RHINELANDER, WI — Ask Larry Frasier and he will tell you that if you can’t reach them, then join them.
That is precisely what Frasier, CKD, president and senior designer, and v.p./senior designer Nancy Frasier of Frasier Kitchens chose to do when they joined forces with Inner Piece Interiors, a design/decorating firm based in Wasau, WI – nearly an hour away from Frasier’s Rhinelander, WI location.
Larry Frasier explains: “This is a win-win situation for both businesses. We’ve always had our eyes on the Wasau area but were too occupied with the northern lakes area to pursue [opportunities there] in the past. Now, by cross-promoting our service and offerings, we can fulfill virtually every need a client may have when it comes to reimagining an area of their home or office.”
Indeed, says Nancy Frasier, the 34-year-old, full-service kitchen and bath design firm specializes in “custom lakeside retreats with elegant ambience” in northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Teaming up with Inner Piece Interiors takes the client through the complete design process, “ensuring that furniture, wall colors, carpeting and other elements flow seamlessly with the details of the kitchen, bath or other upgraded living space.”
She continues: “Ultimately, each firm can provide a more comprehensive, well-rounded array of services, with Inner Piece Interiors providing design/decorating expertise and quality furniture, décor, flooring, lighting and custom framing products. For example, if a homeowner enlists us to redo their kitchen and also desires a freshly outfitted dining room with all-new furniture and décor, we can now do both thanks to our affiliation with Inner Piece Interiors.”
She concludes: “Customers appreciate spatial efficiency and practical functionality just as much as they do eye-catching aesthetics. And that’s our goal at Frasier Kitchens and Inner Piece Interiors; to create dazzling living spaces with lasting value, and to ensure complete client satisfaction.”
Putting on a Show
Undoubtedly the Frasier Kitchens 3,000 square-foot showroom (which actually stretches to 5,600 square feet including office areas, storage areas and a workshop) plays a huge role in the firm’s long-term success as well, says Larry Frasier.
It is composed of complete room settings, intended for clients to visualize their spaces. To that end, three of the displays are working kitchens, with one featuring a live four-oven AGA cooker.
“We’re also preparing to debut a Wood-Mode Mountain Retreat kitchen display, to be accessorized by Inner Piece Interiors. This new display will function as a kitchen fully equipped with state-of-the-art appliances and walk-in pantry, making it ideal for presenting chef clinics and live demos to the open public,” Larry Frasier says.
He continues: “It’s going to be an impressive display that customers will appreciate for its warm, comfortable feel. The hand-carved and distressed, glazed finishes will beckon you to a bygone era of quality craftsmanship and a less-hurried existence – ideal for today’s hectic world.”
Other notable inclusions in the showroom are countertops featuring aged recycled copper and soapstone which lend a feeling of “just wanting to be there.”
Likewise, the display will also feature a cutting edge modular stovetop cooking system by Wolf, which allows the user to choose the combination of cooking modules – conventional gas, magnetic induction, steamer or wok, that best suit the user’s cooking style.
Promoting their combined expertise, both firms plan to host alternating special events at their respective showrooms during the coming year, including a public open house at Inner Piece Interiors and cooking demonstrations and design clinics at Frasier Kitchens.
Marketing Value
While the Frasiers know what impact word-of-mouth referrals hold, Larry Frasier says he is also aware that there is always more to be done in that area.
Last February, Frasier Kitchens and Inner Piece Interiors shared a booth presence at the Wausau Area Builders Association Home Show.
Frasier explains: “We will be working with our interior design partner to put on around eight showroom events for 2010 which will include open houses, kitchen clinics, cooking demos, green clinics and a holiday bake sale. These will be promoted with postcard mailings [which will include co-op assistance through our Wood-Mode rep] and with sign-up sheets for visitors at each showroom.”
Lastly, he points out that the firm has purchased billboard space on the main highway that funnels part-time residents from Southern Wisconsin and Illinois to their lakeside retreats in northern Wisconsin.