Hidden Gems: Meet Chentell Stiritz of Verdant

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chentell Stiritz.

Hi Chentell, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
When sharing my story, I always like to start by saying that while I am a Kansas City enthusiast, I am not originally from here! I was born and raised in Maui, Hawaii, which is where I was first introduced to working with ceramics. I fell in love with the medium in High school and was determined to make a career in the field. I attended Wheaton College, a liberal arts college just outside of Chicago, at which I formed my own Interdisciplinary Degree of Community Art, Urban Studies, and Ceramics.

In 2013, after graduating I knew that I wanted to design, create and sell handmade, ceramic wares. This was the base motivation behind starting Convivial. I wanted to create thoughtful, beautiful, functional wares that would be utilized and celebrated in daily use and furthermore, I wanted to build a company that would allow other artisans to utilize their education in ceramics in a sustainable career path.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No road is completely smooth!

Starting, growing, and scaling a business is full of expected and unexpected joys and challenges.

The main challenge we have faced over the years is the tension of product pricing and cost education. This pertains to both ends – for individuals working for the company as well as customers purchasing from our company.

When starting Convivial the world was in an uproar about the unethical manufacturing practices that were being utilized by large corporate companies tombs produce our everyday wares. It was a pivot point for society to begin to understand the true cost of creating a product ethically. This inspired Convivial to ensure that transparency of the process is at the forefront of our business. We share how we make our products, who our employees are, and the effort we are making to continually improve our workplace.

I am always delighted when customers don’t blink at our prices or even better when they say we should increase them (!) because this shows how much progress we have made as a society.

On the flip side, our management team is constantly working to educate our employees on the true cost and strains of business and the long-term, culture-changing goals that are a part of making a workplace like Convivial exist. It’s all a process, and though it has not always been smooth, it has taught resilience, strategy, and grace.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
IN 2019 I decided to branch out of Convivial and create our first retail concept, Verdant. I’ll share a little about this!

Convivial has always been created in the categories of home, table, and garden. In 2019 we were ready to create a space that was more public-facing than our manufacturing studio, and felt opening a concept with all three categories wasn’t the right fit. So, we narrowed it to our best-selling category – garden.

Verdant means lush greenery. The concept is that we are pairing plants with our planters, freshly made flowers that are always designed to fit our vases, and botanical-themed gift items all within our store.

Opening Verdant has professionally been a joy! It is fun to see the lessons I learned over the first 7 years of Convivial implemented within a year of opening Verdant. Our Moto – always learning! It has been a gift to see the learnings, old and new, bring something to life so quickly!

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Everything has pros and cons. This is an opening phrase I say over and over when considering an idea, sharing an idea, or implementing an idea. No path forward is without cons. No path forward is without pros. It;’s just a matter of trying to force them when making a decision or embracing them after the fact!

Pricing:

• Garden Category Range – $32-$124
• Candles – $32 for first, $16 for refills
• Table Category Range – $10 – $92

Contact Info:

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