A unique product and a passion to share it with others was the driving force behind Larissa Raheb’s decision to start an Italian stationery business – Little did she know her hobby would fast become a business success, writes Rebecca Spicer
Larissa Raheb laughs at the ‘renaissance woman’ nickname given to her by friends, but it’s her interest and skills in all things artistic that won her the title, and has helped bring success to her high-end stationery business, Duomo.
Other than considering she’d like to follow in her parents’ footsteps and own her own business one day, Raheb admits to having little direction when she left school. So she began dabbling in a range of creative endeavours, from sculpting and photography to music and graphic design. “I suppose all those studies were gearing up for what I wanted to do, I just hadn’t found it yet,” she says. Until now.
Since starting Duomo two years ago, Raheb is now able to combine all her interests, so whether it’s designing her own business brochures, ads or trade stand, or product photography or graphic design, she uses all her hobbies to build the business.
Raheb’s first experience in running a business was in partnership with a family member, running three beauty retail stores. “I learnt a lot of business basics really quickly doing that,” she says.
But once she decided to start a family, Raheb slowly pulled back from the business, leaving completely once she had her second child. “It was time to play mum for a while.”
But five years later she started to feel the creative itch. “I got to a stage a couple of years ago when I just really needed to be doing something else, and I just felt I’d be a better person and a better mother if I was doing something I really enjoyed.”
This is when the wheels for Duomo were really set in motion, but the idea for the business actually came about a few years earlier. “In 2000 when our first child was one we did a world trip. The best part of the trip was Europe and my favourite country was Italy, and Florence was my favourite city. The cobbled streets were just so romantic and charming and then you see the artisans in their little bottegas making their goods.
“You can watch them making marble tables or sculptures, but what I loved the most was the leather book-binding. There was just so much detail in what they did and just the smell of the leather was amazing. I’ve always loved stationery and it was just beautiful, so when I came home I brought back as many albums and journals as I could fit in my bag, just for myself.
“Following that there would be occasions when I had to get a gift for someone when I would think ‘oh it would be perfect if I could just find an album like the one I bought in Florence’. But I just couldn’t find anything anywhere. That’s when I recognised the need in the market.”
Raheb’s original vision was to introduce quality, handmade Italian stationery to the Australian market, and part of the business’s success so far, she says, has been because she’s stuck to this concept. “I remember people saying to me in the beginning, ‘why don’t you just get these done in China or India, it would be much cheaper?’ But you just can’t compare the quality. For me to compromise on that would be to compromise on the whole business concept, and it would become just like everything else already on the market.”
Maintaining the high quality means Raheb is limited in bringing in lower price points, but just keeps reminding herself of the original target market: “Those who are happy to pay a little extra for something that will be an heir loom, or something they can pass down, whether it’s a journal with memoirs or a photo album.”
And the business name reflects Raheb’s original vision, too. Given the books are of Florentine origin, she chose to call the business Duomo, after the ‘dome’ of the cathedral in the centre of Florence, which is an ancient landmark in the area.
Having experience in retail, and going to the GHA trade fairs as a buyer, Raheb recognised going wholesale would work best with her family commitments. So, with a business concept and name in mind, she spent a couple of years searching for the best artisans in Italy to work with. “The [supplier] I was looking for had to be true to the Italian workmanship and the quality, but they had to be big enough to cope with commercial orders, as well.”
To find them, Raheb took her time searching the internet and went over to Italy to meet potential suppliers and retrieve samples. “I brought lots of samples back here and got opinions from people as to what they thought would be a nice product, and comparing different styles of books.”
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Having settled on a number of suppliers, Raheb believes relationships are key in any business, and has now developed such a strong friendship with her suppliers in Italy, even their children write to one another.
All products in the range are made under the Duomo brand, which Raheb says was important for brand recognition. “I have a base range of traditional Italian journals, albums and writing instruments, and each year expand the range to meet the needs of the public. We now have hundreds of products including compendiums, expanding files, travel wallets, satchels and travel bags, diaries, wax seals and traditional writing sets.” Her suppliers can customise specific orders, particularly for corporate clients wanting embossed logos and so forth.
Because Duomo was a bit of a hobby to begin with, she took her time with the planning and research, and it meant the business’s launch at the GHA September 2005 trade fair had a better chance of success. “It just started off with a bang. I got huge orders right from the beginning and I think that just boosted my confidence, I didn’t have any dull moments at all.
“In the beginning you think you’ve done everything right and you’ve done all the hard work, but I think until you get it out there and other people agree with you and start buying and putting their money into your product, that’s the only time you really feel it’s going to work.”
And now the business just keeps growing, reports Raheb, who has to keep shifting her goals and targets for each trade fair. “I’ve exceeded my expectations,” she says. “And I think that’s been because I enjoy it and I’m really passionate about the product, and it’s contagious. I think being different and staying different has also helped. If it’s not the product then you’ve got to offer better service or something else that makes you different to everybody else.”
A Helping Hand
Raheb learned early on to ask for help, and without the support of her family she admits the business wouldn’t be where it is today, and probably a lot further behind financially.
Raheb’s father helped fund her first major order and built her trade stand, which she says took a long time. “The only reason why it’s paid off is because he did it for me and I asked him to take it out of my inheritance,” she laughs. “I wanted it to look like an old library or a beautiful office with all the panelled walls and so on, and if I didn’t do that, I don’t think it would have carried the product. People need to see it in its environment.
“Presentation is very important for me and people comment on it constantly. It makes me realise it’s the right direction and the right way of doing it. It stops people, even if it’s not their thing, and they still comment.”
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Raheb’s sister also helps with the books, her mother makes florentine biscuits for the customers to snack on when placing orders at the fairs, and her husband has been an unwavering support. “My husband always said, ‘Whatever you want to do, I will support you’, and he has. He gives me advice when I need it, he minds o
ur two boys when I’m away in Italy or at trade fairs, and is my financier.”
Duomo is also run from their home, which requires some flexibility. “When I first started out I thought I‘d do this properly and work from an office, and separate business and home. But I eventually crept back to the house because it’s just so comfortable here and it suits my lifestyle. I had to remind myself I did this for my lifestyle and to give myself some self-satisfaction.”
While Raheb admits working from home means she can be on the computer until midnight, this can sometimes be her leisure. “Sometimes I’d rather design something or do something for the business than watch TV or relax. It’s like doing my own little hobbies and then getting rewarded for it financially, which is really nice.”
Duomo has exhibited at every trade fair since its launch—the main reason Raheb joined the association. “It’s the best way to market for me. I think half my sales come from trade shows. All my potential customers go to trade shows to buy, and then the website and advertising helps. I always advertise in Home & Giving, which is really good.”
While the business is looking after itself financially now, Raheb says to expand further and be able to order more stock before the trade fairs, she’ll need to look into securing some inventory finance, which is the next stage in her business’s journey.
Raheb has also taken on a part-time staff member to help her with packing and administration tasks, and has four agents around the country helping her service customers across 250 stores Australia wide.
While admitting she doesn’t want the business to physically grow a lot more, Raheb hopes the brand will become better known and grow to represent an exclusive and unique product. “For me, I don’t want the products to be so big the market is saturated with it, because then it would lose its uniqueness. Without sounding non-ambitious, I think to be true to the product, I’d like to offer more and better products and services, and probably round out the business and focus a bit more on corporate products.”
In all, Raheb says having successfully started her own business has given her a sense of achievement and self-satisfaction. “When you work for someone, you might have a brilliant idea or implement something that’s really good, but it’s always for the benefit of the company. But when it’s your own it’s just that self-satisfaction that you’ve done something successful and you can see something at the end of the day that’s done well. I think it’s also being able to use a lot of your skills to project the business yourself, which is rewarding.”
Raheb’s Tips For Success
Believe in your product and yourself. When you believe, others will too.
Maintain a point of difference in your business whether it is the product or the level of your service. If someone else has similar products, do it better or offer a better level of service.
Be passionate in what you do, as this will show and be contagious. If you do not enjoy it anymore, change something or get out. There is nothing more off-putting than dealing with someone that doesn’t like what they’re doing.
Keep an eye on the big picture. Make sure even the finer details all work in with the concept.
Develop and nurture relationships. Whether it’s your suppliers, staff or customers, developing relationships and rewarding efforts cements loyalty and creates a great environment to work in.
