Last week, our founder, Gaurav Nanda, sat down with Design Milk to reflect on the opening of our showroom, and to learn more about Bend’s journey. Read below for a small recap of their interview!

Bend Goods has undergone many changes, including a name change, expanding beyond seating, and setting up office headquarters in a home rather than an office. However, all those milestones seem to pale in comparison to their most exciting undertaking yet, a brand new showroom and studio space! The building itself is an old warehouse space with bow truss ceilings located on Melrose Ave, so it has a ton of character. Growing up, Nanda would watch the TV show Melrose Place and that’s how he became familiar with that street. Nanda reveals: “Never would I have ever dreamt that I’d have had a storefront on Melrose Ave.” After a few years in a house Bend realized the needs were growing. “We were running out of room and it was time to put on our “big boy pants” and open a showroom. We needed a photo studio and a place to actually design and build prototypes.” And so it happened.

A lot of work had to be done to the showroom space: knock down walls, build new walls, paint ceilings and floors. Reflecting back on this process, Nanda mentioned: “This is the first store I have ever designed. I have renovated homes before, so a lot of the experience I gained from that helped me on the designing and constructing of the showroom. I wanted the showroom to be a fun, inviting space but yet dramatic.” The showroom features tall archways, which adds a lot of architectural character. A lot of inspiration was found in the 1970s game shows and this is exactly the effect Nanda was looking to create. “The colors, the patterns, the vignette shapes all played into the showroom concept. We added accent colors like avocado green and harvest orange that were often used during that time period.”

As Bend just had their showroom opening party (which was a great success!), they will continue to have events in the showroom. “We want to make our showroom into a community space where artists can exhibit, have performances, and have design talks and special dinners.” Nanda continued. One of first events on the calendar will be held in December. Bend is planning a holiday market where they will invite other vendors for clients to purchase gifts for their friends and family.

Lots is happening around the Bend so stay tuned and visit us at 7007 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038.

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