The Journey of a Lifetime: Discoveries Furniture & Finds brings Scott McKearn’s exotic travels home to Louisiana

Scott McKearn knows fine furniture. From his early days working with his father and brother importing exotic furniture from Indonesia and selling it in both Louisiana and Wisconsin (he’s from there), McKearn has been instrumental in discovering and delivering intricately executed handcrafted pieces to the masses. Eventually, the McKearns sold their first wholesale furniture operation, now known as the Bramble Company, and using their established connections in Indonesia, founded the Dauphine Mirror Company, a wholesale mirror and accessories company based out of Baton Rouge that provided high-end merchants such as Neiman Marcus, Horchow, and Saks Fifth Avenue with hand-carved luxury décor.

This pursuit flourished for over a decade until their original supplier made a move to extend his profit margin by severing ties with his network of international distributors. “We saw it coming for a while, so it wasn’t a shock to us,” says McKearn of the decline of the Dauphine Mirror Co. “It was around the same time that we found Paul Gruer, a gifted New Orleans artisan who was creating the most amazing, sophisticated, and utterly unique lighting fixtures we’d ever seen. Our sights were already set on our next adventure by the time Dauphine wrapped up,” McKearn notes. This next pursuit, Flambeau Lighting, was destined for success and quickly enough established itself as a trademark of innovation within the world of design, especially along the Gulf Coast. Flambeau eventually expanded to include the designs of Benjamin Burts and Elaine Gleason and is currently distributed to upscale vendors all across the United States.

But McKearn didn’t stop there. He founded Habitat Imports in Baton Rouge and then in 2006, Discoveries Furniture & Finds with locations in both Hammond and New Orleans. “I was looking for the next big market which I assumed was on the Northshore. But I couldn’t find any interesting properties there. A lot of our success with Habitat was the inherent charm of the rustic, open air warehouse we operated out of on South 14th Street just outside of downtown Baton Rouge,” explains Scott. “I started to expand my search and ended up finding a 15,000-square-foot space in downtown Hammond which used to be an old Pontiac dealership in the 1940s.” In addition, Discoveries recently opened a 10,000-square-foot store in New Orleans on the edge of the French Quarter on North Rampart between Bienville and Conti.

Since setting up shop in Hammond and New Orleans, Discoveries has become a regional destination for customers looking for quality pieces to accessorize their home or office spaces. Each location is stocked with a range of everything from sensible basics to exotic one-of-a-kind discoveries. “My model is simple,” notes McKearn. “I buy as directly and as cheaply as I can by traveling every six months to Indonesia, China, Morocco, and India where I actually have an office set up, and I keep my mark-ups low. That is where our motto comes from. ‘Cool stuff for 30-80% less.’ We’ve got the best selection of hand-crafted solid wood stuff for crazy low prices!” Scott exclaims. “First customers are wowed by the product, then they look at the price, and they can’t believe it.” Buying right and keeping mark-ups consistently low negates the need to develop continual sales events to lure the consumer into the store. At Discoveries, the prices are so low, everything remains a bargain all the time.

“Containers flow through our stores constantly,” Scott says. “Our hand-crafted discoveries come and go alarmingly fast, and customers learn quickly the need to buy it when you see it. What you see in the store one week will be completely different the next,” he continues. “This is why so many of our customers visit our stores on a regular basis.”

And if that isn’t enough to get you out of your reading chair and into the car, each August, McKearn hosts his Annual Summer Liquidation Event in both locations to make room for new shipments for the fall. “We shock and awe people everyday by our low prices. But once a year in August, we get to do what we call ‘slash and burn’ pricing. It just doesn’t get any cheaper than this.”

A visit to either Discoveries location is definitely a must for anyone looking to add a little kick to their home décor. But if you can’t make it in as often as you like, McKearn set up an email notification program called eDiscoveries which alerts customers to new shipments and special offers (sign up online). Still intrigued? Check out McKearn’s colorful travels in his video and photo gallery online. The experience will leave you eager to discover more. ✦

Discoveries Furniture & Finds
120 E Morris Ave
Hammond, LA 70403
(985) 345-2577

318 N. Rampart St.
New Orleans, LA 70112
(504) 569-0310