By now you might have heard me speak about the TDC origin story- and today on our 9th anniversary I want to talk about how we grew to be a 500+ member organization. We’ve stood the test of time by evolving and learning all the time, creating structures and processes that keep our trust-based community healthy and thriving- this deserves real celebration!
Back in 2016 I invited four other designers to start a buying group with me. We sat at my dining table and came up with a basic outline of how it would work, and made some general rules. In the beginning years, we referred to it simply as “the buying group.” It started growing organically with more members and vendors, and when it needed a name we called it Collaborate To Win.
In the early days it was free to join because it was supposed to be a group effort with everyone maintaining accounts for one another and handling the administrative tasks. That was great in theory, but if you have ever been part of a group project in school, you know that frequently one person takes on more and more of the work to keep things going smoothly. That person was me! I had a real passion for the community we were forming, but it was taking a toll on my time for design work. It was clear we needed real structure, leadership, and support to keep it going and make it better.
I was working with coach Terri Taylor at the time, and she was very encouraging. Terri said the group was worth pursuing, and it WAS, in fact, a whole business on its own, separate from my design firm. The members of the group supported this as well, so Collaborate to Win became an LLC, and I started charging a yearly membership fee. Soon about 100 members were thriving and maintaining vendor accounts within our growing structure.
As things grew, I was always working to find the right balance of DIY effort, compensated collaborators, and rules to keep things running smoothly. There have been so many contributors that it is impossible to thank everyone without lapsing into an Oscar speech style litany; I am so grateful for all the talented people who have shaped what TDC is today. Our evolution continues- it’s what makes us different from ad-hoc buying groups.
We became The Designers Collaborative (aka TDC) in 2021, when member Amy Baker (who has a background in marketing) suggested rebranding, complete with a fresh new logo and website. Word of mouth spread too, and I’ve had the pleasure of being on a bunch of great podcasts to brag on TDC over the years- we continue to grow!
As the group has gotten larger, we’ve evolved protections for members- we are dealing with real humans in a real world after all. For example, in 2022 a young woman was scamming designers online. Much of her fraud had nothing to do with TDC, but she had been briefly a member as were some of those victimized. TDC caught this in time to prevent any of our members from losing money, but this close call was an eye opener. She pretended to order furniture from vendors but just pocketed the designers’ money; this was a scary situation for small business owners who ordered high ticket items for their clients! Seeing this serious example, I decided to create an Emergency Fund to protect our members. The Emergency Fund is a separate account where 5% of TDC’s monthly profit gets set aside to cover losses in the unlikely event a member acts in bad faith. I am committed to keeping TDC a totally secure place to do business.
By 2023 I was facilitating a community of about 400 designers. I decided to create an Advisors Group to help me make the big, harder decisions. The Advisors Group has been a wonderful support to me and brings different viewpoints to any issue we need to vote on. Having a group to turn to for advice helps TDC maintain balance as an ever-evolving organization.
Our widespread community also supports in-person events. TDC hosts well attended High Point Market talks focused on important topics designers care about. Because it can’t be all work all the time, we continue to have a long list of HPMKT meet-ups so members can get to know each other. It’s a blast to tour a showroom together! This year (2025), we started a new initiative called TDC Trip, because I think getting out of your office and connecting with like-minded folk is inspirational and keeps our creative fires burning.
TDC has stood the test of time and evolved into a professionally run buying collective with the largest number of vendors on offer at the best price tiers, fueling our members’ profitable design businesses. Our loyal members are a testament to TDC’s success, and my passion for the community we’ve created together makes my workday a joy. I celebrate all of you! With 9 wonderful years of experience together, I know there are more great things to come for all of us.
