Exploring Life & Business with Rachel Fogarty and Catherine Pietsch of Woven Goods

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Fogarty and Catherine Pietsch. 

Hi Rachel and Catherine, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We started up Woven Goods Co almost three years ago to the day. 

Rachel does interiors and was already gathering rugs for her clients. She was using her backyard shed as a “storage unit” and it evolved into a business idea, but one she did not want to do alone…enter Catherine. 

We started the business thinking we could host it online as opposed to a brick-and-mortar, but it became quickly apparent that people really wanted to touch and feel the rugs. We took our show on the road and asked local friends to host trunk shows. We would load dozens of rugs into our cars, strap rug racks to the tops of our cars and then reload all of it at the end of each night. 

After a few months of that, we started a conversation with our friends Monica and Stacy of Patina + Co and after some we looking found a spot on 8th Ave. It was the perfect place for us to start. 

Luckily for both companies, we quickly outgrew our shared space and we just opened our new rug and art gallery in the Berry Hill area. We have about 2100 sq ft of floor space and the Nashville Artist collective houses their gallery space on our walls. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a small business owner is so gratifying and also the hardest work you can imagine. It never shuts off and there are many days that we realize what a leap of faith this has been. There are nights of anxiety dreams about inventory and nightmares of our whole dream crashing and burning. But then, we head into the Shop and see all of our people that continue to show up and spread the word about our space with their friends and families. 

We also deal with delays like many of our clients do, we just have source smartly and give ourselves plenty of time to make sure we always have fresh inventory. We won’t name names but there has been one shipping company that has a pattern of losing our rugs, which for a small business is a really blow. 

Social media is a very real marketing strategy for us. It works. And Instagram is our best and worst friend; it’s that constant balance of staying in front of our clientele and forcing ourselves to put our phones down when we are with our families. 

We’ve been impressed with Woven Goods Co, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Woven Goods Co is a bit of a neighborhood marketplace specializing in vintage Turkish rugs. We started this company with the idea that we wanted to represent local makers, and with our new larger showroom we are able to do just that. Partnering with the Nashville Artist Collective is something we are very proud of because we both passionately celebrate the Nashville art scene. 

We also really try to create an environment where people want to do more than just come to shop… we want everyone that walks through that door to feel welcome enough to want to stay and just hang out. A bit like “Cheers” meets a home decor store. 

Another thing we are fiercely mindful of is our pricing. We started this company with the goal that people like ourselves would be able to afford beautiful rugs for their homes. It’s something we proudly maintain as we price the imported Turkish rugs that come in on a weekly basis. 

What were you like growing up?
Rachel: I was a tomboy with a girlie side…always playing outside, riding around on my bike, and playing all the sports. I was (a little fiercely) independent and also the mediator of my family – a total middle child. 

Catherine: I was the only girl in my family, with three brothers, so I really had no choice but to go with the flow. I loved hanging out with friends, being outside, and bossing my younger brother around. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: wovengoodsco.com
• Instagram: @wovengoodscompany