How Southeast-Based Designer Shannon Bogan Created An Exclusive Resource For The Trade

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brightly colored painting

Noting the dearth of trade resources in Charleston, designer Shannon Bogan got to work opening a showroom, To The Trade on King, on the city’s famed shopping corridor. Bogan’s 2,500-square-foot space stands apart from her Kiawah Island design studio by being for other designers more than for Bogan herself. An impromptu meeting room for members of the trade and their clients, it showcases the creators she’s loved for years and serves as the area’s exclusive source for Vanguard. Here, Bogan chats with Luxe about how she closed a resource gap. tothetradeonking.com

What distinguishes To The Trade on King from other designer sources in Charleston? We are the only ones specifically to the trade. We want to be their resource for things designers can’t get anywhere else. And if we don’t have it, we’ll help them find it.

You have the best of both worlds here—a historic district and a new space. Charleston is a world-class city, but it only came to the forefront about five years ago. There was just this boom.

Meaning, a lot of new customers? There’s no question it’s attracting so many from other areas, and that’s what we want—to be their home base for everything they need in Charleston. The designers we see really think of it as their space, not our space, which we love.

What’s coming up? We’re planning a week-long trade market in Charleston this summer. On Monday, we might have upholstery, on Tuesday, fabrics, and so on.

PHOTO BY WILLIAM QUARLES PHOTOGRAPHY