What problem does Jack of All Trays solve?
Statement Home takes the clutter out of home entertaining and decorating. Nobody likes to open a cabinet only to be faced with a pile of assorted pieces and accessories. But any entertainer, party host, and home decor enthusiast knows how hard it is to pass up on seasonal and decorative pieces.
Our first product, the Jack of all Trays, lets you easily change up the look of your tray for any style, occasion, season, and holiday, without actually buying more trays.
Statement Home is on a mission to help you make a statement in your home without all the stuff, all the stress, all the clutter starting with our first product: the Jack of all Trays.
Start with one of our sleek, durable acrylic trays in clear, white, or black. Next, make your statement with our interchangeable inserts for any style & occasion. Our inserts are double-sided feature a variety of prints, patterns, and colors, and are made of a sturdy, premium plastic material. Turn your tray into a cheese board with our bamboo charcuterie inserts. Stack the inserts inside the tray for easy, clutter-free storage.
Tell us about the founder. What is their background?
Statement Home was founded by Abby Michaelsen in June 2020.
I have no formal training in design or home decor (in fact, I studied political science in college), but I’ve always loved the decor, entertaining, and hosting parties. I grew up in Southern California and moved to New York City after college. Before founding Statement Home, I worked for several startups in NYC including a digital real estate marketplace and a direct-to-consumer mattress brand. I always had an entrepreneurial bug, and working for startups only increased my passion for and interest in starting a business of my own.
Living in a tiny small Manhattan (aka a shoebox), I quickly realized how challenging it is to make my space feel my own and to entertain and decorate with various decor styles throughout the year. I barely had room for the essentials, let alone a variety of home decor and serving pieces!
When I initially came up with the idea for Statement Home, I proceeded to speak to over 100 home decor and entertaining enthusiasts (I literally went up to complete strangers in decor shops to ask questions), to validate my concept. I discovered I wasn’t alone and kept hearing over and over again how much these shoppers desired more decor pieces, but that they just didn’t have enough storage space available (or didn’t want to add even more clutter to their home).
I moved back to Southern California to start working on launching the business and “soft-launched” in November 2019 by testing out the concept with a small run of trays and inserts at holiday markets and pop-ups. I sold out and received incredible excitement from my initial customers, giving me the feedback and momentum needed to actually turn this idea into a business.
When the pandemic hit, I slightly postponed the initial launch – Statement Home officially launched with our eCommerce website in June 2020. Since launch, we’ve sold thousands of trays and inserts and we drive most of our sales from word of mouth and TikTok. We’re also loved by several A-list celebrities including Sofia Vergara and Jessica Alba who have posted their Jack of all Trays on Instagram!
So far, I’ve run the business as a solo founder, managing everything from designing the website, sourcing manufacturers, designing our tray inserts, creating social media content, customer service, and so much more. For over a year, I packed and shipped every single order; I was so excited to achieve enough scale to move into a third-party fulfillment center in August 2021!
In 2022, I plan to start hiring a small team and expanding our marketing effort to fuel our growth!
How did they come up with the idea?
It all started in a shoebox…you know, those tiny spaces New Yorkers call an apartment? I’ve always loved entertaining and changing up the look of my space throughout the year, but I didn’t have space for a variety of decor pieces in my small apartment. The “lightbulb moment” came after cramming a holiday tray into the back of my cabinet (for it to just sit there for the next 11 months). All my feelings of excitement from hosting a celebration turned into regret for buying something so impractical.
This experience living in a small apartment inspired me to create versatile decor products that make it easier to change the look for various styles, occasions, seasons, and holidays starting with the always-handy accessory, a tray!
How can this transform the world or our day-to-day lives?
The Jack of all Trays takes the stress out of changing up the look of your decor. Our reversible inserts make celebrating the seasons and holidays, staying on trend, and mixing up your style easier than ever. Even better, the clutter-free design lets you save space without sacrificing options which means you can do more with less stuff. Just stack your inserts in the tray for easy storage!
And if you love a cheese board as much as we do, turn your tray into a cheese board with our Bamboo Charcuterie Inserts.
Trays are truly the centerpiece of every celebration. They serve up joy whether it’s cocktails, appetizers, charcuterie, or dessert, and they elevate the look of any space. The Jack of all Trays is a small detail that makes a big impact on the memories we form from the special occasions and spaces in our lives.
What do customers love most about the product?
Our customers love how easy and fun it is to switch the inserts in their tray for different styles, occasions, and holidays. For the home entertainer, it’s their all-in-one party sidekick for every theme, occasion, season, and holiday. For the interior design enthusiast, it’s their ever-changing decor piece on their coffee table or dresser. For the minimalist, it’s their decor hack for keeping their footprint low without sacrificing options.
Additionally, our customers love to gift the Jack of all Trays, and has become their go-to gift for the holidays, housewarmings, birthdays, bridal showers & weddings, and so many special occasions. Our customers enjoy giving a tray and a few starter inserts and then continuing to give their loved ones more inserts when the seasons change or we launch a new insert that fits their style.
Where can people get this product?
You can purchase on our website: www.statementhome.com
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