Is Made.com the new way to shop for furniture?

Made.com cuts out the middlemen to drastically reduce the prices of designer furniture. It works by showcasing furniture designs on the website and asking people to vote for their favourites.

The crowd-sourced designs go into production and the people who voted can go on to buy them at a discount as a thank you for their part in the selection process. Orders are then placed direct with a manufacturer for mass production in container quantities.  

Once completed, the orders are shipped to the UK and their progress is traceable in real time on the web site. The upside of this business model is no unsold inventory and no wastage as the factory only manufactures the exact number of items ordered.

My personal favourite from the current collection is the Union Jack Piggy Bag.  Falling in line with all the other patriotic memorobilia from the Royal Wedding – this is one piece that will last the distance and be a bright, bold statement in your living room!  Interestingly, the Union Jack design also comes in lime – which is an attractive alternative.   

Made.com is the brainchild of 28 year-old serial entrepreneur Ning Li who co-founded the firm with Julien Callede and Chloe Macintosh. Made.com has raised a 2.5M£ round in early 2010 with some successful European entrepreneurs such as Brent Hoberman and Michael Birch (through their VC fund PROfounders Capital), Marc Simoncini (owner of Meetic.com and match.com in Europe), John Hunt (the Seattle Coffee Company sold to Starbucks, Syzygy).