NewHavenBIZ

14 n e w h a v e n B I Z | N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 8 n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m that fits their brand and aligns with their mission. Businesses are leading this change in mindset to focus on high quality, sustainable and locally craed designs — and it encourages individual buyers to do the same. You have an eclectic clientele, from airport bars to luxury apartments. How do you find new clients? Or do they find you? Young: We've grown rapidly as a business in four years and have been fortunate to work on some incredible commercial projects — from Flying Dog Brewery, Drive coworking in New Haven and Swarthmore College, to name a few. is past year we built all of the custom tables for HMSHost's corporate HQ in Bethesda, Md., custom designs for a seven-sto- ry office on Boston Harbor, and furnished Yale Law School's new Baker Hall, a building with 111 fully furnished apartments. You have a unique marketing strategy: 1% for the Planet, One Tree Planted, reclaimed materials. Why? How does that open doors for you? Young: We actually don't see our sustainability initiatives as marketing at all; [they're] simply at the core of everything we do. It's important to have purpose beyond what you actually sell. Being authentic, sustainable and honest also happens to be good for business. We've worked with some amazing clients who are drawn to our mission including directly with other members of 1% for the Planet looking to furnish their restaurants, hotels or offices. How do you two complement each other in your business partnership? Young: Going from roommates to co-founders, Fred and I already knew each other very well and were good friends. Our business part- nership is very compatible and we complement each other nicely in the business. Most importantly, we both work incredibly hard, but we don't take ourselves too seriously, either, and have fun as we continue to grow our company. I'm based in New Haven, where we have a warehouse and office and I run our New England operations and projects. Fred is based in Washington, D.C. where we also have a warehouse and office and Fred runs our D.C./Baltimore operations and business. We both pride ourselves on building genuine relationships with the people we work with — from clients to our partner furniture makers to the architects, construction team and everyone in between. Ultimately Fred and I have similar values, so on the bigger decisions we see a similar future and trajectory for where we're looking to grow and the company we're trying to build. Ultimately, we're building a company that our grandfathers, Hugo Kukelhaus and Hoby Young, would be proud to be the inspiration of — and that mission keeps us grounded at every turn. Kukelhaus: It's difficult for me to overstate how important it is to find people who are smarter and more qualified than you, and try to work with them. As well, there simply is no shortcut for integrity. Ben is and has all these things and it is what we look for in our customers and partners. We're privileged to be able to find it quite oen — and it makes the work a pleasure. n Continued from previous page M E E T T H E M A K E R Kukelhaus and Young in their New Haven shop with intern Lizzie Goodman, a Yale senior studying architecture.

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