Vermont Woods Studios - Eco Furniture Blog

Avoiding The Race To The Bottom

What's your favorite thing about Internet shopping?  Convenience?  Unlimited choices?  Price comparisons? You can get exactly what you want when you want it?

In the world of handcrafted American made furniture, the Internet has been both a blessing and a curse.  In Vermont for example, we've seen a growing increase in total sales of Vermont made furniture that can be attributed in part to the Internet.

But, of course we've also seen a growing list of nefarious websites that have stolen Vermont furniture photos and information from legitimate Vermont furniture websites and listed it for lower prices on counterfeit websites in the USA and overseas.  Furniture makers from all across America are vulnerable to this.

So, along with a weak economy, it's driving many American furniture makers to lower prices to the point where they are going out of business.

I love Herman Miller furniture. They're not the cheapest guy on the block.  They are the best.  Not just in terms of the quality of their furniture but in their contribution to society and their committment to help build a better world. 

Herman Miller is a good role model for other American furniture makers.  They're what American furniture is all about.

 

 

Reclaimed Barnwood Bench Featured in Yankee Magazine

 

Our Reclaimed Barnwood Bench is featured in the March/April 2012 issue of Yankee Magazine<br>

 

Thanks to Photo Editor Heather Marcus, Vermont Woods Studios is featured in the March/April issue of of Yankee Magazine.

We're included in an article by Christie Matheson titled, Home Decor From Reclaimed Items.  Please check it out!  Christie showcased a number of beautiful and creative recycled, re-purposed crafts from around New England including one-of-a-kind birdhouses by Scott Bradford and cozy quilts handcrafted from vintage wool sweaters by Snug As A Bug.

We are honored to be alongside these talented craftspeople in one of New England's oldest and most respected publications.

Vermont Sends Cat To The Oscars

The Oscars are starting in a few minutes and that's all you hear about on TV right now.  At Vermont Woods Studios, we don't have much of a Hollywood fan club-- nor does the rest of Vermont.  In fact, you might say Vermont is the antithesis of Hollywood.  But just for fun, I started googling around to see if anyone from Vermont would be at tonight's Tinseltown festivities.

 

All I could find was Oscar's Farm, a place where "people live harmoniously with nature and practice sustainable living".  Apparently not the same Oscars.

 

Then I found Oscars Casual Dining in Williston, VT.   Nope.

 

But after a bit of searching... low and behold it seems we do have one Vermont celebrity who's in the news for attending the Oscars and true to  Hollywood's mega-star protocol, she goes by just a first name.  It's Squeak. 

 Squeak is making her Oscar debut to promote BirdsBeSafe Cat Collars, colorful collars designed to grab the attention of songbirds and send them flying safely away from innocent-looking predators.  The collars are going in celebrity swag bags at various Oscar events.

Bongo, Shadow and Pepper think it's fitting that Vermont's only notable attendee at the Oscars is a cat.  And one looking out for the welfare of our feathered-friends, no less. Let's just hope she doesn't accidently lunge out at Billy Crystal or any of the other songbirds on stage tonight.

Go Squeak! And our best to Nancy Brennan, founder of BirdsBeSafe in Duxbury, Vermont.

 

Old Barns Get A Second Chance As Vermont Fine Furniture

 

Here's a familiar site in Vermont and throughout New England... a beautiful old barn that's finally beginning to cripple under the stress of Mother Nature's 100+ years of wind, rain, snow, hail and other weather events (like hurricane Irene in this case).

 

But lucky for us, Vermont craftsmen are giving these beloved ancient structures a new lease on life-- as rustic, reclaimed barnwood furniture.

We're amazed at the amount of work involved in rescuing old lumber from the floors, walls, beams and siding of these fallen soldiers.  Craftsman pick through a great deal of unusable lumber in order to find pieces suitable for furniture. 

Once sorted, the wood must then be tested with a metal detector and de-nailed, before milling.  But once that is done, an incredibly beautiful patina often emerges that can go on to become a unique piece of heirloom furniture, rich with our American history.

 

 

Here's an example of a reclaimed barnwood table we crafted and sold lately.  This one even made it into Yankee Magazine as part of an article called, Reclaimed Style.

 

If you're looking for reclaimed barnwood furniture, give Rebecca or Shannon a call.  They work closely with our craftsmen to customize these pieces with your choice of antique wood.

Just as an aside, did you know that only 50 years ago about half of Americans were living in rural areas or on a farm? Today less than 2% of the American population is involved in farming.  In Vermont that number is 50% higher... still only 3%.  Perhaps that's why there are so many old barns that have fallen into disrepair.  Sad, but nice to have a way to recycle them and re-capture their story.

Many thanks to Picture Ninja for the use of their photograph of this forlorn old Vermont barn.

How Sweet It Is -- Vermont SugarMakers Tap Dance with Mother Nature

Guest Blogger: Shannon Albritton

Customer Champion at Vermont Woods Studios

 

It’s certainly not a news flash that Vermont has received below average snowfall this winter. Who am I kidding? We’ve probably had less snow than Georgia (please don’t fact check this). On the heels of 2011’s over-the-top weather including abominable winter snow storms and hurricane-force floods it seems Mother Nature may be taking a time-out for bad behavior… or maybe she thinks we deserve a break?

 

 

So while ‘Mother’ is kicking back in her flip-flops [I picture her sipping a blood orange, ginger mimosa from a treehouse in Costa Rica] University of Vermont’s Proctor Maple Research Center is receiving calls from concerned maple syrup lovers with fears that this year’s easy-breezy winter could take the sweetness out of maple syrup production?  We just want to know; will there be syrup for our honey-buckwheat blueberry pancakes?

 

Many Vermont maple syrup producers, known as sugarmakers, are beginning the season 2-3 weeks earlier this year and some long-time producers report this to be their earliest start ever.  Sugarmakers are reaching out to one another seeking asking questions such as “When are you starting?” and “It is time?” One producer has decided not to tap his trees at all this year because he’s already seen signs of leaf buds. Once maple trees have begun to bud an off flower flavor occurs in the sap and brings a halt to the season.

 

What’s the general word from Vermont’s sugarmakers to all of us who love that sticky-sweet maple syrup, candy, taffy and it’s amber brown goodness? It looks like we’re all going to be OK. Turns out the weather while the sap is flowing is more critical than the weather leading up to the big event. Vermont sugarmakers are hoping for just the right balance of freezing and thawing temperatures during the six-week sap flow season to maintain just the right flow. For the moment they’re looking good though too many warm days and not enough freezing nights could still cause an impact. Overall sugarmakers seem encouraged that all is well in maple sugar land and our pancakes will surely be graced, once again, by our much loved liquid gold.

Although the fate of this year’s maple sugaring season may lie in the hands of a flip-flop wearing, mimosa sipping woman chilling on an exotic island, I have faith – faith that Vermont will do what Vermont always does - figure it out and make do with whatever Mother Nature blows our way.

A friend told me his young daughter has learned to read the maple trees and they tell her when the time is right to begin tapping. She hasn’t been wrong yet. I’m going to contact him and see what she’s predicting for the season. I’m guessing she’s got a hotline straight to our ‘Mother’. One thing’s for sure - Vermont’s sugarmakers aren’t ready to back down from this tap dance just yet --- show us your moves Mother Nature.

Watch this delightful video of Henry Emmons, 67, of Red Rock Maple Farm in Starksboro VT and see the maple sugar flow as he started making maple syrup this week as day-time temperatures soar. (Produced my Emily McManamy, Burlington Free Press)

Around The World With Vermont Furniture

 

The shaded countries are those that have visited our website over the last 80 days. Only 7 countries have not.

 

The other day, Dennis mentioned that our Vermont Sustainable Furniture website has been visited by people in almost ever country in the world. How cool is that?  I couldn't resist having a look at our analytics program to see which countries have yet to discover Vermont's Fine Furniture. 

So... of the planet's 196 countries, it appears there are 7 that we've yet to reach: Turkmenistan, Gabon, Central African Republic, Chad, South Sudan, Mauritiana, Papua New Guinea.

I'm not sure what to do with this information but it was fun to see how far the Internet has spread the word about a tiny group of fine furniture makers nestled in the foothills of Vermont's Green Mountain Forest. 

 

 

Fine, handmade wood furniture from Vermont, USA

If you're reading this from abroad and wondering how to bring Vermont made, fine wood furniture to your country, contact us.  Exporting our eco-friendly furniture is part of our 10 year plan.  We're open to new ideas from established interior design, fine furniture and home decor professionals around the world.

 

Furniture Discounts for Designers, Interior Decorators, Architects

 

Installation of Copeland's Frank Lloyd Wright Furniture

 

Are you a professional interior designer, architect, or home decorator sourcing luxury, high end commercial or residential projects?  If so, give Rebecca a call-- she can make your life a whole lot easier.

We offer online and in-store furniture specification services for our clients.  Qualified professionals receive a trade discount on our Vermont made natural, eco-friendly, solid wood furniture.  Many designers have earned LEED credits for their projects through the purchase of our furniture.  It's green, sustainable, organic and American made.  Our clean, non-toxic finishes are low VOC, with many custom options available.

Vermont-made furniture is famous for its quality and durability, as evidenced by innumerable installations in businesses, schools, non-profits and hospitality venues across the country and around the world. 

Give us a call and check it out for your next project!

American Furniture: Best Sellers

 

The Cherry Moon Bed is a Best Seller

Over the last month or two Dennis and Manjula have added a couple hundred new Copeland American Made Furniture-- beds, chests, dressers and other furniture pieces to our website.  Now we have to re-organize a bit so it's easy to find what you're looking for. 

 

We've created quite a few new categories to browse by, including one for Furniture Best Sellers. These are the most popular pieces in our Vermont made furniture store.  Most of them will look familiar to you, especially if you have that natural, solid Shaker Sensibilty that draws many wood furniture shoppers and interior design professionals to our store.

But others are a surprise!  Copeland's modern, contemporary Catalina bedroom set and their Monterey Arts & Crafts style bedroom sets are coming on strong and fast becoming our new best sellers.  Have a look and let me know which furniture peices or collection you like best.

Americans Working - Making Superior Quality Products For You

 

If President's Day weekend inspires you to think about making an effort to buy more American made products, check out this website, Americans Working.  It's the best one I've found for researching where to buy American made things. 

It seems to me we all want to do our part for the economy and to help create American jobs.  Take a few minutes to browse or search through this site for an American made version of your next big purchase... maybe furniture, appliances, clothing, building supplies... whatever.  You can browse by type of product or by state where it's made.

You'll see lots of familiar brands which you'll recognize for superior quality.  And you'll be pleasantly surprised to see that American made products don't always cost more.  But when they do there is greater value due to higher quality.  It's time to give American made products another chance!

 

President's Day Sale - 15% Off Fine Furniture Storewide

 

Remember the story about President George Washington?  When he was a little boy, he chopped down his father’s favorite cherry tree.  He had just gotten a new hatchet and I guess he couldn't resist.  But when Washington's father called him on the carpet, the boy admitted his mistake, saying “I cannot tell a lie”.  Of course, all was forgiven in return for the honest response.  I wonder if they still teach that story in our schools?

Well anyway, in honor of that "all American" act of integrity, we're having a President's Day Fine Furniture Sale where all cherry furniture (and walnut, oak and maple too!) is priced at 15% off. It's one of only a couple sales/year when we are able to offer a 15% discount store wide.

Besides getting beautiful handmade furniture at a great price, you can feel patriotic about purchasing 100% American made furniture thereby helping our country’s economy.

So here's the fine print.  The sale runs from today February 16 through February 21, 2012 and features a 15% discount on all wood furniture purchases storewide (minimum purchase $1500, Copeland furniture excluded).  Each piece of furniture is hand made to order and can be customized online, by phone or our Vernon, Vermont-based showroom.  Just so you know... the reason Copeland Furniture is excluded is that this line is always on sale with a low price guarantee.

 

Planting Trees Makes Vermont Furniture More Sustainable

 

Naturally, as wood furniture makers, we at Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture have to be concerned about forest conservation.  It's the foundation of our company's viability.

Although our Green Mountain Forests in Vermont are healthy and sustainable we know that, from a global perspective deforestation is the Number 1 environmental problem on our planet today.  Deforestation is a huge contributor to global warming, climate change, air pollution (carbon and other emissions from slash and burn practices), habitat loss, biodiversity loss, pollution of marine habitats (due to run-off from pesticides and fertilizers used to transform diverse forests into mono-cultured plantations) and more.

So at Vermont Woods Studios, we are working with The Nature Conservancy in support of their Plant A Billion Trees project.  We plant one tree for every order we fulfill and we support many non-profits dedicated to forest conservation.

We appreciate your concern for the environment.  When you buy wood furniture from us, you can rest assured that the forest where your furniture began it's life, will still be around for generations to come.  As will your furniture!

Fundraiser for Heifer International

Vermont Furniture Sponsors Benefit For Heifer

Tomorrow on February 15, Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture is doing a fundraiser for one of my very favorite charities, Heifer International.  50% of all profits will be donated to Heifer, a non-profit organization that benefits children and families all over the world who are suffering from poverty, war and starvation.  Heifer was started 60 years ago as an effort to end world hunger by helping people obtain a sustainable source of food and income. 

Their idea is to give a family a heifer and teach them how to care for it and make it a part of their family and their livlihood. When the animal has an off-spring it is passed on to another family and a wonderful chain reaction of empowerment begins to occur.  The program has been widely acclaimed and has achieved tremendous success.  Now you can give heifers, goats, chickens and all sorts of other animals to help families make a living. 

Did you know that 55% of the people on this earth are suffering from hunger...getting nothing more than a  small bit of rice and water to eat every day?  Hard to imagine, isn't it?  But it's true.  Check out this story about Beatrice Biira a young African girl who was able to go to school in her village, thanks to Heifer.  Beatrice did so well that she was offered a scholarship to Northfield Mount Hermon high school (the same school that Kendall and Riley go to) and from there she has gone forth and done great things.

So if you or someone you know has been looking at our Vermont made furniture and waiting for the right time to buy, consider tomorrow!  Your purchase will change someone's life.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Steve Holman's Broken Hearted Chairs

 

We posted a few suggestions for Valentine's gifts last week, but here it is Valentine's Day already and you may be caught unprepared.  What are you going to do now?

 

Well, you could place an order with Steve Holman for a couple of these stunning heart-shaped, custom artisan chairs.  They would certainly make a unique once-in-a-lifetime gift.

 

But if you're looking for something faster and less expensive, how about sending a free Valentine's Day Ecard courtesy of The World Wildlife Fund?  There are many cards to choose from-- one is sure to catch your sweetheart's fancy.

 

 

 

Valentine's e Cards from WWF.  Free and easy!

 

Tigers, Toilet Paper, Trees and Leonardo DiCaprio?

 

Yesterday I received a gift from my old pal, Sally Blakely.  It was a tiger that she had symbolically adopted in my name from the World Wildlife Fund WWF.  Thanks Sally, you couldn't have picked a more appreciated gift! 

 

If anyone else out there loves tigers, I'm here to tell you that they're not going to be around for long unless we join WWF and other Tiger Conservation projects.  It's urgent.

 

 

My adopted tiger from Sally

Check out this 2 minute WWF video. You can help save the tiger just by knowing these facts:

• in 2009, people in North America consumed about 80 mllion tons of paper
• The fastest growing brands of toilet paper in the United States today, Paseo, APP and Livi have a direct link to rainforest destruction
• Over the past 25 years, Paseo, APP and Livi have clear-cut 5 million acres of Sumatran forest wood
• Much of that land was once tiger, orangutan and elephant habitat
• Since 1985 more than half of Sumatra’s natural forests—some 30 million acres (an area the size of Virginia!)—have been lost
• Sumatra is the only place on earth where elephants, tigers and orangutans coexist
• Indonesia (including Sumatra) is ranked 3rd in the world in terms of total carbon emission due to the slash and burn destruction of its rainforests

Do you see a world with wild tigers, orangutans and elephants in our future?  Do you care?  Here is your chance to change the world.  It's not hard.  Don't buy Paseo, APP or Livi products.  Ask your grocer not to buy them.  Ask your friends, schools and hotels not to buy them.   Buy recycled or FSC certified paper products instead. Post this on your facebook.

Rainforest conservation is one of the main missions of our business at Vermont Woods Studios.  We extend our gratitude to Leonardo DiCaprio who has been an outspoken champion of the tiger and WWF's Save Tigers Now campaign. The goal of Save Tigers Now is to double the number of wild tigers by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger but that can't happen unless we change our buying habits. Tiger numbers have declined 97% in the past 100 years. There may be as few as 3,200 wild tigers left in existence, the lowest number ever recorded. 

It's time to turn over a new leaf.

Copeland Bedroom Sets: Best Value in Solid Wood, Vermont Made Furniture

 

Dennis and Manjula have been working on getting a beautiful selection of Copeland Bedroom Furniture Sets up on our website. 

Copeland is our newest line of Vermont made furniture and their styles include traditional, Shaker and modern furniture, such as the:
Berkeley Cherry Bedroom Set (Modern Asian style)

Catalina Walnut Bedroom Set (Modern, minimalist style)

Astrid Cherry Bedroom Set (Ultra modern, Jetson's style)

Soho Walnut & Maple Bedroom (Modern metropolitan style)

Copeland's signature style is kind of a clean, simple elegance that's very popular in the more chic neighborhhods of Manhattan and other cities.  But we love it up here in rural Vernon VT too!

A few logistical details:  the sets are designed to save you on shipping.  We couldn't lower the prices of the furniture in the sets because we already have Copeland furniture priced as low as possible.  In fact we have a low price guarantee on Copeland furniture.  But with the sets, you save on shipping-- which is significant.  Rather than paying $300/piece for white glove delivery, you can order as many pieces as you like and pay just $450 for shipping and white glove delivery of the whole set.

Check out the sets and let us know what you think.  We've tried to make them versatile so you can customize your set online with any combination of pieces you might like, but I'm sure we haven't thought of everything.  Give us a call if you can't find the exact pieces you need for your set.  Rebecca and Shannon will be happy to hear from you!

One more thing.  So far we just have Copeland bedroom sets up but in another month or so we'll have their collection of Frank Lloyd Wright dining sets as well.  If you're looking to purchase before then, just call.

Top 10 Reasons To Buy Fine Wood Furniture From Vermont

 

Why Buy Furniture From Vermont Woods?

Last week I wrote a blog about Copeland Furniture and why Vermont Woods Studios is the best place to buy it.  Rebecca thought it was helpful and asked if I would write something similar for the rest of our furniture.  So, here you have it: The Top 10 Reasons To Buy Fine Wood Furniture From Us.

 

We know you can buy your furniture just about anywhere, including the grocery store.  We're not the cheapest or the fastest deal out there.  But what we can offer is the very best VALUE in terms of quality, price and longevity.  Our furniture is designed to last forever and we back that with a lifetime guarantee.

Check out the other reasons to buy from us.

Vermont Made Walnut Furniture Featured In Woodworking Network Magazine

 

Walnut is a chocolate brown wood

We extend our thanks to journalist and woodworker, Jo-Ann Kaiser who featured Vermont Woods Studios Walnut Furniture in Woodworking Network magazine, a respected source of "information and inspiration for professional woodworkers".  Jo-Ann's article titled, "American Black Walnut: A Bold & Beautiful Furniture Species" talked not only about the beauty of walnut wood and it's growing popularity but also discussed the danger that walnut trees have been facing over the last 10 years. 

 

It's called "1000 Canker's disease" and it typically kills walnut trees within three years of infection.  Similar to other tree-attacking diseases that wiped out the American Chestnut and Elm trees, the spread of this one is fueled by people moving logs, walnuts and any part of the tree from infested areas into disease-free areas.  It's spreading from the West to East and has already been found in Pennsylvania. 

The situation is alarming and I mention it here in hopes that you will pass this on to anyone who may have walnut trees on their property or who uses walnut for firewood, nuts or lumber.  People should contact their state department of agriculture for more information.

It would be a shame to see another beautiful (and valuable) tree species slip into extinction.  Perhaps there is something we can do to avoid that.

Secrets Furniture Retailers Will Never Tell You

I was browsing through a home furnishings magazine that focuses on strategy for the furniture retailer today.  The publisher was writing about the revolution that Keurig has caused in the coffee industry.  She noted that Keurig has caused millions of coffee drinkers to throw away their old Mr Coffee and buy a new Keurig instead.  Then buy dozens of flavors of K-cups and if they don't like them, throw them out too!  It's beautiful, because by creating all these choices-- some that customers won't like-- you're increasing sales as products are thrown away and replaced with new.

The publisher's challenge to furniture retailers was to do the same thing as Keurig-- come up with furniture that would make home owners throw their old furniture out and replace it with something new and more exciting.  Frequently! Just like K-cups. She even went so far as to say that retailers should figure out a way to make money every time you sit in their chairs (like Keurig makes money every time you buy another K-cup)!

 

 

Whoa!  What do you think about this? 

 

I'm amazed at the lasar-like focus on profit to the complete exclusion of environmental concerns.  It seems pervasive in the furniture industry, although there are outliars (those would be the small American furniture companies that remained here in the USA when the big guys like Ethan Allen, Bassett and Broyhill outsourced to Asia 30 years ago).

Our philosohpy at Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture is different.  We know we have to turn a profit to keep our business thriving but we're doing that by focusing on the fact that your furniture is a long term investment and something you can enjoy forever.  We strive to make furniture with timeless designs so it will never go out of style or have to be replaced.  We offer a lifetime guarantee on the quality of our furniture.  And we're pretty sure you'll be handing it down to your grandchildren rather than throwing it out on the curbside with the last Keurig you bought.

We welcome your comments below or on our Facebook.

 

Organic, Shade Grown Coffee For K-Cups: Shannon Found It!

 

Bird-friendly, shade-grown coffee

Shannon is always whipping us into shape here at Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture.  In the few months she's been here, she's made several suggestions to help us get greener.  For example... do you use paper towels or hand dryers in your restroom?  Neither is all that green...so Shannon got Ken to go out and purchase cotton hand towels for each person in the office (color coded, of course). She even has Douglas buying organic half and half for his coffee... who knew?

 

And now we have organic, shade-grown, bird-friendly coffee in our break room.  I had written in January about the importance of buying shade-grown, bird-friendly coffee (we learned this from our friend Roz Renfrew over at the Vermont Center for EcoStudies).  Unfortunately we've gotten spolied with our K-cup coffee brewer though and I was feeling bad that I couldn't find K-cups with bird friendly coffee.  But Shannon came through as usual and found a company called San Francisco Bay Coffee, whose:

100% Arabica coffee is shade-grown on high altitude farms over 3000 feet elevation. These farms employ a bio-diverse natural cover of shade trees to develop the beans slowly – and give them more character and depth compared to full-sun, "monoculture" coffee farms. This shade grown farming also provides habitat to animals and birds and helps restore the ecosystems including local water supplies. We are committed to organic farming as well, and we’ve perfected innovative techniques to turn coffee pulp waste into organic fertilizer using vermiculture (worm composting)! We’re spreading that technology to organic farms (and even non-organic ones) throughout the world.

I'm happy to report that the coffee tastes great!  I did take a picture of Shannon drinking a cup but she deleted it and sent this one over instead.  Everyone around here is so camera shy.

Five Valentine's Gift Suggestions From Vermont

What are you doing for your sweatheart for Valentine's Day?  How about a Vermont Teddy Bear or a romantic weekend getaway in Vermont?

 

For the ultimate in luxury check out Twin Farms, an "an intimate country hideaway set amid 300 acres of meadows and woodlands in an unspoiled valley, 15 minutes north of Woodstock, VT."  Besides all the other superlatives, Twin Farms has one of the best reputations in the Northeast for its natural, local organic cuisine. After dining you can indulge in a luxurious spa treatment before retiring to your own private suite or cottage.  Rates are all-inclusive and start at around $1500/night or $43,000 if you'd like to rent the whole place.

 

If that's a bit over your budget or you're not able to travel out of the city for Valentine's Day, here are a couple other gift suggestions.  How about Vermont Teddy Bear's Big Hunka Love Bear?  It's made right here in Vermont and the company is involved in many charitable initiatives in the local community and beyond.

 

 

 In the organic and fair trade department, we have Lake Champlain Chocolates Organic Chocolate Truffles, fresh all natural chocolates, made in Burlington, Vermont.  And Laughing Moon Chocolates made in Stowe, VT with locally sourced products whenever possible.

 

 

 Now if you REALLY want to show up on Valentine's Day with a truly unforgettable showstopper of a gift then I think you might have to consider commissioning Vermont's premiere luxury furniture artisan, Steve Holman to craft one of his Valentine's Day Heart Chairs for the love of your life.  We'll post the details about this heart-warming conversation piece on Valentine's Day.