{"id":204533,"date":"2024-02-22T10:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T16:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/?p=204533"},"modified":"2024-02-21T08:09:26","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T14:09:26","slug":"light-house-dutton-brown-design-will-light-up-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/our-homes\/light-house-dutton-brown-design-will-light-up-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Light House: Dutton Brown Design Will Light Up Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s the first thing that\u2019s needed to appreciate any d\u00e9cor, so obvious that it\u2019s often overlooked.  The eggheaded refer to it as \u201celectromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye.\u201d  The rest of us simply call it \u201clight.\u201d  But light doesn\u2019t just let us appreciate decorative d\u00e9cor…sometimes light is<\/em> decorative d\u00e9cor.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you yearn to experience one of those sometimes, you have friends in the light d\u00e9cor business, friends who long ago decided to pool their redoubtable talents.  Founded by Zachary Dutton and Thomas Brown, their company is, according to its website, \u201can LGBTQ+-owned made-to-order high-end d\u00e9cor manufacturer that specializes in the design and assembly of color lighting and hardware.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That company\u2019s name, you won\u2019t be surprised to learn, is Dutton Brown Design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy name’s first because I’m the prettiest,\u201d Zach Dutton asserts credibly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis name is first,\u201d Thomas Brown refutes just-as-credibly,\u201d because Brown Dutton sounds like something you’d do to a drunk friend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sense of irreverent familiarity serves as the company\u2019s North Star…perhaps because the union of Dutton and Brown (or Brown and Dutton) became a life partnership before it became a business partnership.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe met on a website in 2005 called Connexion,\u201d Dutton remembers.  \u201cSo like, before cell phones had cameras…but we worked corporate jobs for five years and started this company in 2013.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working with one\u2019s domestic helpmate might, in other instances and with other people, be too much of a good thing, but such is not the case with this photocentric pairing.  Reports Brown: \u201cWe spend a lot <\/em>of time together which may not work for some, but it helps that we’re best friends and share a vision to create a color-coordinated home d\u00e9cor company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The members of this dynamic duo have even assigned themselves complementary roles in business and in life.  \u201cI’m the fierce one because of the energy I bring,\u201d Dutton diagnoses.  \u201cI am admittedly stubborn about never settling and am unafraid of taking risks involving things I understand.  I was once asked if I ever thought our business would do this well, and I said, \u2018Yes, absolutely. That’s sort of the point.\u2019  That’s not to say we aren’t humble.  We just know what we bring to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The table receives something much different from Thomas Brown.  \u201c\u2019Nerd derp\u2019 is the quickest way to describe me as one who is visibly ebullient about learning new things, especially as it relates to e-commerce, AI, or [financial technology],\u201d Brown says.  \u201cI worked as an engineer for five years, and I’m always looking for ways to apply what I learn to our business. Our method is that Zach helps drive forward all of the systems I create.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With two such complementary forces at the company\u2019s helm, it\u2019s easy to overlook a frequent third collaborator:  sometimes prospective customers can become customizers in their own right. \u201cPeople come in at all levels of understanding, but at our price point, we tend to attract people that know the importance of lighting to their project,\u201d Dutton notes.  \u201cPeople that treat lighting as an afterthought can usually find what they need in a home improvement store.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which leaves only the customers who take illumination seriously.  \u201cWe schedule appointments to show people products,\u201d Brown explains.  \u201cIf they decide to purchase, our team builds their order in-house in one-to-four weeks. We are also honest if our products aren’t a good fit. We don’t want to sell people on things they don’t need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This collaboration can be a rarefied one. \u201cOur goal is to elevate our products to earn the value-focused customer, not the price-focused one,\u201d Brown outlines. \u201cWe understand not seeing something in person can be a challenge, so we provide free samples, drawings, and a top-notch support team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every collaboration has its limits, naturally. \u201cWe learned to say no to things that won’t be profitable for us,\u201d Dutton says. \u201c\u2019Custom\u2019 reads as \u2018low margin\u2019 and often leads to problems. We often reiterate our products are not \u2018custom\u2019 but rather \u2018customizable.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distinction between the two notions is profound.  \u201cThat means we provide a variety of products with sizes and finishes designed for multiple situations,\u201d Brown deduces.  \u201cBut the world is full of \u2018imagineers\u2019 who ask \u2018why not this\u2019 or \u2018can’t you that\u2019.  It’s not hard to have an idea; it’s manufacturing something quality profitably that’s the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not the only challenge that commonly faces Dutton Brown Design.  Just as light can be overlooked, so, too, can its providers.  \u201cWe often hear we don’t do a good job showing what we do\u2026or that we aren’t on social enough,\u201d Dutton acknowledges. \u201cWe’re just more focused on adding capabilities that can grow our brand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adds Brown: \u201cJust because someone isn’t visible on social doesn’t mean they aren’t doing big things. It just means they’re too busy to care if someone else knows about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That too-busy-ness has paid off where business is concerned, connecting the company to clients and collaborators all over the world.  Observes the nerd derp digitally, \u201cWith over 20,000 customers in all fifty states, we’ve grown our trade program to include 3,500 designers and architects, and they are eager for something new.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it began its existence a decade-or-so ago, Dutton Brown was easy to overlook…but as with the light it artistically presents, the company is unlikely to be overlooked again. As declared on its website, \u201cWe started with one light fixture design in 2013…and here we are.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.duttonbrown.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s the first thing that\u2019s needed to appreciate any d\u00e9cor, so obvious that it\u2019s often overlooked.  The eggheaded refer to it as \u201celectromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye.\u201d  The rest of us simply call it \u201clight.\u201d  But light doesn\u2019t just let us appreciate decorative d\u00e9cor…sometimes light is decorative d\u00e9cor.   If you yearn to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":205154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":139,"footnotes":""},"categories":[174,278,162,139],"tags":[17638],"class_list":["post-204533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crafting-home-arts","category-featured-home-page","category-home_and_yard","category-our-homes","tag-issue-750"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204534,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204533\/revisions\/204534"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}