Scott McGlasson, who makes handmade furniture and interiors, operates his Woodsport business out of an old St. Paul warehouse, replete with sawdust and sweat.
"I never thought of myself as a 'luxury goods maker,'" said McGlasson, 43, a once burned-out teacher who learned woodworking as an adult at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. "I like things that last, that are stripped-down and basic, and my things are not terribly expensive. I think luxury is about utility, but also about good design."
Rebecca Miller, owner of a local consultancy called "Necessary Luxury," thinks the same way. She has been an opera singer in New York, a jeweler, president of Gabbert's and retail strategist.
Miller says luxury has gotten a bad rap because of its connotation of big money, conspicuous consumption, extravagance and excess. There's a difference between class and consumption.
Miller is the local driver behind the first-ever Minneapolis conference of the New York-based Luxury Marketing Council Monday night and Tuesday at the Museum of Russian Art. She will be joined on a 6 p.m. panel that will include CEO Greg Furman of the Luxury Marketing Council; Steven Noble, chairman of the Luxury Home Alliance; Warren Beck of Gabbert & Beck, and Mary Baumann of Hopkins/Baumann.
The Great Recession reduced or obliterated a lot of six-figure incomes, the key clientele for luxury-brand marketers and manufacturers. The conference will explore how luxury brands need to collaborate, market and invest smarter to win more share of the discerning customer's wallet.
Miller talks about her grandmother's restored old sofa that she inherited as a young woman, the luxurious feel of a cashmere throw or the "inlaid smooth finish" of a piece of McGlasson's heirloom-quality new furniture.
"Luxury for some can be time to read a beautiful book, gaze at a Picasso or Monet," she said. "It's absolutely luxurious to buy a custom-made credenza or restore a timeless piece of old furniture.