#00035 - The risk worth taking
RH goes racing, Americana is back, and the $12 design revolution
Hello readers…
I’m writing to you from an empty house. My youngest son is at camp, my middle daughter is off to Venice, and my oldest is in Texas with his buddies. For the first time since I became a father, I’m starting to feel what it’s like to be in an empty nest—while running a century-old heritage brand, a large team, and complicated global operations from a home office in the middle of America, in a tie-dye shirt, on a Thursday.
For about a minute I felt sorry for myself. It’s lonely at the top and all that nonsense. Then I pictured the guy in a wool suit on a packed, steamy subway platform in Manhattan, sweating through his shirt, an hour and a half from home, staring at spreadsheets and deadlines and thinking about the boss he hates. I wouldn’t trade places with him for anything.
None of this freedom came for free. In 1969, my mom and dad left their parents, a dozen siblings, and hundreds of cousins behind in Egypt and boarded a Pan Am flight with no money and no English. I was born surrounded by immigrant hustle and that’s what pushes me forward in business. I believe my enthusiasm for risk is predisposed in my DNA. So a part of it is inherited, but it needed a big injection of inspiration to become reality.
The greatest lesson my father ever taught me: having a boss is the hardest way to be rich and free in America. But to earn the freedom of working for yourself, you have to be blind to risk, and have a supreme belief that hard work and skill will always find a way.
He lived by his words, and that has profoundly impacted my life. I was born a confused spirit but I grew up to learn that to be happy, I needed freedom. Being able to own my own businesses while enjoying my life and family has become my greatest accomplishment. And it has become my mission to inspire others how to do it. Even my own supremely talented staff—while it’s bittersweet, I give them this same advice. I’m profoundly proud of any of them who find the way to grow and one day be their own boss, even if that means they have to leave my company to do it.
Speaking of risk, RH just hitched itself to a Formula One team. Yinka Ilori bet his first furniture collection on a high-street partnership, with the cheapest piece costing just twelve bucks. John Constable, whose paintings hang throughout this issue, walked away from the family business to paint clouds.
Maybe I’m getting philosophical, but I believe taking chances with skill and courage beats safety every time; you just have to put the work in. If your gut has been telling you to make the call, send the email, or start the crazy side project, consider this journal as proof that it works.
One more thing: today we launch Mr. Thread Insider, a members-only section at the bottom of every issue. It’s where we go deeper on the data and the reports behind the headlines—plus the takes too spicy for the free edition. It’s for those who like to take a few risks themselves. Scroll down and take a look.
See you next week.
Mr. Thread
P.S. Don’t just read—play. We’ve woven a new mystery into this issue in our PLAYTIME segment. 11 Correct Guesses Last Week. Let’s see who has the “eye” to claim the win this time and secure a spot for our grand prize draw. Scroll to the bottom to join the fun.
Industry
Family and the industry
The design industry is about family, relationships, humanity—and you see that most clearly when tragedy strikes. There’s no other industry I’d rather be part of. We use beauty to heal suffering in the work we make, but it’s how we treat each other that truly lifts us up.
This week, the design world lost one of its own: Dave Dawson, co-founder of Urban Electric Co. Many of our readers may not know who this man was, and we think you should. Beyond how awesome a human he was, the company he built, Urban Electric Co., and the organization he created, the Makers Alliance, are some of the finest examples of creativity matched with business excellence—and the magic that combination can create. And when you instill that with a kind and uplifting culture, you truly have a one-of-one model we can all look to as we grow our businesses.
We wanted to share some of the outpouring of love and support for him:
@allisonelebashinteriors:
“He was a beacon of light and a true legend, leading the design world in all the best ways.”
@rhbirdwell:
“Dave Dawson—you are the best leader, dad, husband and friend I’ve ever known.”
@eric.chang.design:
“We are all better business people, leaders and human beings because of what he created.”
@schumacher1889:
“He led with generosity, warmth, and genuine kindness, embracing those around him in a way that left a lasting impression on everyone fortunate enough to know him.”
@twenty2wallpaper:
“Dave helped cultivate a creative community of American makers - the Makers Alliance.”
@rachelhalvorson:
“Dave Dawson always used to say, ‘How you do one thing is how you do everything.’”
@erikampowell:
“His pursuit of excellence and quality and beauty are legacies that are tangible.”
Opportunities
Pole position
RH just announced a multi-year partnership with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team this week. That makes RH the team’s “global interior design and luxury furnishings curator.” I didn’t see this one coming. Beginning late 2026, RH-designed hospitality spaces will roll out trackside in Abu Dhabi, then Miami, Monaco, and Silverstone, plus the team’s U.K. headquarters.
Say what you want about Gary Friedman—and I have—but this is thinking big. Here’s my challenge to you: name the Fortune 500 company nobody in our industry has thought to call. One of my brands could land Ferrari with the right path into the company and a compelling enough pitch. So could yours.
A warning from someone with skin in the game: I’ve done exactly one licensing deal in 15 years, and I’m only now signing my second, because this time I know what to vet—the partner’s audience, their culture, creative control, and every line of the contract. Take the risk, but with your eyes wide open.
“The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team has established the benchmark for precision, innovation and performance, making this a natural collaboration between two organizations united by an unwavering commitment to excellence. Together, we have the opportunity to create immersive environments unlike anything experienced in sport, blurring the lines between driving and design.”
— Gary Friedman, RH founder, chairman, and CEO, via Furniture Today
How to blow your own trumpet
Architectural Digest just published “30 Ways to Get the Word Out About Your Firm.” There’s nothing groundbreaking in here, folks. Podcasts, giveaways, pad your email signature. Meanwhile, every survey of interior designers reports the same number-one anxiety: where the next project is coming from.
The AD100 sit on waiting lists two and three years deep while the other 99% refresh their inboxes. And before you pack for New York because contracts on $10 million-plus condos nearly doubled last quarter—38, up from 21—don’t. A million designers had the idea before you.
In my opinion, the real formula for success for any designer looking to grow their business has three parts: a portfolio presented beautifully online, a digital marketer you’ve recruited and briefed properly, and networking like it’s your job—because it is. None of these are easy. They take risking some of your own money, plus hard work, savvy, and a healthy dose of humility to ask others for help. But if you do them, and do them at an exceptional level, you will rise above 99% of your peers and start winning new projects—until you have to tell new clients, “Get on the waiting list.”
Then, find your niche, and don’t make it Manhattan. Hot markets like Charlotte are full of wealthy clients settling for the furniture store’s in-house designer. Go where you’re needed.
Trends
Design can heal
Brescia, Italy is getting a new Main and Children’s Hospital from Park Associati and Carlo Ratti Associati: 745 beds, winter gardens at the end of every wing, a children’s building of three stacked cylinders wrapped in therapeutic gardens, and a one-kilometer Green Ring of squares and paths stitching the campus to the city. You gotta see the images.
Construction starts in 2028 with an initial 274 million euros ($313 million). This is the trend I root for hardest—our cold, gray institutions finally treating design as medicine. The IIDA’s new 196-page Futures Readiness Index predicts designers will soon tie fees to health outcomes. Design a home that lowers a client’s blood pressure and charge for the result. The flip side is getting sued when the anxiety readings go the wrong way. Getting paid your value is this industry’s second-biggest complaint, right behind finding the next job, and outcome-based fees are the first serious answer I’ve seen.
“With Green Ring, the hospital once again faces the city. A large semicircular atrium, like a smile, welcomes those arriving. The buildings open to the light, air, and the landscape of the Brescia Prealps.”
— Carlo Ratti, founder, Carlo Ratti Associati, via Dezeen
A little bit of joy for $12
Yinka Ilori launched his first full furniture and homeware collection this week—40 pieces with U.K. high-street retailer Dunelm, the start of a three-year partnership. Five chairs, a mushroom lamp, rugs, curtains, a bed, all channeling the eclectic 1960s and ‘70s spirit of the home he grew up in and the Leicester community where Dunelm began as a market stall in 1979. The cheapest piece is £9 ($12). The lamp is £65 ($87). The swivel chair is £299 ($400), and the bed is £799 ($1,065).
High-end brands have chased Ilori for years; he picked the affordable one because it gave him free rein. I love this. The kid who buys a $12 piece of good design today is the client commissioning custom work in 15 years.
Scarcity has its place—we covered that lesson with RH—but beauty is good for the soul at every price point, and the brands that remember it grow the whole pie.
“I’m really proud of this collection, and I think it’s really going to change the way brands think about how they can make design a lot more accessible. Sometimes we forget that many people who want good design can’t afford it, and this collection really, I hope, is going to change the way we think about that.”
— Yinka Ilori, designer, via Dezeen
Selling Americana
Business of Fashion’s guide to Selling Americana at 250 reveals brands caught between opportunity and anxiety. Search interest in “western,” “varsity,” and “American flag” has jumped fivefold since 2022, and Ralph Lauren’s America-forward bet helped push sales up 15% last year. Yet almost none of the major players—Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, J.Crew, Gap, L.L.Bean—said “anniversary” out loud. Only Lingua Franca threw a public party (and they hate Trump).
The takeaway for interiors is that consumers have already separated the aesthetic from the politics. And Americana as a style is having a moment. I personally love everything about it (with one of my favorites being this year’s Holland & Sherry new collection with the brilliant William Peace.) The translation is straightforward: maximalism, plaids and checks, wood, natural materials, earthy tones. Sell the heritage and richness, skip the flag-waving. Brands are too nervous (or cowardly?) to claim the moment, which leaves that whitespace open for whoever’s willing to take it.
“The idea that someone can be labeled as a Trump supporter based on what they’re wearing and is worth getting mad about just started to feel very tired. People got very burned out on trying to assign profound meaning to every aesthetic choice.”
— Biz Sherbert, writer of the American Style newsletter, via The Business of Fashion
Economy
“A sea of red”
I follow the stock market obsessively so you don’t have to, and there are red lights flashing across the board. The broad consumer discretionary sector (XLY), which represents non-essential goods and services, is down 1.78%, dragging down names like Home Depot (-2.57%) and Lowe’s (-3.64%).
Meanwhile, homebuilders D.R. Horton (-4.43%) and Toll Brothers (-4.00%) took an even harder hit. Luxury isn’t providing its usual safe haven either: Kering (-4.98%), Hermès (-4.24%), and Estée Lauder (-3.13%) all pulled back sharply.
Over on the Mr. Thread watchlist, the pain is concentrated in furniture and e-commerce, with Lovesac plunging 9.06% and Wayfair down 6.98%. Ouch. A tiny handful of outliers bucked the trend: 1stDibs (+3.24%), Flexsteel (+0.62%), and First Industrial Realty (+0.33%).
Blame the headlines—markets hate a ceasefire that won’t hold. Nobody knows if the bombing is over. We do know uncertainty is terrible for people buying sofas.
Tech
AI GEO search
Google made AI Overviews the default this past May, and the era of scrolling blue links ended with it. My wife, a late adopter of tech, still refuses to touch ChatGPT, but even her Google searches are robot-assisted now, and it’s not ending there. Stanford’s 2026 AI Index puts generative AI at 53% population-level adoption within three years—faster than the personal computer, faster than the internet. A new discipline called GEO (generative engine optimization) has already spawned an industry.
I’m sounding the alarm because your clients have stopped searching. They’re asking a machine for recommendations, and the machine answers with whoever it trusts. BCG’s new consumer study says 79% of luxury consumers already use AI to research purchases, and they trust it twice as much as social media and influencers.
At one of my brands we saw this coming a year ago and rebuilt our content strategy around deeply informed articles backed by a century of subject-matter expertise. AI loves that type of content. If you sell anything online—fabric, furniture, or design services—this is the only marketing initiative you should be thinking about this quarter.
“SEO is link math—backlinks, rankings, click-through. GEO is citation math—does the model extract you, attribute you, and surface you inside the answer?”
— Ronn Torossian, founder, 5W AI Communications, via Architectural Digest
Loose Threads
A superfan spent 900 hours building a miniature Love Island USA villa, an homage to the prestige, high-brow show that has elevated the art of television.
A girl’s best friend is now on sale: De Beers is slashing diamond prices for a shrinking group of buyers.
Elle Decor revisits Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, and New York’s landmarks law
Our founding father just got a fresh coat of spackle. George Washington’s Mount Vernon is getting a loving restoration ahead of America’s 250th.
Egypt has uncovered a lost Byzantine-era city in the Western Desert—my homeland never stops giving.
Farewell to Aldo Spinelli, the Poliform co-founder who helped carry Italian design to the world. A giant of our trade.
Mayor Mamdani approved a record $323 million in culture funding for New York City. Whatever your politics, that is real money for beauty.
Playtime
Congratulations to Adrienne L., Amy G., Hillary E., Tullia P., Cindy G., Matt Q., Freddy V., Martin R., Ginger S., Rico V., and Todd S. for correctly guessing the word of the week last issue: FAHRENHEIT! Great work, threaders!
🚨 We’re down to our last 3 games before the big raffle on July 29th! Every single guess stacks up your points, so don’t sit this one out. Threaders, it’s playtime!
The Clue: The cloth known to every gambler.
Piece together the mystery word based on the clue provided above.
Click HERE to submit your answer.
Type your answer in the subject field and hit send!
The Stakes
Every correct guess earns you points that accumulate for our upcoming raffle. The more you play, the higher your chances of winning. We’ll be holding the grand draw on July 29th! Our lucky winner gets:
A featured spotlight for you/your firm in an upcoming issue of Mr. Thread.
Another special mystery gift from yours truly, Mr. Needle.
Stay sharp,
Mr. Needle
This week’s art
This week I went looking for paintings about risk, with a somber vibe, in light of the sad passing of Dave Dawson. I landed on John Constable. Constable was the son of a prosperous mill owner, groomed to take over the family corn business, and he walked away from all of it to paint clouds and hay carts. He courted Maria Bicknell for seven years against her family’s wishes and married her anyway. The Royal Academy finally admitted him at 52—by a single vote. Hope you enjoy his work as much as I do.
Mr. Thread Insider
Welcome to Mr. Thread Insider, our new members-only section. This is where we go deeper into the big story of the week.
What luxury buyers want now.
Boston Consulting Group and Altagamma surveyed 10,000 luxury consumers across 11 countries for the 12th True-Luxury Global Consumer Insights study. We read it so you don’t have to. Five things worth your time…
