Reddie combines traditional technique with modern aesthetic in their made to order furniture.
Andrew and Caroline Olah are behind Crown Street’s Reddie. The business is a culmination of Caroline’s interior architecture and design background and Andrew’s in sales and marketing at Google – impeccably crafted, sustainable furniture that’s entirely customisable.
Opening a retail store is no small feat, especially when the product is customised and made to order. “Furniture factories are old school, they want quick money through mass production. So when I went to them with my made to order business model they laughed and told me no factory would ever do that. So I had to think laterally,” explains Caroline.
The couple’s Indonesian backgrounds led them to Central Java, to a little town near Surabaya, where handcrafted woodwork originated. “There are really beautiful woods in the region, and every single person is in the furniture production industry. You’ll walk down the road and there’ll be a guy making something or ladies doing traditional weaving.”
“Our team is trained in traditional Danish woodworking so I’ve combined that with my modern aesthetic and we’ve come up with something that’s very different.”
Every material used is regulated and sourced ethically. Caroline and Andrew ensure that all offcuts are used for accessories like breadboards, and the unused marble contributes to the building of houses and footpaths for the local community.
“Having a physical presence has changed everything for us,” says Andrew. Prior to their shop opening on Crown Street three months ago, the store was entirely online. “The customer is really involved in the design process, it’s like a tailor shop for furniture.”
“We initially thought our business was going to be online only, but now we’ve turned into this very boutique shop, driven by that human connection. We’d love to open a store in every high profile city in the world, then just continue to expand naturally and sustainably,” says Caroline.
