Fable is a direct-to-consumer artisan dinnerware brand that is bringing a taste of Portugal to your home! This week we spoke to one of Fable’s co founders, Tina Luu, to learn more!
What is your business called and what does it do?
Fable is a direct-to-consumer e-commerce business. We offer premium quality home accessories that make creating the perfect space effortless. You can find our products on our website. Our products are designed in Vancouver and created in Portugal with the best materials, sustainability practices and ethical employment standards in mind.
What made you want to do this work?
I love to entertain and host dinner parties for friends and family. For me, creating those experiences starts with the smallest detail that is often overlooked. Everything from how you set the table to the music that is playing in the background really sets the mood. It’s in these small details that gives me the most joy. Personally, I feel dinnerware is one of the most ignored yet most utilized item we use daily. Having the right balance of weight and design can really take your at-home dining experience to the next level.
What problem does this solve?
I’m not a designer but I appreciate well made and superior quality products. Experiencing first hand how hard it can be to outfit my home, I knew there needed to be a better option: a company that provides pieces that have a cohesive design with a brand that is value driven.
Who are your clientele/demographics?
Our customers are looking to upgrade from their just-moved-out days to quality products that are ethically created and sustainability sourced, all at an accessible price point. They are millennials looking for a brand that is value driven and customer focused.
How does your business make money? How does it work?
We work closely with our teams in Portugal to design and create the ceramics. Once the products are completed, they take a sea voyage across the ocean to our warehouse in Canada. From there, our orders are processed and shipped out to our customers.
Where in Toronto can we find your profession?
At the moment, we only sell our products on our website but are exploring options to expand into select boutique retail stores. And in the future, when the lockdown measures have been lifted, we’d love to have pop-up stores and events around the city.
What is the best question a prospective customer could ask a member of your profession when comparing services?
I’m often asked, how do you find partners to work with when creating a product. At Fable, we visit each of our partners to learn more about their history and process in creating products. We make sure their values and how they think about the earth, are aligned with ours. For example, our ceramics partner reuses the water as much as possible during the creation of the ceramics. When the water is too full of minerals and clay, it is then given to the farmers in the local area to be used on crops.
What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?
The best part would be connecting with our customers and hearing about how much they love our products. We have customers all over Canada spanning from Toronto all the way in Nunavut!
The worst part would be issues that arise with the website or a customer that has to be dealt with immediately. We’re an e-commerce business so we’re open 24/7 and issues can happen at any moment. With two kids under three it can be, at times, hard to juggle between the business and family life.
What is your favourite joke about your own profession?
Have you cleared your cache yet?
What is another Toronto business that you love?
Since the pandemic started, every week my family and I treat ourselves by ordering takeout on Friday nights. Our go to place is this Persian restaurant called Darband by York Mills and the DVP. It’s a cute little family run place with really large portions. It’s enough to feed us lunch the next day! Try the Koobideh and Gormeh Sabzi with a Doogh yogurt drink.