Pipe Down

From a small Brooklyn plating shop to a design-forward international fixtures brand, Jack and Avi Abel built Watermark Designs the hard way. Jack started Sepco from scratch, and when cheap imports threatened to sink it, his son Avi took over and revamped the company. In our first episode, they share the stories behind the fight to fix a shaky reputation, the “Made in Brooklyn” rebrand, the 2019 private equity sale, and some of Jack’s product ideas that never quite made it; plus, what’s trending in the industry now, from ceramics to saunas. This is just the first episode of Pipe Down, so stick around for more conversations with the people shaping the kitchen and bath industry, and the stories they’ve never told.

00:00 – Welcome

00:33 – Starting Out in Sepco

10:19 – Branching Into Faucets

21:00 – Avi Steps In

29:32 – Reinventing Watermark

41:23 – Building the Brand

50:54 – Innovation as Strategy

1:03:23 – Industrial Chic

1:09:56 – Too Much, Too Fast

1:21:47 – Making the Sale

1:28:13 – Letting Go

1:36:21 – Reflections and What’s Next

1:47:30 – Trending Now

1:54:24 – Father and Son