Material Bank
Material Bank
Disrupting the Design Industry's Sample Process
Ask any interior designer working in today’s fast-paced environment when they need material samples by and they’ll reply emphatically; YESTERDAY!
During the design development phase of the project, the interior designer typically pulls together material schemes based on client feedback received during schematic design. This can be one of the most important phases as the client takes part in selecting the look and feel of their new space. Having physical samples for the client to choose from is helpful for the designer to get buy-in from the client.
Historically, architects and designers have requested carpet swatches, tiles, wallcovering, and fabric samples directly from individual manufacturers. Representatives then collected the samples for each request or contacted their sampling department. This workflow often delayed samples from reaching the designer and impacted project costs and schedules. In addition, a designer typically may order a large number of samples for each project. Each arriving in separate boxes or envelopes causes delays, clutters workspaces, and generates unnecessary waste.
In 2018, the creator of Luxe and owner of Interior Design magazine, Adam Sandow, launched Material Bank, a new company meant to help designers and architects source the material samples they need.
Bringing technology and ease to the sampling process, Material Bank aggregates materials from hundreds of vendors and gives users the ability to search for exactly what they want in minutes. Ordering is done in just a few clicks and shipping is free for designers. Samples ordered before midnight (EST) arrive in one box by 10:30 am the next day. Revenue is generated from manufacturers and vendors who pay a monthly fee in the thousands to be included on the site. They also pay an additional fee when their products are ordered. Nearly 400 manufacturers are listed on the platform, with new ones being added all the time. Currently, over 60,000 designers and architects are signed up to use the platform.
Material Bank can manage its large scale of manufacturer SKUs quickly and efficiently with help from robots supplied by Locus Robotics. Working alongside people, over 150 bots with bright yellow spines pick items off seemingly endless rows of shelves, place them into bins, and carry them to the next step until the order is complete. Strategically placing the company’s 400,000-square-foot warehouse in Mississippi near FedEx’s Memphis sorting center also contributes to faster shipping times.
“On any given night, we handle tens of thousands of materials going out to the industry,” Sandow says. “We couldn’t do it without robots.”
In addition to samples, Material Bank’s platform offers designers the opportunity to find creative inspiration and discover new brands. Inspirational palettes, selected from the company’s large resource library complete with product information help designers pull together schemes in a pinch.
Also, designers can quickly create mood boards, download, and send them directly to clients while ordering the physical samples with just one click. Manufacturers’ reps can then use these boards to offer product suggestions or alternatives to designers looking for a specific item.
Material Bank’s streamlined, simplified sampling process, supports more sustainable practices and helps mitigate the industry’s environmental impact. For design firms looking to be more sustainable, the number of packages arriving daily was only one part of the problem. The other was what to do with the leftovers once final finish selections are made. With limited space in material libraries and ever-changing design trends, these materials all too often end up in landfills. Material Bank boxes, free of excess wrapping, are designed specifically to make it easier to return samples for reuse. As a result, they now reclaim more samples than any other company in the world. In 2019, the company’s aggregated orders saved the shipment of over 200,000 unnecessary packages, with samples across hundreds of brands arriving from one location.
Now the world’s largest architectural and design-focused material resource library, which plans to launch in Europe later this year, Material Bank has changed the way material manufacturers and brands connect with the architecture and design industry.
Interested in reading more about Material Bank? Read this article!
Designer Monologues the Podcast from IIDA New England with your host Katie Corcoran Garcia is officially LIVE!! On this show, we’ll share the stories behind the design of repurposing, developing and reshaping our communities. Incubated from the minds and skills of New England’s talented design community, you’ll hear how visual inspiration can come from nature, our history, current trends and more as we take you on a story-telling journey behind design.
Check out our latest episode here.
Curiosity is a Catalyst
Cu*ri*os*i*ty – A strong desire to know or learn something.
Our IIDA NE chapter is one of the strongest chapters in the country for the IIDA. Part of this lies in our volunteers' commitment to bring more to our members. Of course, we love to have fantastic events, and this is often what people remember. But we work hard at offering strong programs and activities to go along with these events. Our volunteers' “curiosity” and interest in finding new ways to enhance what we do as a chapter continue in catalyst grant efforts and allow us to advance our programs and offerings. This February we received notice from IIDA HQ that our 2023 Catalyst grant application had been approved.
With our new 2022 Mission Statements for the Chapter and EDI Committee as direction, we were looking at ways to be more inclusive for all members and those who want to be IIDA members. Equitable access to the resources, professional development opportunities and events we offer is the goal. The new Access Pass Program will have two components: one for Membership access and the other for Event access. Applications for the Membership Pass are now open with applications due on March 31st . The Event Access Pass application portal will open within the next couple of months so stay tuned for that.
For context on how past catalyst grants have helped to enhance what we do as a chapter, here is a list:
- New Website just launched
- EDI Committees 2022 EDI workshop and resulting IIDA Committees EDI analysis
- LLP, Lifelong Leadership Programs: ELN LEAD & DLN
Every year we look at ways to do what we do better. These catalyst grants help us focus on a core element that we want to work on. Please share our new Access program with someone you know who is interested in getting involved. We cannot do what we do without of fantastic volunteers. Having more voices at the table will only further strengthen what we do.
Lisa Statkiewicz
President, IIDA NE Chapter
Check out the list of IIDA New England Emerging Leaders Network (ELN) Class of 2022 and the Leadership Exploration & Development (LEAD) Class of 2022!
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