Pinch Founders Plot Growth

MILAN — Oona Bannon and Russell Pinch have built a concept of simple living inspired by their cottage life and home in Devon, England. In September, they will serve up their British design to New York City as they contemplate expansion in the U.S.

An exhibition marking the 20th anniversary will be hosted at TriBeCa’s Jacqueline Sullivan Gallery and will take place from Sept. 18 to Oct 9.

One of the key pieces of the exhibition will be a reedition of their iconic Avery chair, named the Colton chair, an emblem of their slow design philosophy and meticulous craftsmanship.

In addition to their acclaimed cabinetry and lighting, the exhibition will present a bold assortment of new designs, including sofas, golden sconces and a new dining concept that emanate from Pinch’s meticulous hand sketches and rigorous prototyping.

Bannon and Pinch originally kicked off 20th anniversary celebrations in Copenhagen in June for 3daysofdesign. At the Mark Kenly Domino Tan Studio atelier, the duo showcased a curated array of furniture, alongside the boutique’s tailored pieces for men and women.

The couple, who met at a brand agency Pinch cofounded called The Nest, said the New York City pop-up exhibition will showcase the brand’s expansion beyond its revered cabinetry, highlighting its mastery in lighting design with 10 captivating new creations. Their thoughtful designs embrace eco-conscious living with unconventional materials such as banana fiber and blown glass.

WWD chats with the couple about this pivotal moment and their plans for the next 20 years.

WWD: Why New York for the 20th celebration? 

Oona Bannon: A large slice of our existing customer base is in the U.S., and until this project, it has not been possible for our Stateside customers to see a curation of Pinch pieces up close and all together in one space unless they travel to our shop in London. So, we are moving the furniture mountain to these clients, and the September gallery takeover will be where we first launch our new 20th celebration collection, which will be closely followed by events in London. It’s a great market for our creations and a great opportunity to get to know these clients better with our monthlong gallery takeover. 

WWD: You’ve come a long way since your first shop in Pimlico in 2017 — what has been the main driver of your growth? 

Russell Pinch: Making the move to bricks-and-mortar has made a difference though of course, not as we imagined or modeled it out at the beginning. It amazes us how many customers buy our pieces [via online] without visiting the shop, but I think having the shop is a huge reassurance, even if it’s not actually visited.

WWD: Today, what are your main markets? 

R.P.: U.K., U.S. and the European Union.

WWD: Russell, you once worked for Conran Shop and Habitat founder Terence Conran. What was he like? What did he teach you? 

R.P.: Terence was a true gentleman, larger than life, demanding at times, and certain of his opinions but totally charming and inspirational. He taught me a huge amount about everything, and he taught me his version of luxury — quality over quantity — and he inspired me on the silent qualities of products, the finer qualities over the showy qualities, how well-made products make you feel, how enriching it is to sense the maker’s hand in the things you surround yourself with. He was also a great example of the power of a single-minded view — and how that informs so much from product to packaging to shop space to sales style, and beyond. As a designer, having that opportunity is a luxury in itself. 

WWD: Oona, you worked in media and branding before starting Pinch — how can brands like yours succeed in promoting the storytelling of the business in this day and age? 

O.B.: When we started Pinch, we were almost anti-brand, our position was let’s make the most beautiful furniture we can, let’s not shout about it, and when people see it, they’ll know if they want and need it…of course these days it would be even crazier, but it worked for us. Also, we were not looking for a business plan that was about scaling quickly so we were really happy about that discoverability versus aggressive marketing approach. But these days it’s quite different — people expect to spend more time digesting story and values proposition content, and they are discerning on authenticity. 

WWD: What is your advice to brands on leveraging storytelling?

O.B.: Getting that balance right between sharing something interesting versus sharing to build content is not easy, but we do have a story to tell, and people tell us they actually want to hear it, so actually, it’s something I want to work on with authenticity, which is ironic given our start point.

WWD: How did you survive the financial crisis?

R.P.: In 2008 we were only four years into our business, so we would not have been big enough to feel the rocks — and in fact, we actually grew. When there is external economic pressure, it’s the mid-market (small and medium-sized companies) that struggle — it’s definitely harder to get people to part with their money, but it’s actually easier to persuade someone on a good investment if they are driven to purchase anyway.

WWD: What about the COVID-19 pandemic?

R.P.: Like many furniture brands, COVID-19 was kind to us, an awkward truth when you think about the devastation it caused around the world. We spent that first month thinking, “Oh dear,” and then a critical mass got comfortable at home and got keen on dogs, wine, sourdough, tech and furniture. We used the downtime in the early phases to look at our own systems and processes and invested in a new website, took the first steps in digital marketing and a new inventory system and we sat back and designed the to-do list and got stuck in. 

WWD: What has been Pinch’s role in defining modern living in the U.K.?

O.B.: Twenty years ago, there were not so many designers and brands concerning themselves with how long things would last, and that was a very instinctive part of our intention, to make really well and to design so that your designs will last and be relevant as long as the production. That’s quite counter-productive if you are running a business mostly concerned with how to get customers to repurchase, and probably nowadays, more designers are steering their own ship and being able to build on that premise too — maybe that is modern designing rather than modern living. To us, though that is not time-specific, it’s a perspective. 

WWD: Would you say Pinch is slow design? 

R.P.: The furniture world, by its own virtue, is a slow industry — you can see that from the number of boom and bust VC-driven furniture businesses that have exploded onto the scene and then combusted. So many businesses have tried to apply a fashion model to furniture, pushing for seasons and multiple collections per year, and we would argue that it’s just not what people or the world wants or needs. At Pinch, we don’t have to be obsessed with the new every three months. We design to a very different time span. Take our chair design — we have only had one dining chair in our collection for 15 years — and then we wanted a second sit experience and over the last few years, we have developed two or three different designs, but they weren’t right, and thankfully we didn’t have to launch a [spring collection].

WWD: What are the goals for the medium term? What would you like to achieve over the next 20 years? 

O.B.: Get the balance between running our business and steering our business, and get the senior management lines hired with a team that shares our values and objectives and will help us build out in the way we want the business to go. We are progress junkies, and we are ambitious for our next designs and marketing moves — we always want our designs and our business to evolve and improve. We still have many ideas that need time and focus to develop. We are not at the end of our first 20 years; we are the start of the next 20.

WWD: How many retail stores do you have, and what is the goal for the next year? 

R.P.: We have our shop on London’s Pimlico Road, which is actually two stores with a knock though, and our sales team services our global customers from there. We have found that exciting opportunities tend to seek us out. We hadn’t actually intended to get our first shop in the first place. Put it this way — we are hoping that right now, a really amazing U.S. shop space doesn’t reveal itself quite yet, as we have our hands full, but it will likely not be too long.