Team Troika
One of the goals for our website is to show the process and people behind each of our products. We believe the story behind our locally made products is an important story to tell.
Given our past infringement dispute with Urban Outfitters, we figured it would be a good time to share with you the local vendors that we work with to make the Troika mirror.
We hope to help show the trickle-down effect of how an infringement can negatively impact small, local businesses, even if this particular instance may be on a small scale.
Photo courtesy of Anderson Plywood
Our Troika mirrors were originally designed using my grandfather's century old barn wood. While the reclaimed wood option is still available, we also wanted to provide a more modern version.
We opted for sustainably harvested maple europly sourced from Anderson Plywood in Culver City, CA. Their staff is always very helpful and they carry a wide assortment of wood and finishes.
Our maple europly sheets are cut by Steve at Triumph Custom CNC and Laser Works, just down the street from our studio. Each piece is cut to size, the channel routed for the glass and then the edges are pre-sanded.
Steve is a wealth of knowledge and always willing to help problem solve design issues. Located in North Hollywood, Triumph CNC is only open by appointment only so be sure to call or email before you stop by.
Steve as he inspects our Troika cuts
Luis cuts a new template for our next order
Our glass mirror is provided by Armando's Glass in Hollywood, CA. This small, family-owned shop has been in business for 40 years! Today, their son Luis now handles most of the heavy lifting, while his mom, Yolanda runs the shop.
I'll never forget the time Luis delivered a 9' long custom framed mirror to one of our clients. He only had to unload it off his truck, but because of his generous nature, he and his brother carried the enormous mirror into our client's home, up a winding staircase and into their master bath.
Richard from Acorn Paper stops by the studio
When we first started producing Troikas, we were making our own boxes and foam corners for shipping. Eventually, we figured that our time was better spent making the Troika and not the packaging. We decided to invest in a large order of boxes and custom foam corners from Acorn Paper Products.
Our studio is probably one of Acorn's smaller customers, but our sales rep, Richard has been very accommodating as he understands that our business will grow and continue to need more packaging solutions as time goes on.
We recently put in the largest order from each of our local vendors because we were supposed to wholesale the maple europly Troika through another retailer. When we discovered the Urban Outfitters infringement, we notified our retailer in an effort to be forthright and transparent. They decided to postpone our contract and we're now sitting on 200+ Troikas waiting to be assembled and sold. If we can't continue to sell the Troika because of Urban Outfitters' knockoff, it not only impacts our business, but it affects each of our vendors as well.