Start and Finish with Justin and Fallon Ascherman of Rustic Grain Designs

 

“I don’t feel like we would have been successful had we not morphed. We would have gone down with the ship.”

 

• Fallon Ascherman

 

Welcome to Building a Furniture Brand with Ethan Abramson, the show that talks about the business behind the furniture business. In this episode, Ethan sits down with Justin and Fallon Ascherman, co-owners of the Tampa, Florida-based furniture company, Rustic Grain Designs.

 

Justin and Fallon complete each other. Justin does the building while Fallon does the finishing work, but it also goes well beyond the physical construction of their furniture. As business partners, and married partners, they work to support each other in all aspects of their day, and that is how Rustic Grain Designs has grown over the years to be the successful business it is today.

 

Follow along as they talk about the most important things to know about your client, the right way to break down your pricing, how the social media community can change your life, and much more.

 

 

 

 

A Hidden Talent

 

“We have five kids, a lot of people don’t know that, but we do. So we moved from a smaller house to a house that was a little bit bigger and had a lot more property. We have about three acres now. It was kind of in the country, and Fallon’s like, ‘Hey, I want a big dining room table for all of us to eat dinner at.’ So she found a plan from Ana White and said, ‘Here you go. Here’s the plan. Buy all the lumber, buy whatever you need for your tools, and build it for me.’

 

I have a little background in building and construction, from building docks and working with my father on stuff, but my full-time job is as a firefighter. I figured I could figure it out, so I went and bought everything and built our first dining room table using Craig screws and everything. It was wet and nasty, but that’s basically where it started, and it just evolved from there.”

 

• Justin Ascherman

 

Justin’s capability at woodworking was something of a hidden talent. He didn’t know about it until he started doing it, but soon he was building all sorts of things for their new home. Soon after, friends and family started telling Justin that he should begin selling furniture, which opened up a new opportunity.

 

Most firefighters have a second job, and at the time when his woodworking was beginning to take off, Justin had to make a decision. He had a second business already and didn’t want to jump into something that wasn’t certain would pan out, so for a while, he worked all three jobs for about eight months before the woodworking business blew up. At that point, Justin decided to drop the other job, which he didn’t care for anyway and leaped into woodworking with both feet.

 

 

 

 

Shifting the Business

 

“The part of it that makes it successful is that Justin has been successful in every venture that he’s taken on, so I’m not hesitant to say, ‘Let’s do this.’ If he says, ‘I need this.’ I don’t roll my eyes anymore. I’m like, ‘Okay if that’s what it’s going to take to make a better build if that’s what we need to produce perfection. That’s what we’ll use.’

 

He already had people just coming to him saying, ‘Hey, can you build this? I want this done. Can you do this?’ Obviously, he said yes, and then our schedule just was booked for us. As we grew our business, it has shifted pretty recently from building pieces to cabinetry.”

 

• Fallon Ascherman

 

With the name Rustin Grain Designs, Justin and Fallon thought they would do farmhouse and rustic furniture because of its popularity. But about two and a half years ago, they started transitioning the business into cabinetry because the market was there. Fallon explains that there is a lot of new construction in their area, which means that you can buy a table anywhere. But it’s much harder to find a built-in for a stairwell that’s only four feet tall.

 

A friend of Justin’s named David that he came across on Instagram met up with them and showed the couple all about the cabinetry business. Most importantly, David taught the pair how to plan their pricing model, the techniques they would need to use, and the tools they would want to invest in to help move their business forward.

 

 

 

 

Paying the Lessons Forward

 

The furniture-making industry is like any other in the sense that the most successful people share what they have learned freely with each other and all grow collectively. Justin and Fallon believe firmly in paying it forward and offer the same advice to other business owners, both new and experienced.

 

“I think you have to be willing to give your time without expecting anything in return. There have been people in our path that have given their time without expecting anything in return. We do the same because it’s what has been done for us, so it’s like passing it along.

 

The last interaction I had on social media was when someone reached out about a finish for a product that I used. He was a professional automotive finisher, and I said to him, ‘I think you’re asking the wrong person these questions. If you produce the things that I see you produce, you are light years ahead of me with experience and talent.’

 

He was like, ‘No, I appreciate your take on it. You reach out to me anytime you may have a question.’ It’s restored a little bit of my faith in humanity, the internet, and for just people out there who are like good people.”

 

• Fallon Ascherman

 

On top of sharing your knowledge with others, Justin explains that you have to have support, especially from your significant other. He explains that if you don’t have that kind of support from the people in your life, it’s just going to be harder on yourself. Trust yourself, trust that you will succeed, and set specific, attainable goals, then just jump in and try it out!

 

Website: https://www.rusticgraindesigns.com

 

Instagram: @rusticgraindesigns_tampa