Vermont Woods Studios - Eco Furniture Blog

Summer Sale Is On! American Made Fine Dining Furniture

All of our solid wood, American made Fine Dining Furniture is on sale today through Tuesday, June 12-- just in time for summer!  Take a few minutes out of your busy beach, pool and party schedule to check the sale out.  You'll save 10% on any one piece, 15% on two pieces or 20% when you buy 3 or more furniture pieces! Free shipping and white glove delivery are included.

I know summer may not seem like the best time to shop, but remember it takes about 6-10 weeks to build your fine furniture.  While you're outside enjoying the sun, we'll be crafting your furniture and then delivering it just about when you're moving dinner from the picnic table inside to the dining room. 

Browse through our "on sale" dining furniture collections to find the one you've always wanted.  Then Like us on Facebook and save $50 more!  Finally, give us a call or order your American made dining furniture online today.  

America's Best Memorial Day Furniture Sale

Hopefully you're planning a weekend full of relaxation with your family and friends this Memorial Day.  But I bet you're also going to squeeze in some chores, errands and shopping as well. 

We can help you with that... if it's furniture you're shopping for. 

Check out our Big Storewide Memorial Day Furniture Sale.

On this patriotic weekend, you can feel good knowing our handcrafted wood furniture is 100% American made.  Even better-- you'll save 15% off just about everything store-wide including bedroom furniture, dining room furniture, home office furniture and living room furniture.  And we've delivered to all 50 states in the USA using our white glove delivery and set-up service so you can be confident that your furniture will arive safe and sound... with our craftsman's lifetime guarantee.

The best part?  You don't have to rush around town to shop for your furniture.  Relax and browse with your friends and family from the comfort of your home, backyard, beach or BBQ.  The sale goes through this weekend and ends Tuesday, May 29 at midnight.  Don't miss it!

Lyndon Furniture: The Real (American Made) Thing

 

Ken (on left) and the management team at Lyndon Furniture:  Christine Drown (sales and marketing manager), Dave Allard (owner and founder) and Brian Ball (general manager)

 

 

Ken and I traveled up to Lyndon, Vermont today to meet with Lyndon Furniture.  We carry all of Lyndon's line of Shaker, Mission, Modern and Traditional hardwood collections.

 

That's Lyndon's owner and founder in the middle, Dave Allard. 

 

Dave started Lyndon Furniture over 30 years ago, building his first woodworking shop from timber he cut on his family farm and had milled locally.  Since then his business has grown and earned a reputation for producing high quality, eco friendly furniture that lasts a lifetime.

 

One of the things I love most about Lyndon Furniture is that when times got tough and all the other American furniture companies fired their employees and went to China to cash in, Dave Allard and Lyndon Furniture stayed right here in Vermont.  They remained true to their employees, their community, their integrity and their quality.  I see that integrity in their furniture.

 

Lyndon Furniture in Lyndonville, Vermont. American made hardwood furniture made to last for generations

 

It's interesting because we're seeing another mass exodus of so-called "American furniture companies" now.  But it's from East to West.  They're all hurrying back to American from China now that Chinese wages and trans-oceanic shipping are so costly.  But I have to wonder how long they'll stay.

 

I think it's safe to say, though, that regardless of global economics, Lyndon Furniture will remain right here in Vermont making high quality, handcrafted furniture and contributing to their community.  It's the Vermont way.

 

Cherry and Walnut Wood: Custom 2 Tone Furniture Designs

 

The Copeland Berkeley Furniture Collection features Cherry and Walnut Wood in Custom 2 Tone Designs

Two Tone Wood Furniture

Americans are rediscovering Vermont made furniture.  Maybe the trend is due to recent awareness campaigns by the news media about how buying USA made goods stimulates the American economy. 

 

Or perhaps it's because the organic food movement is migrating into other aspects of our lives.  In addition to thinking about where our food comes from we're now beginning to think about where our furniture comes from.  And where our clothing, computers, appliances (you name it) come from.

Both the American-made and organic movements are reflected in the Vermont furniture brand.

But I think one of the main reasons Vermont made furniture is experiencing a renaissance is that it's customizable.  This Copeland Berkeley Bedroom Set is a good example.  The Berkeley Collection features a 2 tone cherry and walnut wood design that you can customize online with your favorite shade of cherry wood.

Many of our other Vermont made furniture collections offer 2 tone wood combinations, for example the Modern American Collection.  These bedroom, dining and home office furniture sets are shown in cherry and walnut but they can also be customized in any other 2 tone combinations of maple, walnut and cherry wood.

Most Vermont furniture makers embrace the idea of customizing your furniture, be it with two tone wood combinations, specialty sizing or complete custom design from the start.  Learn more about custom furniture options on our website.

Modern Minimalist Furniture

 

Lyndon Furniture's modern, minimalist Dover Glass Top Dining Table

 

Congratulations to our friends at Lyndon Furniture who were featured in a Wall Street Journal article today, The New American Minimalism. 

 

 

The article is about how classic American furniture companies like Lyndon Furniture and Copeland Furniture are bringing back the simple elegant characteristics of the 1950's mid-century modern design.

 

 

There is a tremendous variation in what people call modern, minimalist furniture but we've tried to capture it in a broad sense on our Modern Wood Furniture Collections page.  These collections are all 100% Made in America (right here in Vermont actually) and in my opinion their designs are best described as timeless... but "modern" works too. 

 

Copeland Furniture's Modern Mid Century Astrid Bed

 

 

One of the aspects I love about minimalist furniture -- and it's cited by San Francisco designer Kimberly Ayres in the WSJ article-- is that "the basic yet refined lines (of minimalist furniture) allow more whimsical furniture pieces (and accessories) to stand out."   We've had several of our interior designer clients say the same thing -- that our handmade, solid wood pieces provide "grounding" for creative and colorful decor they can change and update to keep a fresh look. 

 

What do you think?  Send us photos of your decor showing how you've used modern minimalist furniture in your home or workplace.  We'll post them on our Facebook for more discussion.

 

American Made Bedroom Furniture On Sale Today

Here's your big chance to save on our 100% American made, real solid wood bedroom furniture. 

Manjula and Dennis have been able to offer our best prices and greatest savings, using a "buy more, save more" strategy.  This saves us on shipping costs and we pass that savings on to you.  Here's how it works:

• Save 10% off any single piece
• Save 15% off two pieces or
• Save 20% off 3 or more pieces

Plus Free Shipping and Delivery!

That's as good as it gets when you're shopping for the real thing: fine, handcrafted  American made, solid wood furniture.

Check out our selection of over 40 styles of Vermont made beds, nightstands, chests, dressers, and mirrors in your choice of natural Cherry, Maple, Walnut, or Oak solid woods. You'll find classic and timeless Vermont styling, handmade with uncompromised craftsmanship, and solidly built for generations of use. Bedroom furniture you will appreciate and enjoy forever. And you can sleep tight knowing your new bedroom furniture investment is backed by a lifetime warranty.

The sale starts today and ends at midnight on April 17th. 

 

Copeland furniture is excluded from the sale as it is always priced with a low-price guarantee.

Copeland's American Made Bedroom Furniture - Customer Reviews

Copeland Furniture's Monterey Bed is Made in America

We've been offering Copeland's American made (actually Vermont made) bedroom furniture for over 2 months now.  Because each piece is hand made to order, it's taken awhile to get the furniture crafted, shipped and installed in our customers' homes.  But the first several bedroom sets are being delivered and customers are starting to contact Shannon with their reactions:

"BEAUTIFUL! It is extremely well made, extremely easy to put together and is a stunning addition to my home. My handyman, who has put furniture together for more than 20 years, couldn't stop commenting on how beautiful the bed was and how amazingly simple it was to put together. I love the bed and I love that it was made in America!"

~Barbara F, NJ

Thanks Barbara! We're extremely happy to hear this kind of positive review from our customers and are delighted to know they are sleeping better on their new handmade American furniture from Vermont Woods Studios.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

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.

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.

 

Cherry Wood: Will The Real Color Please Stand Up?

Google image search results for 'real cherry wood". Half of these are NOT cherry wood

We have conversations with customers every day about the color of real cherry wood furniture.  It's no wonder!  When I just googled "real cherry wood" these images are what came up.  Quite a variation, isn't it? 

First of all, half of these images are NOT of cherry wood.  When the big American furniture companies started off-shoring their furniture to China over 30 years ago they found it cheaper to use rainforest woods (rather than import cherry from North America and then export it back to North America as furniture). So they stained these cheaper woods and gave them various trade names containing "cherry".

Many times customers come to us looking to buy real cherry furniture that matches existing cherry pieces in their homes.  After discussions and emailing pictures back and forth they are shocked to find that their "cherry" furniture from Bassett, Broyhill, Ethan Allen, Thomasville or other big "American" companies is not cherry at all but rubberwood, poplar or some kind of engineered hardwood.

At Vermont Woods Studios, our cherry furniture is indeed made out of real, solid North American Black Cherry wood.  The color starts out as a light pink and slowly ripens to a rich reddish brown over time, depending on how much light the furniture is exposed to.  See various colors of cherry wood as it changes colors.

The Future of Vermont's Wood Furniture Industry

Today a new ten year strategic plan for Vermont's wood furniture (and other wood products) industry was unveiled by the Vermont Wood Products Marketing Council.  The 2020 Vision For The Vermont Wood Products Industry provides a roadmap for our $1.8 Billion wood products industry in VT to capitalize on the state's reputation as the Fine Furniture Capital of America.

At Vermont Woods Studios Furniture we hope to be a major player in the industry's growth. We believe that American home owners are increasingly looking for sustainabilty, quality and authenticity in their home furnishings.  That puts Vermont in an excellent marketing position as our furniture makers have consistently focused on those attributes for 200 years, producing a superior, high quality product at affordable prices.

Conversely, the vast majority of American furniture has been outsourced to Asia for the past 30-40 years in favor of cheap production.  However as customers grow ever more weary of low-quality, imported furniture that's a health risk to their families, Vermont's tradition of quality workmanship and natural, sustainable materials will be important in rejuvenating the American furniture industry.  And our woodworking community's ethic of collaboration rather than competition will be instrumental in leading the path forward.

We extend our thanks to the Vermont Wood Manufacturer's Association for making this report possible and look forward to working with our friends throughout the industry to get it implemented.

 

Vermont Furniture Featured in The Burlington Free Press Today

Check out Stephen Mills' article about Vermont furniture in the Burlington Free Press today.  It's really encouraging to get this kind of exposure from Vermont's largest newspaper. 

 

Stephen focused on a lot of the concepts we've been developing and promoting right here at Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture, including the fact that Vermont truly is the Fine Furniture Capital of America and that Vermont furniture makers are the go to guys for authentically green, sustainable wood furniture.

Good job, Stephen!  Thanks for spreading the good word.

 

Download Burlington Free-press-article.

 

 

 

 

 

American Made Bedroom Furniture Sale Starts Today, 15% Off

Here in Vermont, January is a month when people tend to spend more time in their bedrooms.   It's a cozy haven from the snow, ice and wind outside.  So maybe you're curled up in bed with a laptop shopping for a new bed, or armoire?  Or a modern dresser/TV stand combo that works as a chest of drawers but also has an open shelf for AV media and equipment? 

Well then... we've got a sale for you on our American made, real solid wood bedroom furniture that's bound to warm you up even if you live here in the frozen tundra of Vermont.  Here's how it works:

• All of our handcrafted American made bedroom furniture is now 10-15% off
• Save 10% off any single bedroom piece
• Or add additional bedroom furniture and receive 15% off every piece

Choose from our natural, eco-friendly, sustainably harvested Cherry, Maple, Walnut, or Oak solid woods. Everything comes with a lifetime guarantee and free shipping and delivery.  This one-week sale starts at 8am on January 25, 2012 and runs through January 31st at midnight.  Don't miss it!  It's time to invest in the real thing.

Fine Wood Furniture: Origin, Sustainability and Karma

A couple weeks ago I attempted to work through a definition of "fine wood furniture" at the request of one of our customers.  I couldn't find any type of universally (or even generally) agreed-upon definition, so I thought I'd try to make one up.  But as I waded into it, I realized how difficult even that is. 

There's just so much ground to cover in "fine wood furniture" such as style, type of wood used, craftsmanship, type of joinery used, finishing products and techniques, the use of hand tools versus precision machinery, the use of veneers versus solid wood, and of course durability and longevity. 

So I've been opining my way through each area-- well just to generate some discussion really, because I think that would be more valuable than an attempted definition of "fine wood furniture".

 

Today I wanted to talk about where "fine wood furniture" comes from and how it makes it's way to your bedroom or kitchen.  Would you believe that most of the so called "fine wood furniture" that's sold in America today is made in China or VietNam from wood that was logged unsustainably (and often illegally) from the rainforests of South America, Africa, Siberia and Asia?  I know it sounds like extremist rhetoric, but it's really not.  Kendall just published a page on sustainable furniture today, reminding us about the environmental damage that comes from rainforest destruction.

So my point is, if you're going to define fine wood furniture, you probably do need to address where it comes from.  Furniture from small companies like Vermont Woods Studios that use American-grown, sustainably-harvested wood and local craftspeople is different than furniture that's made overseas with illegal wood by people paid 25 cents/hour.  It feels different.  It has better "karma".  It makes you feel proud to own it.  You find yourself telling people all about where you got it and how long it took to make and how the joinery is designed, right? 

Another note-- most American fine wood furniture comes with a lifetime guarantee-- an important indication of sustainability.

Next post, I'd like to share some sustainable practices I've been impressed with at Copeland Furniture and Clearlake Furniture, both Vermont companies.  After looking at the green practices Vermont furniture makers have been famous for over many generations, you may find youself agreeing with me that Vermont is the Fine Furniture Capital of America.

Thanks to Clearlake Furniture for the photo of their Rocking Chair

Our Made in America Challenge Finally Aired on ABC News

At last, ABC World News with Diane Sawyer ran the segment on our "Made in America" Holiday Shopping Challenge yesterday.  YAY!  Here is the link to view it online.  We'd like to thank ABC producers Christine Brozyna and Eric Noll for coming to Vernon to film the segment.  Theirs' is not an easy job. 

When Christine and Eric came to Vermont last month it was because they had read a blog about our "Made in America" project way back in September.  They were impressed that such a small company would take on a project about creating American jobs and they wanted to put the size and strength of ABC behind it.

Well, a lot of time has passed since then and I'm sure that as each new idea came into the newsroom, our story morphed depending on the context of the day.  There were a couple times we were considered for inclusion in earlier segments but for whatever reason they fell through.  In the end we were pretty disappointed to see that our segment really wasn't about the jobs or the furniture being created by small independent companies like Vermont Woods Studios or Woodruff Custom Furniture. 

Instead we got spun into a segment on American schools.  Go figure.  But it was indeed an educational experience, learning how news stories get created (I'll be much more wary now, about believing what I see in the news).  We're trying to just be grateful for the fact that ABC has been able to raise awareness (much more than we ever could) all across the country about the jobs that can be created by buying American made holiday gifts.

 

Making America Great Again: Collaboration vs Competition

In my mind, green businesses are our best chance to make America great again.  NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are effective in many ways but they have to be funded by either government or business.  Governments (both state and local) are so big, and bulky and fickle.  They can help, but they're not really providing much leadership these days, are they?

So it seems to me the burden of leading an American renaissance rests squarely on the broad shoulders of business. In Vermont, businesses are small though.  The average business has only a handful of employees.  But that hasn't stopped all of us from trying to change the world... because we have a secret weapon.  It's collaboration over competition.

Take, for example the Vermont Wood Manufacturer's Association, VWMA. This is an organization of over 100 small businesses in Vermont's wood industry that employ about 6000 people who produce wood furniture, bowls, toys, carvings, flooring, windows, doors and much more. VWMA's mission is to "support the industry in Vermont and promote its long-term viability by expanding members presence in the marketplace, ensuring a sustainable supply of raw materials, increasing workforce skill and acting as responsible employers and community members".  All of us who produce wood products in Vermont need the services that VWMA provides us, but none of us could do that work on our own.

Organizations like VWMA are going to play a huge role in making America great again.  Does your small business belong to an industry group like VWMA?  If not, maybe you need to sign up and get a seat at the table.  There is strength in numbers and the Internet has made collaboration pervasive and necessary.  If you're not collaborating with the right people, you're being passed by.   Don't get me wrong... Vermonter's aren't just collaborative.  We're extremely competitive too, but we're competing against foreign imports that steal American jobs and wreck local economies.  Join us.  Let's get going!  There's no time to lose.

Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture