Slifer Designs is known for excellence in design quality and its well honed design process, perfected over the last 35 years. However, one important piece in the design process isn’t as well known… but the secret is getting out. Namely, the 20,000 square foot Slifer Designs warehouse and its staff of dedicated white glove professionals, who are instrumental in fulfilling the vision of our clients.
Eric Pence, a veteran Slifer Designs employee with more than 20 years working in the warehouse, is an integral member of the white glove staff. He’s a hands-on manager and coordinates all the logistics in the warehouse. That means he, along with the the four other full-time team members, receives, inspects, inventories, and ultimately installs every single item that is ordered.
White Glove installation: the real difference
Perhaps the most important job of the warehouse crew is the white glove installation. Slifer Designs is truly a full-service interior design firm, meaning that beyond the design process the company also manages the installation start to finish. Installations (the process of putting every item into a client’s space, whether it’s in a boutique hotel, a cosmopolitan city townhouse, or a slope-side chalet) are handled from start to finish by these pros.
The warehouse team takes particular pride in its white glove service, and are methodically trained on installation practices. Pence explains. “We have a training program to teach and practice installation techniques, in particular art-hanging practices. Most importantly, our team cares about doing the job correctly and without causing any damage or leaving the job site a mess. Our clients are able to walk in the door and have it feel like home.”
The end result is a stress-free and immaculately executed turnkey experience, where the vision of the designers is being brought to life by the in-house white glove team.
“Our product is not being moved or handed off to another delivery or storage company,” says Pence. “Keeping our product all in-house is a huge benefit to our clients that may live in another part of the country. They have enough to worry about with construction or remodel issues that knowing their furniture is ordered, received, stored and delivered all by the same staff is reassuring.”
We love a challenge
This staff, after years of practice, know the goods; they know timelines and they understand the anxiety a client can feel with the delicacy of an in-home install. They handle it all professionally and merely as part of a day’s work. The team once spent a week unloading a shipping container in Kauai — a container they had carefully loaded and shipped more than a month in advance to avoid ‘island time’ getting in the way of their client’s timeline.
Their workflow on any given project can be as small as ensuring a custom sectional is up to spec or as involved as renting a crane and pulling permits in a city for an installation in a high rise. Although the crew claims not to have a favorite job, they really relish the chance to think outside the box and put their prowess to the test.
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One recent install stands out in Pence’s mind: “We installed at a property that overlooks Longs Peak, a 14er just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. The views from the deck were incredible. The driveway was cut through the woods at a very steep angle, zigzagging its way up to the building site. We didn’t know if our trucks could make it up there. During the install, we had to use a front loader to carry a marble coffee table from the truck to the porch for installation.”
Clearly, handling millions of dollars worth of product is not for the faint of heart — or for those who don’t take pride in their work. The team has several members who have more than 20 years experience. Together, these five men estimate they have installed more than 10,000 items. They stand behind their work and don’t consider a job complete until the client is in love with every piece and every placement.