A sales rep, a Supreme Court decision, and what tariffs feel like on the ground
Disclosure: I got a C in Economics in college. I understand supply and demand. I can calculate margins. Beyond that? Hmmm.
This tariff take is not a hard-core explainer. It’s a look at how economic policy lands on one working professional—a sales rep building a life in the South, paid 100% on commission, trying to plan for the future.
The text came from my husband: “Big news… Supreme Court struck down Trump tariffs as illegal in a 6–3 decision.”
I was oblivious to current events that week. Completely consumed with the HPxD Winter Blast, my days were spent hopping from one High Point showroom to another. As his text came in, I was walking into CODARUS. I looked up from my phone.
“Hey you guys, did you hear about the tariffs?”
The “guys” were actually two women: Brandy Adams and Karin Craig, sales reps for CODARUS, covering North Carolina and South Carolina/Georgia respectively.
“Cody called us and told us,” Karin said, referring to Cody Ables who found CODARUS, the multiline trade resource, more than 20 years ago.
Karin Craig was feeling something she hadn’t felt in a while…relief.
“My initial reaction was a sigh of relief,” she told me. “It feels like we’re going to be OK.”
What hasn’t felt OK, she explained, is the whiplash—the constant fluctuation of not knowing if vendors will have to increase prices, whether product will ship on time, or whether customers will pause projects. Stress is both logistical and theoretical.
Karin is 100% commission-based. If she can’t sell product, she doesn’t get paid.
Designers are still calling. She’s still selling. But she has noticed some projects — especially ones not far along — being put on hold. On ground-up construction jobs, she’s concerned that overages in building budgets will mean tighter home furnishings allocations.
“Customers can probably stomach an increase,” she said. “But they’re still looking for value.”
And then there’s the bigger question: the idea that tariffs might rebuild American manufacturing.
“I’m 100% for bringing manufacturing back to the U.S.,” she said. “But we don’t have plants ready to go. We don’t have the manpower or the skill base in place to fill that gap overnight.”
Karin bought a house last year in her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina — a place once synonymous with American textile production. The old mills that defined the town have largely been repurposed. Greenville is thriving in a new way now, and it feels right to have invested there. With tariff uncertainty, however, she wonders about how quickly stability could shift.
“I spend money in my community,” she said. “If my income changes, it affects my spending power. And if that changes, it affects my community.”
It’s a reminder that economic policy has a creeping effect, shaping grocery budgets, mortgage payments, renovation plans, and local restaurants.
Karin has built her career representing premier textile brands, including Nancy Koltes, Annie Selke, and TL at Home. She loves the nature of the work — beautiful bedding, layered textures, products that transform how people live in their homes. She has hustled to get where she is and continues to work hard to grow her territory, build relationships, pay her mortgage, and support her town. She would love this volatility to end soon so it does not define her livelihood.
Last Friday, Karin Craig was able to release some of the worry and breathe a little easier. Of course, she could feel quite differently today.
