Hidden Gems

David Black and his wife, Jennifer, of Wear The House discuss embracing creativity, breaking boundaries in interior design, and leaving a lasting legacy

A little over 10 years ago, David and Jennifer Black moved to Dubai, where Jennifer spent five years working for a contemporary women’s wear designer. She designed the collections, headed up manufacturing, and was responsible for print embroidery and going into the factories. “I loved it so much and treated it like my own business, and after five years, I wanted to do something for myself,” said Jennifer.

She wasn’t sure quite what her own thing would be, but she was on Instagram where many people share their homes where they showed purchased products or getting gifts and then creating inspirational living spaces. She wanted to do something similar but by leaning into her fashion background, and after a serious conversation with David, she left a job that she loved.

With her background, she could see what was and wasn’t working in the industry. “Brands come and go and I knew that whatever we were going to do, I knew that I didn’t want to be just another fashion brand. I also knew that with the financial position that we were in, I knew that I couldn’t give it everything because fashion is such a big investment and you have to do many, many seasons before you get into boutiques. I knew we weren’t in the position to fully do that,” she said.

The nagging desire to create something which allows people to express themselves and bring their love of fashion into their homes prompted her to tell David, “I feel like there’s a strong connection between the way we dress and the way we dress our homes.” David just came up with Wear The House and in 2018 the idea was born. 

The mission was to create an e-commerce site which is a colourful shopping destination for the whole home, starting with pyjamas and matching cushions and wallpaper. Then the pandemic hit. They’d set up their domain and registered the business and the pandemic made it very difficult to continue production because it was done in China and India. So, they scaled back and focused on what they could do within the UAE, and Jennifer started to produce more cushions locally using her prints.

POST-COVID CREATIONS
“Coming out of the pandemic, we wanted to be a closer family unit and we took on a more full-time role with the kids and chose to be in a smaller space, and that’s when Jennifer started playing around with the idea of the gems and began with embroidered cushions,” said David.

At the beginning of 2021 Wear The House released a capsule range of gem rugs in clusters of colours. Eventually, they made a sale to the United States just through Instagram, using a minimal advertising budget. The next few sales that followed were serendipitous because David’s other business was going through a tough time. David and Jennifer had to look at Wear The House, which had been running for a few years and had good awareness in the Middle East and figure out how to turn it into their future.

After careful consideration, David came fully on board to support Jennifer. Now, with their solid partnership and a viable e-commerce business, they’re expanding their marketing efforts into the US and their vision for the brand was always much greater than rugs and cushions. “We want to create something which allows people to uplift their mood to find that happy place within their home; to fill their home with colour, whether even if they prefer a more neutral palette, they can still throw up throw a pop of colour in there,” said David.

Their other goal is to collaborate with other artists and expand their reach globally by partnering with artists in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and the States. “We believe that collaboration is important for us to work with and support other artists. It’s part of who we are and where we see our business going,” said Jennifer.

Advice for new creatives:

1. Enjoy the process
   You’re going to have good days and bad days.
2. Know your vision
   Be clear about what you want to create.
3. Fail fast, move on
   As long as you learn from it, it’s never a failure.

Get in touch: @wearthehouse
Clothing: @thatconceptstore

This article appeared in Issue 002 – the Men’s Edition