When our two companies were established in the late 1970s, the Flower Power generation was getting married, buying homes and looking for stylist ways to decorate and get organized. At that time, “design” was rather snobbish and expensive. We dreamed of bringing design to the home with a casual, fun attitude and an affordable price – we produced everyday items such as trash cans, bath accessories and hooks. We had a hard time finding retail stores who shared the same vision until the early 1980s, when we met Kip (The Container Store’s Chairman and CEO) and Sharon Tindell (The Container Store’s Chief Merchandising Officer) at a trade show in Chicago. That was the beginning of a long, successful relationship between two companies that understand products with beauty and function, don’t have to be expensive. Both companies have grown beyond our small, humble beginnings to surpass our dreams. We’ve had so many wonderful opportunities to strengthen our partnership with The Container Store…most recently at their Staff Meeting this past June when we shared the stage with Sharon to talk to 330 managers and leaders from throughout the company about our mutually-beneficial relationship…what it means to us, to them and to their customers. And to top it off that evening, we joined Kip on stage for a true music spectacular with him singing alongside our harmonica and bass playing. The room was on their feet dancing, cheering and singing along like nothing we’ve ever seen.
– Les Mandelbaum, President and Co-Founder, Umbra
– Paul Rowan, Vice President and Co-Founder, Umbra
2 responses to “Umbra and The Container Store”
