You are furnishing a venue, and the same question keeps coming back: wait for production matched to the room, or take something that can be shipped straight away. The choice has less to do with the furniture than with the date you have set for opening.
Lead times and what they mean for you
Upholstered furniture leaves our workshop at two speeds, and each has its limits.
| Lead time | What you get | When the piece goes out | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fast delivery | a sofa in black, in standard sizes | up to 3 working days, plus freight | black, standard size 1 or 1.2 linear metres |
| Made to measure | any length, shape, fabric and back height | roughly 4 to 6 weeks from the moment payment is registered, plus freight | none, apart from the time |
| Chairs and tables | a category of their own, their own production cycle | 7 to 14 working days, plus freight | whatever the colour |
Restaurant sofa, bench seating along a wall and corner sofa are the same piece with us, so the deadlines above apply to all three.
What you get for waiting
Furniture made to measure gives you full control over length, shape, fabric and back height, and what you pay with is time. It is the answer for a room with an awkward layout, with corners, or where the interior has a consistent use of colour and the fabric has to match it. That is how we make WINDSOR, among others.
The four to six weeks are counted from the moment payment is registered, not from when you sent the enquiry. If a week or two goes on the quotation, the choice of fabric and settling the details, the real time from first contact to delivery is closer to eight weeks. If you want a piece sewn to measure, and would rather not pay extra to get it faster, get in touch about two months before the opening date.
When fast delivery is the right answer
Fast delivery is the answer when the opening date is closer than the production time. A sofa in black and in standard sizes goes out within up to three working days, plus freight.
Because the piece is built from scratch, this deadline applies to black and to standard sizes of 1 or 1.2 linear metres. If you want another colour or another size, the order falls under normal production time.
The other case is quickly replacing a damaged part, without waiting for an identical piece to be made again.
Whether we make your particular opening depends on how full the workshop is that week. It is a phone call, not a guarantee from a price list: 968 27 586.
What the short deadline costs
Fast delivery costs more than the same model ordered with normal production time. How much depends on the model and the length, and you get that figure in the quotation.
For comparison, BASIC sits at 1 500 NOK per linear metre with normal production time. We take orders from 1 linear metre.
What “from the moment payment is registered” means
Before we start production, we ask for at least 50 per cent of the order value, against a proforma invoice. It is from that payment being registered that the deadline runs, not from the day you sent the enquiry.
The rest you pay before dispatch. The reason we work this way is simple: every order has its own measurements and its own finish, so the piece is made for one customer only.
How the furniture arrives
We send by forwarder, on EUR pallets. How many pieces fit on one pallet depends on the model: six modules of 1.2 metres of BASIC, four of PARIS. The freight cost depends on the volume, and we work it out in the quotation. The details are on the page about delivery and payment.
You can also collect the furniture yourself from our factory in Pszów in Poland, by arrangement.
Do you need a fitting team?
No. We draw the furniture so that assembly should not be necessary, and that is a deliberate choice: every hour with people on site adds to the bill, and on a modular sofa for a nightlife venue it adds nothing. You set up and connect the segments yourself.
If you would rather we did it, we assemble on request. Then we agree it in the quotation, together with the delivery time.
The compromise some venues choose
Some venues combine both deadlines in one order. Most of the room goes made to measure, ordered in good time, while one or two extra elements are taken with fast delivery, in case of damage or a later extension. Then you have to accept that the colour will not necessarily hit exactly the same shade as the rest.
When a catalogue piece simply will not go in
There are interiors where a piece from the catalogue cannot be placed. At Krzywy Domek in Sopot, a building with deliberately curved walls, we measured the curve on site and rebuilt PARIS to follow it.
How to choose between the two
Start with the opening date, not with the model. If you have more than two months, full production to measure is within reach, and there is no reason to pay extra. If there are weeks left, we are talking about black in standard sizes.
Give us the length of the wall, the opening date and whether the colour has to be a particular one. Then we will say on the phone which of the two applies: 968 27 586.
Mariusz Wolski · owner of KAIZEN sp. z o.o. · in the furniture trade since 2005