Staci Lantz makes global impact with new business

Imagine a home where furnishings and fabrics not only create beauty and warmth, but help support impoverished communities around the world. 

 

That vision comes to life inside Imagine Home, Daniel Island's new home decor and furniture store founded by Staci Lantz, who uses her passion for design to showcase and create economic opportunity for artisans in 19 countries including Peru, India, Haiti, and Ethiopia.

 

"Everything in our store is hand made by somebody; nothing is made in a large factory," Lantz said. "When you purchase our products, you can feel good about it because you’re using your consumerism to benefit other people."

 

Lantz worked as an interior designer in Atlanta for 15 years before developing the concept for Imagine Home during a trip to South Africa, where she saw women hand-crafting intricate textiles and home goods. "I started thinking about where the things I was purchasing were coming from," Lantz said. "I wanted more purpose in my career."

 

Lantz spent the past 10 years developing products, visiting communities around the globe, and partnering with artisans who make products using organic materials and traditional production techniques. By promoting their wares, Imagine Home gives workers the chance to earn a living wage and provide for their families in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way.

 

Her partners in Peru use Alpaca fleece to create soft bedding and blankets, women in Ethiopia loom natural fabrics from home without having to leave their children, villagers in Vietnam kiln and paint unique ceramic dishes, and artisans in Guatemala weave recycled denim into vibrant blue rugs.

 

"Around the world, communities have different skills using their natural resources," Lantz said. "In Africa, I work with a co-op group that grows cotton, looms it and dyes it with fresh indigo that’s grown in their gardens. So the reason we have so many blue things is because it's indigo, and our fabrics are all organic cottons with no chemicals." 

 

The blue color scheme works well with Imagine Home's relaxed, coastal style. Lantz describes her collection as lived in and loved in. Inside her store at 297 Seven Farms Drive, customers can find bedding, rugs, furniture, baskets, artwork, lighting, and kitchen and bath products. 

 

Imagine Home offers full-service interior design, a gift registry, complimentary gift wrapping, and fresh flowers by Daniel Island florist, Marigold Flowers. Lantz hopes locals will stop in for everything from ordering a custom sofa, to picking up a hostess gift on their way to a party.

 

"I want Imagine Home to be the Whole Foods of furniture," Lantz said. "I want to have stores nationwide and provide a vetted experience where you walk in and know there’s a story behind the products and you can go online and learn about the people who made them."

 

Fashion designer Tory Burch likes Lantz's story and selected her as one of 50 up-and-coming entrepreneurs for a one-year Tory Burch Foundation Fellowship, which supports and empowers women business owners. "It gives you a lot of confidence knowing that

Tory Burch and her entire team are behind you and like what you’re doing," said Lantz, who has lived on Daniel Island with her husband and children for 10 years.

 

"This is a great place to have our first store and our corporate headquarters will be here, too," Lantz said. "My designs go really well with Daniel Island and coastal Charleston and we're excited to be here."