Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaj Maloney.
Hi Kaj, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We are a family business with roots in Denmark. My grandparents immigrated to the US from Denmark in the 50s after the war. After working multiple jobs, as all immigrants did at that time, they stumbled into business of their own, importing the traditional Danish clogs my grandmother wore at the time. This grew into an established women’s footwear brand that had the family traveling all over Europe, Asia, and Latin America, looking for new products and suppliers. My Uncle, Lars Kieler, the founder of Habitat, was along for the ride on these trips as a kid, learning the ins and outs of the import and fashion business along the way. One thing led to another, and Lars ended up starting a business of his own, a unique take on the furniture industry, sourcing and importing unique, one-of-a-kind products from around the world, a novel idea at the time in 1992. The business was successful but stayed relatively local to our hometown of San Luis Obispo and really functioned more as a design studio, wholesale business, and platform for Lars to travel the world finding unique pieces. Then, in 2018, I joined the business to learn the family trade from Lars. I brought a different vision to the company with the idea to expand the business, taking our unique and beautiful products and turning this into the brand now well known as Habitat Home & Garden. We turned the operations upside down and had years of cleaning up ancient operating systems and retooling products, marketing, and operations. Then, it was time to expand beyond our 1st showroom and elevate the brand’s reach. This started by opening our 2nd showroom on State St. in Santa Barbara in 2019. This was then followed most recently by our newest showroom opening on PCH in Malibu in 2023. Our showroom expansion has been equally matched with an expansion of product line. At the core of Habitat, we are a company that searches the globe to find unique, high-quality, and, most importantly, appealing/compelling products. We have gone from having factories in 4 countries in 2018 to 12 factories in 8 countries across the world in 2024.
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?
Smooth roads only exist in Hollywood.
I can’t imagine many entrepreneurs having a different answer for you than that. Running a business is certainly not the easiest thing you can do, but I will argue it’s one of the most rewarding. We feel small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of America; every great town and great city is full of great small businesses, whether it’s the boutique coffee shop, the Italian restaurant on the corner, or the local home furnishings store, it’s these businesses and business operators that create the charm, character, and community in every city across America. We feel an immense obligation to be there for our customers, our staff, and our community, and any sacrifice in terms of stress, struggles, or bumpy roads is well worth it. That’s a long way to go; yes, it’s not always easy, but it is always worth it!
We’ve been impressed with Habitat Home & Garden, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At Habitat, we pride ourselves on being unique and different; this applies both to the products you will find in our stores but also the people and service. We are a generational business, and we have watched the quality of products and the quality of service steadily decline year over year. Our goal is to stand in the face of this trend, offering not only an unusually high-quality product but also an old-school “know your neighbor” type of customer service. When you shop with us, we want you to feel the difference in our store: heavy, artisan-built products and friendly and knowledgeable team members who can actually help you instead of just reading from a script. This is by far what we are most proud of because it speaks to who we are and why we do it, which, in our view, is the very most important. That being said, in terms of actual product and design, we feel we embody a very quintessential coastal California design. We love to pair old and new pieces alike, layering spaces with the character and charm of the old world, as well as the contemporary feel and cleanliness of the new. We maintain a neutral color palette that creates a timeless look that will feel as good today as it does a decade from now.
What makes you happy?
As a company, nothing makes us happier than receiving an unsolicited “5-star” review. We spend a tremendous amount of time and energy to make sure our products and services are the best they can be, knowing that their final destination will be in a client’s home. We take this responsibility very seriously, knowing just how important someone’s environment/”Habitat” is to their personal happiness and well-being. We love being a part of brightening people’s spaces, knowing it will have a positive impact on themselves and their families. So, whenever we hear the positive feedback from clients about how much they love their Habitat pieces and how wonderful the service was, it truly lights up our team and reminds us all why we do it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://habitathomeandgarden.com/
- Instagram: habitathomeandgarden
- Facebook: habitathomeandgarden
Image Credits
Shelby Bourne Photography
