Product Research

What it does

Type /product-research in Claude Code and describe what you’re looking for. Claude searches the web for matching products, evaluates them against your criteria, and returns a curated shortlist with specs and reasoning. Pick the winners and they’re saved to your master Google Sheet.

Works for any FF&E category — furniture, lighting, acoustic panels, planters, textiles, accessories.

Install

Claude Desktop:

1. Open Customize → Browse plugins
2. Click + → Add marketplace from GitHub
3. Enter AlpacaLabsLLC/skills-for-architects
4. Install the Product & Materials Research plugin

Claude Code (terminal):

claude plugin marketplace add AlpacaLabsLLC/skills-for-architects
claude plugin install 06-materials-research@skills-for-architects

Or symlink just this skill:

git clone https://github.com/AlpacaLabsLLC/skills-for-architects.git
ln -s $(pwd)/skills-for-architects/plugins/06-materials-research/skills/product-research ~/.claude/skills/product-research

Usage

/product-research

Then describe what you need — loose or specific:

# Loose
"acoustic panels for a tech office lobby"

# Specific
"round dining table, 48-54" dia, solid walnut or oak,
steel base, under $3,000, needs to ship in 6 weeks"

Claude runs 3-5 web searches, fetches product pages, and returns 6-10 candidates.

What it understands

Give it whatever context matters — the skill works with whatever you provide:

• Category — table, chair, lighting, acoustic panel, planter
• Style — Scandinavian, mid-century, industrial, minimal
• Materials — solid wood, marble, steel, recycled
• Budget — under $3,000, $500-$1,000 range
• Dimensions — “48-54 inch diameter”, “under 30 inches tall”
• Sustainability — GREENGUARD, FSC, Cradle to Cradle, B Corp
• Lead time — in stock, under 6 weeks
• Brands — “I like Muuto and HAY”, “not IKEA”

How results look

Each candidate comes with specs and reasoning:

Plus a comparison table for quick scanning across all candidates.

Pairs with

• /product-spec-bulk-fetch — pull full specs from candidate URLs
• /product-data-cleanup — normalize the sheet after adding products
• /product-image-processor — download and process product images