Morgan Montgomery and Perkins Morgan met while working sales and design at a Richmond-based catering company.  “Neither one of us can boil water so luckily we were not in the kitchen,” Perkins said.  “We shared a small 10’ x 10’ office space along with the catering decor.”

Their conversations in that small space led to the creation of Paisley & Jade, a boutique-style furniture & prop rental company located in Scott’s Addition.  They specialize in vintage and eclectic items that can be rented for weddings, corporate events, film and advertising shoots, home staging and more. 

We're using P&J next week on behalf of Secco Wine Bar for the French Film Festival, so we asked Perkins to tell us what business owners needs to know before jumping into rentals.

You have a background in catering and events.  What were you able to bring from that experience to better work with your food, beverage and hospitality clients?

Our time in catering & events has carried over to working with the food & beverage hospitality field because you learn that every piece needs to serve a purpose of have a dual function. There needs to be a productive and efficient factor to each piece of inventory. For example, our bars we have built not just so they are aesthetically pleasing to look at but that the interior shelving and back bars can sufficiently hold wracks of glassware, be tall enough to hold wine & liquor bottles, etc. 

What makes Paisley & Jade different from other event rental companies?

It is so important to us to maintain a great relationship with the Main rental companies here in Richmond & in NC. They are often our biggest supporters. We offer a niche service that those companies then sub rent from for their clients. Paisley & Jade’s inventory is slightly different because we offer one of a kind and often custom pieces that cannot be purchased whole sale or purchased in bulk. Our vintage pieces (couches, sideboards, architectural items, etc) have a story that goes along with them that have been purchased through Estate auctions and private sales up and down the East coast. Our custom built pieces (bars, benches, tables, etc) are sourced through local reclaimed lumber and built on site for either custom requests or to introduce a new line of furniture to the rental industry. 

Explain what inspired you to fill this niche?

Morgan has a background in Theater design & production and Perkins grew up on an historical event venue. This niche is important to fill to constantly inspire and move the event industry forward. Cooler events lead to higher attendance which increases non profit support - it’s all full circle! It’s not that either one of us is the best or most knowledgeable with furniture & its history but we had a great idea & the work ethic to see it through which put us in a position to let Paisley & Jade be the hub where craftsmen can offer their work; an upholsterer who can transform an antique settee, a VCU Engineering major who can build any piece he can imagine, a calligrapher who can bring to life a chalkboard welcome sign, etc. 

You’ve established yourself in the wedding world, but tell us about some of the food events where Paisley & Jade’s furnishings have been featured? 

We have a saying at Paisley & Jade, “At Paisley & Jade, you won’t starve.” Richmond is exploding in the beer, wine & food industry & we have loved being a part of that growth. A few of the food events we have loved being a part of is the annual Richmond Folk Feast, Farm to table dinners with Pharsalia Events, Tricycle Gardens & Dinner In The Field held at Victory Farms, & Supper At Sunset with Child Saver’s just to name a few!

In what scenarios would a restaurant want to work with Paisley & Jade?

Scenarios that a restaurant would want to work with Paisley & Jade is when they offer off premise catering, transforming the restaurant space for a private event (rehearsal dinners, corporate dinners), Food festival set ups such as Broad Appetit & The Folk Feast, temporary table, seating & furniture staging for a restaurant just launching. 

What industry tips can you give us to guide restaurant and small business owners through the event rental process?

Paisley & Jade can be as hands on as you would like us to be! We offer a wish list feature on our online inventory where you can go through and build your own order but a majority of our restaurant clients come in with a date, an overall feel for the aesthetic and a budget and then give us the opportunity to pull together a few different options to fit their budget and needs. Restaurant owners are incredibly busy so a great tip that I often tell my clients is to know what you don’t like & from there we can pull together the most timely and spot on mock up!