Rachel Sweetman may be new to the King Living team, but as Trade Business Development Manager, she’s already making an impact in the residential design space. Based in Queensland, Rachel’s focus is on empowering interior designers and architects to bring their visions to life with King Living furniture solutions.

“My job is really about spreading the word,” Rachel explains. “After five decades, King Living has such a strongly established residential reputation. My job is to help designers, architects and businesses discover the full potential of King Living beyond retail.”

With years of experience in hospitality sales and a passion for building strong client relationships, Rachel brings her expertise to a market that’s in a period of rapid growth. She shares her insights on the value King Living offers commercial clients and how she leverages her hospitality experience to navigate the complexities of the industry.

Before she started at King Living, so much of the work Rachel did in her previous hospitality career was about networking and prospecting for leads. It’s the same in her role at King Living where she connects with architects, designers and businesses to showcase how the King Trade program can elevate their projects with flexible, customisable, premium solutions. 

“I’m hitting the pavement, getting out there, putting together proposals, getting quotes done,” Rachel explains. “I want residential and commercial  designers and architects to see that King Living goes beyond retail. Our products are perfectly suited to custom homes, display homes, bespoke interiors, and also for commercial projects like hotel lobbies and renovations."

“What makes my job easier is that clients can immediately see the value and quality of our offering for their fit-out. They also appreciate that we can work collaboratively to deliver tailored outcomes for their clients.”

Rachel’s visibility across showrooms also allows her to serve as a trusted trade liaison, making it easy for designers to explore products, coordinate samples, and receive personalised guidance across projects. Based in Brisbane at the Fortitude Valley showroom, Rachel is also at the Gold Coast showroom every second week.

“The Gold Coast is an equally thriving region,” she says. “Clients often want to see the products in person. While they can pop into any showroom at any time, they really value that consistency of having a single point of contact.”

“Not all interior designers and architects know about the King Trade offering,” Rachel shares. “They’re often surprised to learn we have a program tailored specifically to support their residential projects with exclusive access, trade pricing, customisation options and personalised service.” But she is rapidly changing that, networking and connecting with trade clients to educate them about the offering.

“For trade clients, what we offer is actually quite incredible,” she continues. “Designers can select from our full range of premium fabrics and European leathers, or even source from outside our collection to meet a specific brief.”

This flexibility allows Rachel to meet the specific needs of clients, whether it’s for a residential space, hotel lobby, or a hospitality project.

“I recently had a client with a hotel project and a very specific colour palette. They sent me their Pantone colour palette and I was able to source fabric from a supplier to match perfectly.”

As King Living is a vertically integrated company with design flexibility, Rachel is able to offer completely bespoke solutions for large-scale projects.

“If a client wants something we don’t make yet and they’re ordering enough of it, our design team can create it,” Rachel notes.

Rachel is excited about the possibilities of expanding the King Living trade and commercial program in Queensland and supporting more clients to discover the benefits.