Impact Furniture was founded in 2003 as a family-run business in London and relocated in 2006 to the border of Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. The move provided additional space, fuelling its continued growth and success. Since then, the business has flourished and become a one-stop shop offering a wide range of furniture for every room of the house. Impact Furniture now boasts a strong online presence.
Our CEO, Deirdre McGettrick, sat down with Impact Furniture’s Director, Julia Kedziora, to learn more about the inspiration behind their business.
Q1. What inspired you to start Impact Furniture, and how has your vision evolved?
Impact Furniture was established shortly after Poland joined the European Union. A time when the country was gaining recognition as Europe's furniture powerhouse, with a rich history as a key supplier of flat-pack furniture. With Michal Kedziora, co-founder of Impact Furniture from Krakow, and my passion for interior design, easing border controls gave us the opportunity to combine our skills and networks to build a business we’re deeply committed to.
Over time, Impact Furniture has been expanding its supplier portfolio, carefully selecting manufacturers to ensure that only the highest quality products and the latest designs are offered to our customers. It's exciting to see new products designed to our specifications and made available to our customers in their homes within a short period of time.
Q2. How does being a family-run business shape your team and customer experience?
Impact Furniture takes pride in being a family-run business. This has enabled quick decision-making and allowed us to get to know every team member as an individual who is treated with respect and whose input is valued.
With a small team, we are able to keep subject matter expertise close at hand, ensuring our response times to customer queries are exceptionally fast. Working as part of a tightly knit team means colleagues can be consulted and actively involved in areas like product selection, quality assurance, customer service and logistics. Our family values inspire a personalised, customer-focused approach, ensuring a supportive and trustworthy shopping experience.
Q3. What makes Impact Furniture’s sourcing and design process unique?
Sourcing and design are my responsibility, and I can confidently say it’s the most rewarding part of my job.
With years of experience in the industry, I’ve gained extensive technical knowledge of production materials and techniques, an understanding of brands and accessory specifications essential to every furniture piece, and a clear insight into the machinery capabilities at each supplier’s facility.
All of this is complemented by thorough market research, a genuine passion for interior design, data analysis of past trends, and, ultimately, that instinctive gut feeling to tie it all together.
I had been known on occasion to try out sample pieces in my home setting.
An essential part of the sourcing and design process involves staying ahead of emerging trends both in the UK and across Europe. Observing the shifting popularity of colours, textures, and shapes is fascinating, and delivering the right product at the right moment is crucial to success.
Taking a product from a simple idea to design, overseeing the creation of visual materials, shaping its style, guiding it through production, and ultimately seeing customers embrace and enjoy the new furniture piece is the true job satisfaction.
Q4. Which products are proving most popular, and what trends are driving demand?
In recent years, fluted and ribbed textures have made a significant impact on the furniture industry. These textures have become a popular way to add depth to a room design while maintaining a cohesive colour palette, resulting in serene yet visually intriguing interiors.
Black appears to be the new white. There was a time when white gloss furniture dominated the UK market, but now black is making a bold statement. From black bathroom vanity units to black sideboards and desks, the demand for black furniture has risen significantly.
As Ricardo Tisci said: “Black is always elegant. It is the most complete colour in the whole world, made of all the colours in the palette.”
Q5. How do you build customer trust and confidence without physical showrooms?
When we embarked on this journey, our suppliers were adamant that physical showrooms were essential, claiming online sales would be nearly impossible.
Initially, we operated out of a large storage unit, primarily catering to the demand for affordable kitchens within the landlords' and renovators' market. At the same time, we began selling on various online marketplaces and through our website, using a limited selection of images provided by manufacturers.
Times have changed significantly. To build customer confidence today, we prioritise providing high-quality graphics, along with video materials and detailed live images that highlight every aspect of our products. We collaborate with trusted studios that share our passion for exceptional design, creating stunning visual experiences that inspire our customers.
Crafting product descriptions is an art, as customers seek concise, accurate and easily digestible information. To meet these expectations, we’ve developed strategies and templates that present details visually as well as in text, using diagrams and leaflet-style listings for a more engaging and accessible experience.
A complete package of stunning visuals, detailed descriptions, technical information, and customer reviews comes together to create a clear, confident, and enjoyable shopping experience.
Q6. What can the uFurnish.com community look forward to from Impact Furniture?
The UK market is currently facing challenges, with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis prompting consumers to seek affordable furniture that also offers durability.
To meet this demand, we are expanding our range with new kitchen and bathroom furniture lines - two of the most frequently used areas in a home, which are often prioritised for upgrades.
Additionally, we are introducing fresh designs and styles to our dining table collection, following our partnership with a new supplier who brings a wealth of experience. This supplier is also collaborating with one of the world’s largest furniture and home furnishings retailers in the 21st century, though we won’t name any names.
Although we're still quite a long way from offering meatballs with our furniture, our aim is to provide quality furniture pieces at affordable prices, with the hope of improving every day for everyone.
The simple joy of seeing the perfectly crafted herringbone ribbed cashmere beige pattern paired with the subtly brushed gold handle on a functional bathroom vanity in the early morning hours is something that can’t be underestimated - though perhaps that's just me?
