Meet The Team
Joanna
BEHIND THE SCENESMeet Joanna, our talented Assistant Buyer! Working closely with our curated furniture packages, Joanna works closely with all of our core suppliers to ensure we maintain great relationships with them. She works hard to ensure that we are not only onboarding the highest quality suppliers, but also onboarding more sustainable and diverse suppliers in line with our sustainability manifesto. In celebration of the Lunar New Year, we sat down with Joanna to find out how she is celebrating the holiday and why it’s important that we work with our most trusted UK suppliers.
Hey Joanna, as a Buyers Admin Assistant for BoxNine7, what does a typical day look like for you?
Alongside our Project Delivery team, I monitor our furniture package stock levels so that all orders placed are on track for live projects. A key part of my role is to communicate daily with our suppliers. I have the responsibility of onboarding any new suppliers onto our grading system to ensure we are using only the most trustworthy suppliers. To keep our dedicated Sales team up to date with our stock availability, I will monitor the product sheet to ensure that we have an alternative to offer should anything be out of stock. It’s also important for me to maintain a good level of communication with our Warehouse team, making them aware of anything in advance to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible throughout the whole process.
Can you tell us more about the importance of working with trusted UK suppliers?
Our trusted UK suppliers offer a faster lead time for a product, helping our clients to avoid unwanted void periods when trying to sell or let a property. We are also able to build a stronger connection with suppliers here in the UK, by attending face-to-face meetings and visit their warehouses to see the product in person. Furthermore, if there are any issues with a product, they can be resolved a lot quicker.
How do you ensure BoxNine7 stays up to date with the latest interior trends?
Whilst it is important for us to stay up to date with the latest trends, the designs of our furniture focus on creating that ‘feel good furniture’ feeling ensuring we are not fast furniture. We create competitive shop analyses, and our team is very active on social media, which has a huge influence on trends. It’s nice to see people turn to our Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration too. Not forgetting attending the biggest furniture shows including Maison & Objet in Paris, this is a very exciting side of my job role!
What interior trends can we expect to see this year?
Sustainability and nature are having an even bigger influence on interior trends throughout 2022. Our collections are ahead of the game. As well as consciously crafted furniture, shapes have become more organic, textures are natural, and colours are earthy. Keep your eyes out for autumnal colours like dark greens and bronze tones that we have implanted into the beds, soft accessories, and the sustainable artwork of our furniture collections. Just like our teddy-look feature chairs, exclusively designed for our collections, Bouclé, will continue to take over our upholstery into the new year and beyond!
What does Luna New Year mean to you?
To me, Lunar New Year is about bringing the family together and showing respect to your parents. It is also about wishing the people you love luck. Usually, the children are given red envelopes or hongbao in Mandarin and lai see in Cantonese. These small red and gold packets containing money are also gifted to friends and employees as a symbol of good luck. Most importantly, it is just about spending time with loved ones and wishing them wealth and happiness for the new year ahead.
How will you be spending this Luna New Year?
I will be celebrating the Lunar New Year by making homemade dumplings with my dad and sister. This is a tradition in my family as my mum is from Taiwan. I, unfortunately, can’t spend this Lunar New Year with her, so I have decided to keep the tradition going anyway! I’m very excited to see what the new year has in store!
Joanna’s Top Favourites…
Favourite Winter Activity?
Winter walks
Favourite Interior Style?
Contemporary.
Favourite piece of furniture?
The Hamilton Collection Bed.
Source of Inspiration?
Instagram.
Step inside our furniture collections curated by our fabulous Buying team and take a virtual tour through the apartments to help you imagine the furniture in your own property. Maybe it’s the monochrome inspired Hamilton Collection or the glam Parker Collection, featuring our much-loved bouclé armchairs.
Learn more about our Curated furniture packages here, or get in touch with a member of our team today!