Ermina Karim
The Tribune
Will focus on interior design business
Two years after opening their doors, Vellum, a San Luis Obispo contemporary furniture store, is closing its showroom at 672 Higuera St. to focus on an interior design business.


The showroom for the home furnishings store, which is owned by Paul Abbott, Adam Sweet and Todd Steele, will close at the end of July.

Abbott, a Cal Poly construction management graduate, plans to offer commercial and residential interior design services through a new venture, Vellum Design Build.

“Interior design has always been a part of the services we offered at Vellum,” explained Vellum store manager and interior designer Jenee Arends. “Now, instead of the customer coming to us, we will come to them.”

Arends noted that over 75 percent of Vellum’s sales were from interior design clients. The change was also motivated by “several large projects currently centering on interior design,” she said, including the Bridge Street housing project near Higuera and South streets.

Vellum clients will still be able to purchase modern furniture through Vellum Design Build, which is looking for new office space.

— Ermina Karim