Written by Scott Oakley — When Zach Dutton and his co-founder Thomas Brown launched Dutton Brown in 2013, it began with a single product sold on Etsy. “We prototyped it, sold it immediately, and in the first month we sold 10 more. So we quit our jobs to create a lighting company,” Zach recalled.
Since then, the Roseville, Minnesota-based business has grown into a creative, fast-growing manufacturer of made-to-order lighting and hardware. “Our specialty is colorful items,” Zach explained. “We source parts from around the world, and then our value is taking those parts and powder coating them into different colors at our facility in Minnesota. We also assemble them into different light fixtures and color coordinated hardware for our customers.”
The company’s creative momentum was halted when U.S. tariffs on imported materials began to rise. “I felt like a gun was being pointed at my feet and that I’d been dancing because the target kept moving and changing,” he said, recalling the pain of cost pressure and uncertainty.
Initially sourcing most of their parts from China, Dutton Brown tried to adapt by moving production to India and changing materials. Zach shared the frustration of shifting goalposts: “We switched many of our parts in China to use brass instead… We spent a lot of effort on switching to a new material, which I think is also soon to be subject to higher rates.”
The changes have hit more than their margins. “What we would rather do is design new products or expand our product lines,” Zach said. “Instead, we’re hiring engineers in other countries, changing suppliers, and vetting quality. It’s regressive work.”
Even domestic sourcing has proven elusive. Zach explained: “I put out 20 requests for work and 19 came back from China.” Thomas added that the one U.S. quote is never competitive, with those manufacturers also raising their prices. Their product lines are being discontinued with ripple effects reaching consumers. “Everybody’s having to change prices — and it’s only in one direction,” Zach noted.
The demands on the team have also grown. Zach told us: “I’m working 60+ hours a week now just to make sure we can find the customers who will pay and to work on marketing plans to attract people that are okay with that price point.” As margins become thin, the resilience of small businesses is tested daily: “you can only be spread so thin before you give. And that’s kind of where we are.”
Despite challenges, Zach and Thomas are investing in new ways to reach designers and architects. “A year ago I decided to make all of our products digital, so I’ve created our entire product library in Revit and SketchUp,” Zach explained, “We’re excited to be moving from just an online e-commerce company to one that’s more design-based — around BIM models, CAD models, and trying to attract people that are talented at what they do.”
For Dutton Brown, the future lies in marrying bold design with resilience in the face of shifting global trade.