How a furniture designer from Europe sell his designs in USA?

July 15, 2009 1:20 PM

How a furniture designer from Europe sell his designs in USA?

My friend is free lance furniture designer from Spain who has a solid career of more than 20 years. He gets hire by furniture factories from countries in Europe to design room sets (living room set, bedroom, etc) he designs every single piece of the set and gets paid a lump sum for it plus royalties over the sales. He would like to get some orders from the United States but have no clue about how to start. Any ideas? –Minimalist / Italian style

posted by 3dd to work & money (3 answers total)

Take a look at Alibaba.com.
posted by IanMorr at 2:24 PM on July 15, 2009

First issue you'd need to clarify is whether his legal arrangements with those already using his designs give them some kind of exclusivity of use. He needs to talk whoever handles his licensing contracts for starters.
posted by Lolie at 3:42 PM on July 15, 2009

If he'd rather not do the footwork himself, he may also consider using an agent of some kind to shop his services/skills. Alternatively, he could work with an import broker in the US if he wants to produce and ship his designs made cheaper elsewhere. MeMail me if you need more info.
posted by emjay at 7:18 PM on July 15, 2009