Rapson-Inc is a new company with very old assets. The furniture they make is based on the modern classic designs of Ralph Rapson, an architect who pioneered the modernist movement in the 1940s. Rapson’s philosophy was to design things that were both beautiful and comfortable. Everything he designed was done so with people in mind.
In the 1990’s his son Toby, with the help of Ralph himself, began to resurrect the furniture designs, updating them to produce a taller version of the bentwood rockers Ralph has first drawn in 1939. After Ralph’s death in 2008, Toby decided to separate the furniture design business from the architectural firm they were also running together and thus Rapson-Inc. was born.
The company takes special care to uphold the values the Ralph held dear. He drew his chairs with people sitting in them, because although he wished them to be beautiful, they also needed to be a chair that people actually want to sit in. So when Rapson-Inc. prepares furniture designs for production, they take special care they ensure that the details and materials that they make their chairs with are comfortable to sit in as well as a pleasure to view.
All the chairs are also ethically made. Rapson-Inc. believes that even is a something looks beautiful it is ugly if it damages lives or the environment. Therefore all the wood used is from FSC-certified woods and all the materials used are low-VOC. Additionally, they donate at least 5% of their after-tax profits to a number of charities and organisations that support their values and aspirations in the community.
President at Rapson Inc, Chris Reedy describes how Brightpearl has helped them be much quicker and more agile than larger companies
Trial was really great
“The company was fairly new and we really wanted to get our website up and running as quickly as possible. We thought it would be a good idea to go for a system that was single, integrated solution, but it needed to be cost-effective and provide a basis for our company to grow in the long-term.
We found Brightpearl via the Google Apps Marketplace. There were very few other options that had the sort of all-in-one solution that we desired, and certainly not within our price range. Companies like Salesforce.com and Netsuite did offer an integrated solution but were very inflexible, a lot more expensive, and didn’t add any critical functionality.
The ability to have a trial was really great. Plus, we love the monthly pricing option, compared to much bigger companies in our industry that I know have to pay huge amounts up-front to get their websites and systems up and running, we were able to get going quickly and without having to spend a lot of money straightaway. The support team are fantastic, and the increasing sophistication of the marketing capabilities is extremely exciting. We are extremely happy with the system and think it is great value.
With Brightpearl we were able to get our site launched in a week, and can iterate very quickly, meaning the site can evolve with the business. Many other companies have to wait weeks to be able to just make minor changes. With Brightpearl, it is simple and easy for us to make any amends ourselves on the fly.
Brilliant for our website
Brightpearl is also brilliant for our website because it is so easily customisable. It is incredibly important as a design brand to have a website that is both beautiful and doesn’t look canned. We were able to make the template very quickly and could customise it to fit with what we wanted for the design. This could all be done in virtually no time at all.
You get the back end functionality you need, the front end design you desire and the adaptability to help you grow all in one single system. Brightpearl has a great solution, and I have recommended it as a simple, fully web-based system with great immediate functionality that can grow along with your business.”
