see it come together and bring the brand to life. Recently we opened the new Viesso store on La Brea and that was another very proud moment. After 10 years and evolving as a company and brand, it felt great to expand to a larger store and create a better experience for shoppers in the Los Angeles area.

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