Olive Workshop, Culver City
@OliveAteliers
Every other Saturday, outside a warehouse in Culver City, more than 400 people line up to enter olive workshops. The line starts to form around 6:30 am, and when the doors open at 9:30 am, it’s only a matter of time until the 5,000-square-foot space is cleared. The room is filled with “objects with an ancient soul”: Turkish pots, small rustic stools, bowls, marble sinks, terracotta pots and more, sourced from all over the world. Customers enter the room, grab tape and markers to mark their finds, and take off on the run. It’s first-come, first-serve for one of the most coveted drops on Instagram.
Olive Workshops, Culver City
@OliveAteliers
Olive Ateliers has quickly become one of the most recognizable lifestyle brands on social media today. Founded by kendall-knox, ben knoxY Laura Matthews, the trio import objects from Turkey, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Greece, France and more and release them bi-weekly every other Saturday at their Los Angeles Ateliers. Each week the team teases their upcoming inventory to their dedicated community of over 60,000 Instagram followers to build anticipation. No two drops are the same. There is no e-commerce site and no shipping. It’s all face-to-face and it always sells out. In the words of Kendall Knox, it’s a kind of restoration hardware that combines Supreme-meets-FirstDibs-meets-Restoration: an elevated experience with high-quality products that if you blink, you’ll miss it. “The problem we ran into when trying to furnish our homes was that the style we loved was hard to find in one place,” Knox said. “You really had to bounce. And then when you found these pieces, they were incredibly expensive, or you shipped them internationally and you had to find a way to get them home. We set out to fill that void. Our tagline is to celebrate objects with ancient souls. That’s the core of the business.
Kendall Knox, Ben Knox and Laura Matthews
olive workshops
olive workshops
@OliveAteliers
The Knoxs and Matthews started curating drops in 2021 through Instagram as a passion project, but experienced immediate success, much to their surprise. They would select some of their favorite salvaged items from their travels, post them to the @OliveAteliers account, and the drops would sell instantly. That holiday season, they tried out a pop-up vacation concept in Venice and made it to a line around the corner on the first day. It was then that they knew their idea was successful and, six months after launch, they signed a lease for their first space. Today it’s the flagship of Olive Ateliers in Culver City, an airy white space with a large olive tree that greets you as you enter. The trio: Ben, an entrepreneur who founded and sold the CPG company. keto farmsLaura, an interior designer and estate manager, and Kendall, a fashion publicist, had no background in antiques and vintage, but each brought a unique skill set to bring Olive Ateliers to life.
“Olive trees signify abundance,” Knox said. “They’re from the old world regions of Europe, where we source a lot of our products. We also wanted to approach the retail experience as a rudimentary workshop environment. Walking into a showroom or design space can be overwhelming because it’s so perfect… We wanted to remove that stigma and let things be a little lower and dirtier. The word atelier, which means workshop in French, felt perfect.”
olive workshops
@OliveAteliers
The drop system, according to Knox, has been the secret to its success. In essence, the drops create emotion. As they began selling out in minutes, Olive Ateliers’ customer became more loyal and invested in their growing inventory: “You walk into this space, you see something, you want it for your home, and you can take it with you. And if you don’t It won’t be there when you return.We understand that not everyone wants to have to make a decision quickly, but when you’ve built a trusted lifestyle brand and shown people how to use the product, it takes the guesswork out of buying that item.So You create more trust with the consumer because now they have this beautiful variety of things at a good price, they can see how to put them together and let them live in their own home.” Knox said. The number one question they get asked, though, he says, is, “Can you create an online experience?” Although Knox thinks it could be part of future plans, his team is very focused on the in-person experience and making sure it’s the best it can be for their consumers. According to a study Knox conducted through the Instagram account @OliveAteliers, 25% of his customers are repeat customers for weekend deliveries. That’s been the key to building an incredibly loyal community.”
olive workshops
@OliveAteliers
olive workshops
@OliveAteliers
Knox is no stranger to impeccable customer service. As the former PR Director for REVOLVE, she created a Rolodex of notable names and relationships to launch an Instagram-worthy brand. In just under a year, Olive Ateliers has entered the homes of some of the most sought-after celebrities and influencers, from Elsa Hosk to Kendall Jenner, Kristen Bell, Jenni Kayne and more, “Nowadays, everyone feels like they need to work with influencers. But my best advice would be to make sure it’s coming from an organic place. You can’t force that association on someone. They need organic gravitation for you as a brand and business,” Knox said. Hosk was one of her first clients looking for items for her new home in California. The Olive Ateliers team sourced a Spanish marble stool that was shared on social media, boosting the brand to its 8 million followers.
Olive workshops for Elsa Hosk
@HoskElsa
After just six months in its Culver City space, Olive Ateliers is targeting a major expansion. Later this year, they will move into a 22,000-square-foot space to accommodate their 40% monthly growth. The new location will allow for a more frequent and larger scale shopping experience with the desire for more locations in the future. When asked what his best advice for growth is, Knox says, “There’s no point in sitting around and waiting to perfect your logo and brand image. You have to start. It all starts with the product. You have to learn who your brand is.” customer is, build that strong community around you, and the rest will follow.
Follow @OliveAteliers to see their next release.
Source: news.google.com