Fable

Fable is a Vancouver, Canada-based direct-to-consumer home goods brand focused on tableware. Its assortment centres on minimalist dishware in soft, earthy tones — plates, bowls, mugs and a wide shallow bowl the company calls the "blate" — alongside glassware, stemware, flatware and textiles. Products are positioned as durable enough for everyday use, including dishwasher and microwave use, and are described as non-toxic and lead-free, shipped in recyclable, plastic-free packaging with biodegradable cushioning.

The company designs all of its collections in Vancouver and works with third-party artisan manufacturers abroad: ceramics in Central Portugal and flatware in Northern Portugal via family-owned partners, glassware in Japan, and stemware in Germany. Fable is a Certified B Corporation and frames its business around four stated pillars including sustainability, ethical craftsmanship, being a good workplace, and transparency; it publishes a cost breakdown covering production through shipping and donates meals through partnerships with Mealshare and Magic Breakfast on bundle purchases. Customers are offered a 100-day money-back guarantee.

Initially conceived as a broader home-outfitting operation comparable in ambition to a higher-end alternative to Ikea, spanning bedroom furnishings and decor, the company concentrated instead on tableware, with stated plans to extend into the living room and additional rooms of the home.

Founding story

Fable was founded in 2019 by Joe Parenteau (CEO), Tina Luu (Head of Technology) and Max Tims (Head of Operations). Parenteau, a native of Regina, Saskatchewan, graduated from William Woods University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science, double-majoring in economics and finance, after moving there to play intercollegiate golf; he worked at an accounting firm before returning to Vancouver to work in startups and tech. Both Parenteau and Luu describe the company as originating from a personal frustration: after moving into new homes they wanted to upgrade from basic tableware but could not find premium home decor that was ethically and sustainably produced, accessibly priced and easy to shop for. Luu, born and raised in Toronto to Vietnamese refugee parents, had a background as a freelance web developer and lived in Vancouver for eight years before returning to Toronto.

Business model

Fable operates an omnichannel direct-to-consumer model, selling tableware and home decor online and, more recently, through its own physical retail spaces. The company states that it avoids traditional retail markups by selling directly and uses a transparent pricing model that discloses its cost breakdown from production to shipping. Design is handled in-house in Vancouver while manufacturing is outsourced to specialist partner factories and artisan workshops in Portugal, Japan and Germany.

Revenue comes from direct sales of tableware and home decor products — ceramics, flatware, glassware, stemware and textiles — sold online and through company-operated retail, with product bundles a stated purchase format. The Vancouver showroom also houses a full-service coffee bar that sells drinks, including via a pre-order app and with a no-tipping policy.

Traction

The company grew from two to 40 employees between its 2019 founding and early 2022, and in early 2022 reported year-to-date sales revenue running at eight times its full-year 2021 intake. By late 2024 it had completed five years of what its CEO characterized as significant growth, converted a Gastown pop-up into a permanent South Granville showroom with an attached café that took over a year to build because of food-service permitting, and had a Toronto showroom underway.

Latest developments

As of November 2024, Fable's Vancouver South Granville showroom and in-store café were open, a Toronto showroom was in development, and the company said it was evaluating additional global store locations. Management described plans to extend the product line into the living room category and subsequently into further rooms of the home.