Hello, everybody.
Welcome back to The ProSource Podcast.
I am sitting here with Pam Durkin, president of James Martin Vanities.
Thank you so much for coming on to the podcast today, Pam.
How are you doing? Great, Mollie, good morning and thank you for having me.
I'm very excited to be part of your podcast today.
And as you said, I'm Pam Durkin, I'm the president of James Martin Vanities.
We are one of the leading vanity manufacturers in the industry,
so thank you for having me.
It's very exciting.
I know, ProSource we've had a long partnership with you all.
So I'm really excited to finally have you on our podcast.
And just before we dive into James Martin
Vanities and, what the company really is.
But do you mind just briefly explaining what you do with James Martin, like what
your role consists of and maybe how you got to be president of the company?
So, you know, I don't want to turn this into a funny
because when people ask me what I do, I always tell them
I'm the glorified bathroom cleaner and whatever else to be done.
But that's partially because this company started almost 20 years ago
from with a couple owners that were very entrepreneurial.
And I started with the company 19 years ago as their VP of sales.
So I was leading the sales team.
We went through an acquisition about six years ago.
I was given the opportunity at that point in time to step out of my role
as VP of sales and become the president of the company.
So my job today is to, you know, to lead the organization,
working through all of the departments with whether it be the sales department
or my product development department, to keep the and to build the brand
and to keep to be brand centric to the way this company was built 20 years ago.
I still get to play with the product.
I am very heavily involved with our designer.
As far as you know, what the what she shares with the trends are,
I share what we like and what we don't like and what our customers need.
That's fantastic.
Yeah, I know you've been super busy, and I'm sure
that's not out of the normal for you as we discussed before recording,
you just got back from Cabela's and just briefly talking about Cbus.
I've never been, so I'm not super familiar with it.
I know a lot of our designers go, from all of our showrooms.
What do you think is like the most entertaining or exciting part
about going to K business is to us is what we call the Super Bowl.
It's our Super Bowl.
Have we, this event once a year?
We are, our spaces.
It's it's a three day event.
Just so you understand.
It's very short.
Just, it is.
You know, 100 and, I don't know, 120 hundred, 30,000 different,
builders, designers, and large companies like yourself that come through,
it's joined with the ibis portion over the last few years.
That's why it's grown so big.
But for us, it is.
The excitement for me is watching moth, watching
ProSource and the different locations walk through
and see the new stuff and go, wow, we see the opportunity here, right?
You listen to us, we see, we see where you're going.
It's it's introducing something new, bright and exciting.
Right?
It's it's about what is next for your customer.
And to get that feedback
and see the excitement around it is what really drives me in this business.
I know for sure, and I imagine it's pretty cool for the attendees to.
I know a lot of our showrooms,
they carry James Martin, but meeting the people and the team behind
the product is probably super exciting to them
and just makes it feel a little bit more real.
So instead of it just being a product that they have in the showrooms,
they're meeting the people that are pushing the product out
and making these developments and enhancements.
So, that's really exciting for me because one of my
one of the things that I like to do, not so much that my sales team likes me to do,
but what, you know, whether it's ProSource as an owner or process
processes their designers and they're their
I love to go up and meet them and thank them.
And my favorite thing to do is ask them, what don't you like about James Martin?
What can I do better?
You know, they all want to tell me how pretty that vanity is
and how nice that is.
But, you know, to to see and talk to the people that are on the ground,
that interface with this product every single day.
It's the best part of my job, because then it gives me something
to come back to work with this team, and they help me get this company
to the next level. So that's the most exciting.
Once I steal a lot of sales
thunder by interrupting and saying, hey, I'm Pam, right?
It it allows me to understand who our accounts are and what they need,
and thank them for driving the business the way they have.
So I know James Martin Vanities has traditionally been designer led.
But it's very important to share that James Martin
can also be valuable to builders and installers as well.
Why do you think those kind of trade pros should work with James Martin
installers and buyers. So let me start.
Let me let me address this in two parts. Right.
So let me start by addressing builders okay.
And there are opportunities James Martin stands out
by offering builders a premium semi-custom affordable solution
that, combines craftsmanship, convenience and speed.
Right, are vanities, many which are handcrafted, hand-carved.
They provide furniture grade quality,
and the caveat to that is all of these items are ready to ship
within 48 business hours from one of our two warehouses,
which is Paris, California. Savannah, Georgia.
And when I talked, I when I just mentioned semi-custom article,
what it means for the builders and their customers.
This is this extensive collection.
So James Martin has over 400 vanity bases.
Once your the builder chooses his base for the customer
that the builders working with chooses their base.
They then have, 11 different interchangeable tops to choose from the
countertops.
This level of customization allows customers to achieve that
the desired look without the long lead times and added cost.
Because when you talk to a customer builder
and you say semi-custom vertical, they think of two things.
Think of time and extra money.
Right?
And neither one of them are associated with the vanities.
Is I go to your second half of your question, I think about installers.
We've designed this half hassle free experience.
Each vanity that the customer receives comes fully assembled
because we are premium furniture grade products.
So there's no RTA, there's no assembly.
What the customer does is they simply attach the top and complete the plumbing.
So whether that's a professional contractor installer, a DIY homeowner,
the installation is straightforward and efficient, making James Martin
what I would consider a perfect balance
of high end design and practical functionality.
Absolutely.
I think especially the
you mentioned the lead time and how the lead time is very short.
That is huge in today's world with I think ever since Covid, I mean,
the shipping times for everything across all industries
has been insane and it still continues five years later.
So I think the lead time especially is a huge call out.
And I think installers and builders might not typically think
so much about what designers typically think about.
Right. Those little details.
But I think if they can consider those factors when working with clients,
it can really go a long way with them and really boost that 100%.
And it is giving them, as you think about those little details, the hand
craftsmanship, it's not it's no longer square white boxes or square brown boxes.
They're getting that personality right.
They're giving their customer yes, they do it.
If you think about a builder, they do it in other areas in the house.
They're doing premium moldings.
They're they're calling out those other things.
Now they can do that bathroom.
Now they can have a piece of furniture.
Right. So I agree with you.
Let's get into the exciting part about I think this entire conversation is
that James Martin has two new collections launching this month,
in March of 2025, along with expansions of existing lines.
Can you first share what the two brand new collections are?
Of course, this is the this is the I love to talk about our newness in 2025.
And just so everybody has an understanding we typically
we being James Bryant typically roll out new product once a year.
We launch a quiz.
This is our big unveiling.
We work a full year to get to this point.
And two collections for us.
Just so there's an understanding isn't a vanity.
And the top it is a vanity in multiple finishes in multiple sizes
that then has to integrate with these 11 additional tops.
So the Grayson collection, which is one of the new collections,
will actually be in four sizes. It will have 11 to.
So you're talking about over 50 SKUs, right?
Our two new collections is if I think about them
this year, they embrace the continuing trends in interior design
because again, we're trend forward focusing and form
innovating finishes materials, shapes and textures.
You'll notice the subtle soft curves on the front facade of the Grayson,
which I just called out, are complemented by an unexpected curve in the door
panel and the lower frame that is all brought to life with a choice
of two rich finishes that are sandblasted in ash veneers.
Then the contrast.
The second collection is the so lean and then it is a total contrast.
It's highlighted by a reverse tapered leg, which is really a study in geometry.
The natural cane, it's got natural cane accents on the on the front of the drawers
and doors.
With a weathered seaside oak finish.
Both collections are well-appointed, with features like integrated integrated
power and then the brushed aluminum drawer liners and plenty of ample storage.
So very, very exciting.
These two collections, as we talked about came, is were greeted
with an overwhelming response of beauty.
I completely agree, I went online and did some digging about it and
I thought they were both very beautiful.
So I was I was really excited to talk about it.
I am, although I don't know the specifics like you just shared.
I think at first glance I was
I was loving how it was looking, just from a beautiful standpoint.
I looked great.
And then I also see James Martin released, who reimagined
classics and expanded options and already established styles.
Can you share a little bit more about that?
It's it's really exciting and I think I to do it justice.
I need to start with the Brookfield Collection.
The Brookfield Collection to JV is an is an iconic classic.
This is one of our first collections that we started with 19 years ago, right?
This collection is on the line.
It's like I said, it's a connect.
It's essential to our brand legacy.
Aaron, our designer, and I were talking about it.
We wanted to keep that iconic classic ness, but it needed to be reimagine it.
It needed finishing.
It needed subtle, design updates.
And that's what's happened to the Brookfield.
The second expansion is our collection called the Breckenridge.
We added a soft,
new calming shade of blue Sherwin Williams, one of their colors of the year.
We called it Serenity Blue, which provides an updated look.
Breckenridge is really a Shaker inspired collection,
and when we added the finish, we also added additional sizes.
So we added 60 singles and 60 doubles, which expanded the collection.
And then we did the same with our Laurent collection.
We also added some additional sizes there.
When we add sizes to a collection, it's because the collection was new last year.
We bring it out in our bestselling sizes.
We added additional sizes too.
So those are the expansions we're I'm talking about today.
That's amazing.
Are you talking about the, Sherwin Williams?
Is it quite a twist?
Yeah.
So we clearly so we looked at their color.
That was their color here.
But when you put it on furniture and then you change lighting
sometimes it looked gotcha.
And so really rocking for our calming blues.
So we went a couple shades darker. Gotcha.
So it has those calming qualities.
That quiet tone has.
And I know color is very weird in that way too.
Depending on lighting it can change.
It has to be careful.
I mean, we my designer spends a lot of time.
We spend a lot of time with
with color palettes and with sample boards in all different kinds of light
because rooms has lighting, bathrooms have windows.
And when you start getting into some of those hues of whites and blues
and greens, to your point, lighting conditions and with that color.
And so we've got more blue into it.
So it's said blue all the time.
Talking about your design team, I did read on your website
that your design team was inspired by trends and contemporary designs
that bring together both nature and luxury.
Did customer feedback influence us at all when you went maybe last year to Cabe, is
it was that some of the feedback that you got that pushed
maybe this decision forward with these new collections absolutely is the answer.
Now let me break that out.
Right.
So our design process is a continual evolution.
We we talk about our craftsmanship.
We we bring in timeless craftsmanship with modern innovation
while our primary focus is on creating elegant,
memorable designs with practical functionality,
we do really engage with our customers, whether it's through direct conversations
with our designers, with our builders, with your account,
with me at Cabe is saying, hey, what do you think?
What do you like?
Right.
Insights from our retail partners are or
are trends, even trends that are observed in the marketplace.
So we shop other markets
which shop furniture markets because again, we are building furniture.
Great product.
And we do this to understand what we need to do to enhance their spaces
and business.
The contemporary design trends evolve to embrace the harmony of nature and luxury.
We've seen a growing demand for organic textures,
natural materials, and clean, sophisticated esthetics.
Our design team, led by Erin Sullivan, takes these insights and pairs them
with research that she has done on our architectural and interior
design trends,
ensuring our vendors not only meet, but exceed customer expectations.
That's perfect.
You answered so many of my questions that I had rolling through my mind
at that point.
We just knocked out so many you're ahead of you're ahead of me.
What other
specific updates have been made to some of your most loved collections?
And with this question, I kind of just want to ask you, like,
what are some of your personal favorites in the whole James Martin catalog?
Like what are some
enhancements or, upgrades that have happened
since you've been with James Martin that has really stuck out to you
that you still carry thinking, wow, this was my favorite, you know, upgrade.
So my favorite always becomes a problem.
And I guess at this point in time, right.
So as you can imagine, my favorite becomes a bathroom change in my house
every couple of years because that's my work.
Yeah.
But I.
Yeah, I think about exciting updates, some of our most loved
collections enhancing, but so Brookfield would be one of them.
Right. Which is that design.
And we said it's iconic, but we need to bring it along.
Right. Those kind of things.
Yeah, that are very exciting.
But one of the biggest expansions and it's really cutting across
all of our collections, the most loved ones is our integration
of our free power wireless charging, that we brought out this year,
which is going to be integrated into our vanity count countertops.
It's first of its kind.
It's the first of its kind of innovation that that, you know, our collaboration
with Cosentino and Free Power now allows the customer to
we all talk about where's the first place you start in the morning,
start your bathroom, where's the last place you go at night?
You end in your bathroom, right?
So you able to hand, you know, walk in there and place your phone in.
B be ready and not have all your bulky cords or extra pads.
But it just we're trying to simplify the life and to be able to do that out
of whether it's the Brookfield Collection or the new cell line or the Grayson.
It's really what brings me love to the collections.
Our collection, which is I know you didn't ask this, but I'm a lead into it.
Our our collections today
have a life span of over ten years,
so. Wow.
You know, we don't go in and out of product.
We listen to our customers, we design products so that when
you make a decision to buy that it it's
something that can be stable in your home.
And it's going to it's going to live throughout the breadth,
the breadth of the line is going to continue growing as we move
past its first introduction.
Yeah. That's fantastic.
I think it's also cool that when I'm looking at some of the vanities,
they seem very like timeless,
but also they have that like vintage feel that a lot of people go for.
But now that you're bringing in the wireless charging,
you're really like combining the two worlds of the old time
homey feel, but then also a modern technology
that just makes it like more convenient for your space.
Because I'm, I'm thinking I'm like, yeah, I always have to like, grab my phone
charger, plug it in in the bathroom with my phone's dying.
And it is annoying to just all the bulky cords and, you know, and how many times
have you gone to bed at night and place your, your phone on your charger,
on your nightstand and, but plugged in and got the next morning.
Yeah. And your phone might not be charged. Right.
So you have to take exactly the restroom and we place it there.
We want to be on that cutting edge.
And there are things like built in power or selenium limits in this.
And to have this exclusively for James Martin, this is a collaboration
that is just exclusive for James Martin Cosentino.
And Free Power is very, very exciting.
That is very exciting.
Can you tell me a little bit more about the new linen cabinets
and how they can complement existing collections?
Yeah, these are very exciting to us.
We introduced two new linen
cabinets, to complement two of our bestselling collections.
The scale, the architecture, and the finishes of each
will allow the customers to mix and match across our collections.
It will they will be able to access.
So the Breckenridge was one of the new the new vanity, the new and cabinets
we came out with.
Well, the Brooklyn Bridge is available in white.
It's in blue, it's available natural can take this natural linen cabinet.
You can put it with the blue.
The white. It's a great accent.
Each of these are going to feature a reversible door.
So think about it.
Do I buy a right side or do I buy a left side?
It depends on where it fits in your bathroom.
Your customer won't have to choose.
Yeah, you just choose the one they want.
The door has been assembled so that the customer will take it off.
They'll reverse it and they'll have it be right face opening or left face
opening their shelf storage on top behind a very pretty piece of glass.
There's ample drawer storage below,
so it's a very usable and scalable piece of furniture for your.
It seems like overall customization is one of the.
Good luck.
Because because nowadays they're all the competition.
It's like
if you don't have customization, I don't know how a company would survive.
But it seems like that's really at the forefront, absolutely at the forefront.
And, you know, we we share with our customers
that the things that we put into our vanities when we think about the power
and we think about the laminates and we think about the type of doors,
it's what they've come to expect from James Martin.
What are you doing next?
What what are your designs look like? So.
And how do we change them?
Again, this is that some might custom vertical make it what you want to make it
that we've built the company
I know you guys just launched a bunch of new exciting product enhancements.
New collections.
If we're looking forward in the next year,
what is, top of mind that James Martin will be working on, or do you have any
can you provide any, I guess, hints or previews
of what the next year ahead looks like for James Martin?
So I can't provide
yet because believe it or not,
as I said, we just you as you explained to the audience, we will.
We just wrote these in March, so I will go off to our factory in May
and we will start working on new designs, and they will be released next year.
So in a few months I'll have an idea of where we're going.
We're talking about trends, but as I look at these,
I think about James Martin as a company as a whole.
It's a very exciting year.
We've got ahead of us.
We think we're filled with opportunities to further innovate and strengthen
our market position based on some of the things
one of our biggest opportunities lies in expanding our product offerings
through the new cutting edge technology that we introduced with free power.
It's an industry first.
Our collaboration with Cosentino and our ongoing efforts
to enhance our material innovation of all of those style
stone tops will allow us to elevate the consumer experience even further,
while we add new finishes and new tops that will again expand our line.
As I think about growth, there becomes challenges, right?
Navigating evolving consumer preferences, maintaining excellence
in execution, ensuring a seamless go to market strategy.
What does that look like?
It requires a focused approach and this team here has the expertise,
the commitment and the passion for pushing boundaries in this vanity category.
And that's how we do advantage, right.
We are well-positioned to turn those challenges this year
into opportunities for continued success with partners like ProSource.
That's fantastic.
And we're very excited to continue our partnership with you all.
Like I said, I go into the showroom in Saint Louis,
Missouri all the time and they have displays up, and I'm just in
awe with the products that you guys offer looking online.
I'm always looking at all of the different products that ProSource carries
and one of those being James Martin, and it's truly breathtaking, the vanities.
And like you said, the cutting edge technology is a huge factor to that.
I think you guys are ahead of and continue to pioneer and the industry,
and we just really appreciate your partnership, and
I look forward to what's to come with James Martin.
But I am definitely going to enjoy what you guys have just announced.
So it's a very exciting I appreciate that.
We have, I was personally involved, a little insight.
I was personally involved with opening the process account many years ago. Oh
it's exciting.
One of my I always keep an eye on it, that I,
I enjoy it, I enjoy speaking to your your folks at the corporate level.
And anytime I have a chance to.
And as I travel, go into a grocery store, it's always exciting for me.
So thank you very much for your support along the way.
Well, thank you so much, Pam, for joining me today.
Thank you all for listening to this conversation I had with Pam.
Have a great day.
Thank you.
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