Vermont Woods Studios - Eco Furniture Blog

Welcome to Vermont Woods Studios, Heather G!

 

Heather G settles in during her 3rd day at Vermont Woods Studios

 

We are excited to welcome our new Sales Associate, Heather G to our Vermont Made Furniture store this week.  Heather just completed her third day at Vermont Woods Studios and we are all feeling very lucky to have her on our team.

 

 

Heather's background is in banking and sales.  She is fluent in American Sign Language and certified in First Aid, CPR, and Crisis Prevention Intervention.  It's nice to have those skills around, just in case!

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Vermont Woods Studios, Heather!

Heather rode her bike to work on National Ride Your Bike to Work Day

 

 

Did you know that yesterday was National Ride Your Bike to Work Day?  Yes it was and Heather celebrated by riding her bike to work at Vermont Woods Studios.  I'm hoping she inspires me to do the same (I was supposed to ride to work on Earth Day, but I think it was too cold or rainy... or warm or sunny or something). 

 

Anyway if you call in and Heather answers the phone, please take a minute to see how she's doing and welcome her into the new job.  I think you'll find, as we have, that she's a pleasure to work with.

 

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.

 

2012 Earth Day Party in The Woods

 

Have and Earth Day Lunch and join us at our Green Up Your Workplace Challenge on Facebook

 

 

 

Since Earth Day is on Sunday this year, we decided to have our Vermont Woods Studios Earth Day party today.  Here are a few photos of the crew indulging in local, organic food from The Works, a cafe, bakery and deli in Brattleboro.

 

We love the food and the people at the Works but we also like their green brand.

 

 

 

The Works Deli in Brattleboro VT was built with reclaimed barnwood and other recycled materials

 

 

 

This sign on the wall at the back of the deli tells where all the recycled materials that make up the store came from.  Furniture and cabinetry were made by our friend Chad Woodruff of Woodruff Custom Furniture here in Vernon, VT.  Chad used old tractor seats and scythe handles for chairs.

The vintage steel lighting at the Works was salvaged from from an old amusement park in Rye, New York. 

The menu is written on an old slate chalkboard reclaimed from Northfield Mount Hermon School, in Northfield MA.

They just used a lot of imagination in designing and building the Works and everyone in Brattleboro loves going there for the good green vibe.

 

So here's another idea for our "Greening Up Your Workplace" Challenge on Facebook-- have an Earth Day lunch with natural food from a local restaurant or deli.

 

 

 

Congratulations, Shannon!

 

Congratulations to Shannon! Next time maybe I'll get permission to include more than her hands in the picture ;)

 

 

If you call or stop by Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture today looking for Shannon, you will unfortunately have to chat with Douglas or me instead. 

 

Shannon is celebrating a special occasion today.

 

We wish her a relaxing Spring day, which in our world of rural Vermont typically means one of raking leaves and hiking with the dogs.  Enjoy! 

 

But don't forget to come back tomorrow.

 

 

 

Rescued girls, Kallie and Holly are pondering just the right activites for their Mom's surprise party

 

 

Green-Up Your Workplace With Natural Cleaning Products

 

Shannon purged our office of Clorox, Febreeze and Glass Plus, replacing them with greener cleaners by BioKleen, EcoVer and Seventh Generation

 

Guest Blogger:  Shannon Albritton

WARNING: No hazmat suits, protective eyewear or gloves required to read this message

My very first thought when we launched our Green-Up Your Workplace Challenge here at Vermont Woods Studios was “I can’t wait to get those toxic cleaning products out of our bathroom!”  There’s nothing worse than walking into a ‘freshly cleaned bathroom’ and needing to open the window to dissipate the smell of bleach and chemicals. I was quick to volunteer for the task of purchasing a new assortment of green cleaning products. Permission granted!

My personal aversion to the odor of chemical-based products aside, there are a variety of factors to consider when selecting cleaning products:

 

 

Important reasons to consider when going green with your clean:

• When toxic chemicals are sprayed, dumped, rinsed or washed the hazardous environmental effects are outstanding
• 6 billion pounds of chemicals are dumed into the environment each year
• Cancer, autism, birth defects, skin & respiratory sensitivies and asthma are on the rise without adequate explanation why

Possible environmental consequences of using chemical cleaning products:

• Air pollution
• Bioaccumulation of toxic substances in plants and animals
• Endocrine disruption in wildlife, which affects reproductive ability
• Ozone depletion
• Water pollution

And, if the above isn’t enough to convince you, consider the following warning label comparison:

Warning Label Clorox Clean-Up reads: Eye & Skin Irritant: Causes substantial but temporary eye injury. Do not get in eyes or on clothing. Wear protect eyewear (really?) Harmful if swallowed. For sensitive skin or prolonged use wear gloves. Avoid prolonged breathing of vapors and use in well ventilated areas. (Yeesh! – did they forget the hazmat suit?)

Warning Label Biokleen Bac-Out Bathroom Cleaner: Caution: In case of eye contact, flush eyes with cool water for 15 minutes. In case of ingestion, do not induce vomitting; drink plenty of water to dilute. (That was easy)

Have I convinced you yet? Here comes the reinforcement…

• Animal Testing – I’ll leave the gory details to your imagination but let’s face it, choosing products which use No Animal Testing and No Animal Ingredients should be a no-brainer in 2012. Store shelves provide a variety options and alternatives for friendlier choices that don’t include a science lab full of beagles testing your bathroom cleaner for skin allergies...

Products from earth-friendly companies like Biokleen (my personal favorite), Ecover, Seventh Generation offer a safe and comprehensive product line for cleaning your office and home. Many products are available in concentrated form which also helps keep our planet green. Less waste in plastic bottles and containers has a direct impact on our energy consumption and pollution from manufacturing. In many cases these concentrated products are very cost effective because you’re not paying for the bottle over and over again.  I’ve been using Biokleen for years and strongly recommend them. Not only are their products safe and green they actually work and smell wonderful!

So, let’s recap: Choosing to green-up your workplace by replacing toxic cleaning products laden with harsh chemicals with green cleaning alternatives is my # 1 choice because it:

• Removes harsh chemicals from the air
• Keeps chemicals from leeching into our water systems and plants
• Prevents negative effects on the reproduction of our wildlife
• Keeps the air quality safe for myself, my coworkers & our customers
• No hazmat suit, protective eyewear or gloves required
• No Animal Testing or Animal Products
• Concentrated formulas save on waste and pollution
• Smells great – no artificial fragrances, colors or preservatives

Now head on over to the Vermont Woods Studios Virtual Green-Up Your Workplace Challenge and show your love for my #1 green-up tip. Be sure to share your green cleaning tips with the rest of us and tell us how you’re greening up your workplace too!

Behind the scenes as Shannon Greens Up Our Workplace at Vermont Woods Studios

 

 

Warning: No animals, vegetables or minerals have been harmed in the making of this message

 

 

A New Filly on Malhana Farm

Copper's new filly is less than a day old in this picture

Our good friend Annette owns Malhana Farm on Pond Road, just down the street from Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture in Vernon, Vermont. 

When we first started out in business, Annette let us use part of her farmhouse as a showroom and office.  In return we did occasional chores like feeding the chickens or bringing in firewood.  One March morning our salesperson Susan Holmquist got to work around 8am and was pressed into service helping to pull a new colt out of his mother's womb!  I was so jealous that day.

Anyway, March is baby horse month and Annette's (actually Jeff and Andrea's) newest baby just arrived 3 days ago.  Isn't she beautiful?  She's really tall.  It's amazing Copper carried her around so long-- a month past her due date.

Everyone in Vernon stops in the middle of the road as they're going by Malhana Farm now.  The whole town ached for Copper as she stood out there in the pasture so stoically, getting bigger and bigger every day.  We're all excited to see her with her beautiful new baby and know they are both doing well.  Horse lovers can find additional photos on Pinterest.

 

Earth Day 2012 "Green-Up Your Workplace Challenge"

 

If you had to give your workplace a grade for "greenliness" what would it be?  Most people I've talked to say they at least have recycling containers at work.  For paper that is.  Not many have recycling for cans or plastic though.  Not many have consistently emphasized programs for energy efficiency either (with a focus on turning computers and equipment off at night, turning lights out when not in use, replacing old incandescent bulbs with high-efficiency ones, etc.) 

Come on now.  It's 2012.  We've had 42 Earth Days come and go since the first one in 1970.  What seems to be the problem?  Don't settle for a "D" on your report card.

At Vermont Woods Studios we're trying to help make this year's Earth Day (April 22, 2012) a little more successful in the workplace.  Manjula and Dennis cooked up a "Green Up Your Workplace Challenge".  It's a virtual Facebook event and we're asking you to attend.  You can do so by liking us on our Facebook and then attending the "Green Up Your Workplace" event (a Facebook page where we'll post photos, links, stories, tips and advice for how to get an A in 'greenliness" for your workplace). 

Give it a try!  Our goal is to get 400 people to attend the "Green Up Your Workplace Challenge" between now and Earth Day and we're going to plant a tree for each person who attends.  How about giving us a hand?

 

Green-up Tip # 1, Re-use whatever you can instead of buying disposable things. This is Manjula using her terry towel instead of paper towels. Each of us has our own color.

 

 

 

 

Vermont's Organic Farms

Relly Bub Farm in Wilmington Vermont

Shannon and Kendall have been very consistent at reminding us to buy local, organic food at the Brattleboro Farmers Market and Co-op whenever possible.

I guess we tend to take these opportunities for granted in Vermont because there's such an abundance of local, all-natural food. 

Our good friend Annette has been raising organic, grass-fed beef on her Malhanna farm just down the road for many years.  Some photo-journalists from the Vermont Center for Photography chronicled Annette's farm last weekend and I'm trying to get permission to share some of their photos with you.  In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy this beautiful video about Lilac Ridge, an organic family farm in Brattleboro, Vermont.

It's good to stop and think about where your food comes from.  Check out our Vermont Woods Studios Pinterest board on Vermont's Organic Farms for more photos, info and inspiration.  Bon appetit!

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!

 

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.

Vermont Fine Furniture In Every State But Alaska

It's taken six years, but our recent sale of Custom Shaker Bookcases to a family in West Virginia finally put that state on our map as the 49th state we've delivered Vermont Made Furniture to. How 'bout that?  

I think we'll have to give a prize to the person who places the first order for delivery to Alaska (that's the only state left on our list).  What should it be?  Maybe something to keep them warm like Vermont made Darn Tough Socks or flannel pajamas from Vermont Flannel. 

Or maybe one of Ken's solid wood cutting boards.  Well, Alaskans... be the first and we'll let you take your pick.

 

Solid Wood Desks and Bookcases - Getting Organized For The New Year

 

How are you doing on your New Year's resolutions?  I finally started mine today.  First: get my workspace organized. 

 

This is what I want it to look like.

 

 

 

 

Instead, I'm sad to say, it looks like this.  Can you believe that?  Especially considering my work with fine, American made, solid wood furniture at Vermont Woods Studios.

I don't have a bookcase or a file cabinet.   I do have a couple beautiful solid wood desks that Ken made for me when we moved into this space last year.  I try to file everything electronically but that's not always possible so I end up with stacks of papers on my desks, notes on the wall and other stuff on the floor. 

So today I decided to start getting organized.  I asked Douglas to order me a new solid wood file cabinet from our Modern Shaker Office Furniture Collection.  If that's not enough to do the job, I may have to splurge on the huge Solid Wood Bookcase in the picture above.  We'll see.  We seem to be moving and growing a lot so it all depends on how long we're here in this lovely office with the wood paneling and aqua carpets.  I wouldn't want to get too far out of step with the modern decor.

 

 

Coffee Is For The Birds

I do love my work here at Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture but if I could pick a dream job for just a month or a year, I think it might be working as a biologist for The Vermont Center for Ecostudies VCE.

Here's how they describe their work:  "VCE biologists scale high peaks, paddle remote ponds, slog through wetlands, visit ordinary backyards, and traverse the Americas to study birds, insects, mammals, amphibians and other wildlife."  How cool would that be?

One of my favorite VCE project areas is bird conservation.  In fact, we named a line of our furniture after Roz Renfrew a champion VCE ecologist. Roz has dedicated her life to conserving tropical habitat for Vermont migratory birds in places like Hispaniola and Bolivia.  Through her work we've come to understand the importance of buying shade grown coffee.

 

 

 

It turns out that the reason we started Vermont Woods Studios (to promote rainforest conservation) is also the reason to buy "bird friendly coffee".  Whereas coffee used to be grown under the canopy of the rainforest (thus providing great habitat for birds) it's now more profitable to cut the rainforest down and grow coffee in the sun.  Besides requiring tons of pesticides and fertilizers which destroy life in nearby streams, rivers and coastline this un-natural practice eliminates critical habitat for birds.

So... I've been able to make the switch at home, no problem but now I've got to get Douglas to find Bird Friendly coffee for our Kuerig dispenser at work.  I've looked everywhere and can't find it. Any ideas?  I'd welcome your suggestions below or on our Facebook.  Thanks!

Good Things Take Time

In the world of Vermont's Made to Order Furniture there are many advantages:  your furniture is handcrafted especially for you, you can customize it to fit exactly into your space, you can feel good about the fact that your furniture is made from trees that are harvested sustainably with respect for the forest environment... and so on.  But there is one downside to having furniture built just for you:  it takes time.

Depending on who is making your furniture (we work with a dozen or so independent furniture makers), and what they've already got in their cue, it can take anywhere from 2-16+ weeks from the day you place your order to the day it is complete.  Typically the crafting time is about 6-8 weeks, but specialty items or furniture that's being made by our most popular craftsmen can take longer. 

Then after the furniture is built, it takes another 1-5 weeks to ship it, depending on where the customer lives.  Fine furniture cannot be FedEx'd (unless maybe it's an end table or something that's been designed for quick-ship).

So Rebecca uses a series of emails and phone calls to keep clients in the loop during the crafting and shipping process. She and a customer were talking aout it in terms of old Vermont sayings yesterday-- like "slower than molasses running uphill in January" and "It takes less time to do something right than to explain why it was done wrong".

In this world of instant gratification, where most furniture buyers walk into Bob's Discount Furniture, Ikea or Ashley Furniture and walk out an hour later with something that's substandard and unsustainably produced overseas by huge multi-national conglomerates, we find ourselves immensley grateful to our customers for their patience in waiting for the real thing.  When buying furniture that's built to last a lifetime, we hope you'll feel it's worth the wait.

ps-- Vermonters have a bunch of other funny old sayings.  If you're interested, learn what "dryer than a popcorn fart", "flatlander" and "a chewing match" mean here at Virtual Vermont.

Custom Wood Furniture, Part 2

Yesterday we were discussing the different types of furniture that people call "custom wood furniture".  My last post was about Made To Order Wood Furniture and Customized Wood Furniture.  Today I wanted to distinguish these from true custom wood furniture and ultra luxury custom artisan furniture.  Here are my thoughts:

• True Custom Wood Furniture is unique furniture that's made more deliberately and artfully than customized furniture.  Usually, you'll want to work directly with the furniture maker if you're purchasing custom wood furniture because it's born from a collaboration between you, the customer and the furniture maker.  Custom furniture is more expensive than customized furniture and for many good reasons.  Design of custom furniture can take enormous amounts of time and several iterations before the furniture maker even progresses from the drawing board into the studio.  Wood selection is also a time-intensive process with the woodworker hand-selecting each board for the proper grain, color, match, size and shape.  Building a custom piece-- well, it just takes, time, time, time.  It's all about detail and custom pieces haven't been done exactly like this before (they're unique) so every step along the way is a little challenging.  But the result with a custom piece is perfection, or near perfection anyway.  And each piece is signed by its creator. If you're someone who truly understands and appreciates the fine detail of a custom piece, this is the way to go.  It's not unusual for the price of a custom piece to be twice as much or more than a similar "made to order" or customized piece but the cost is a worthy investment for those who understand its enduring value.

• Custom Artisan Wood Furniture-- well this is yet another notch up from true custom wood furniture.  It's an ultra luxury.  It's a piece of functional art.  It's museum quality furniture that is a privilege to own. Lucky for us, Vermont is home to some of the world's most talented custom furniture artisans like Steve Holman, Dan Mosheim, Kit Clark and others, many of whom belong to the Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers.  Check out their websites and their blogs to understand how truly special and unique their furniture is. We work with these master craftspeople on a referral basis.  When customers come to us looking to invest substantially and commission custom artisan furniture we help them find the artisan who is best suited to their needs.  Usually it's based mainly on their style preference and the specific types of expertise and equipment needed to achieve their vision. But often other factors enter the decision including time constraints, budget, wood species, FSC or LEED criteria and such.  We also take into account the personalities involved to make sure the experience is enjoyable, stress-free and enriching for both the customer and the artisan. Lastly, we negotiate a fair price so both parties achieve a win.  Vermont Woods Studios was actually started as a company that would focus almost exclusively on marketing this important part of Vermont's heritage and culture.

So I hope this helps to better define "custom wood furniture" and draw a distinction between: made to order wood furniture, customized wood furniture, true custom wood furniture and ultra luxury custom artisan furniture.  Customers often ask why the price of one of our pieces may be drastically different from another, when the two pieces look similar at first glance.  The answer lies in the amount of time and expertise involved as well as the quality of the wood and hardware.  At Vermont Woods Studios we're always happy to discuss these details and refer customers directly to our furniture makers when we've reached the limit of our own expertise.  Learn more about commissioning custom wood furniture here.

Our Favorite Furniture

 

We've only got Kendall for a few more days before he ditches us at Vermont Woods Studios and goes back to college after a nice long winter break.  That's pretty sad because he's been cranking out the website work these last few weeks-- stuff that none of the rest of us (except Manjula, of course) know how to do.

 

 

 

Anyway, Kendall's becoming a Facebook genie and he's set up a "Staff Picks" tab.  This week he's featuring Shannon's favorite furniture, the Modern American Dining Set.  It's a beautiful solid cherry table and benches-- very simple but very elegant too. 

 

 

 

 

 

Here it is all dressed up by our favorite set designer, Erica Ell.  If you love it as much as Shannon does, fan us on Facebook and get an extra 5% off.

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

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays

From all of us here at Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture, we send our very best wishes for a Happy Holiday season to you and your family.

 

Thanks for making 2011 our best year ever!

 

Front row from left:  Rebecca, Peggy, Manjula, Shannon

Back row from left:  Douglas, Ken, Dennis

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.

 

Our "Made in America" Office Christmas Party

It was way back in September that Dennis challenged all of us at Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture to help support our economy by promising to buy American Made gifts for Christmas.  A lot of ups and downs have happened since then with our Made in America Holiday Shopping Challenge. 

But regardless of all that, we had a mission in the office and that was to learn more about American companies and the things they make--and to support them with our Christmas shopping budgets.  And to see if we could start a movement where others would do the same.  Thanks to ABC that has happened.

So our office Christmas party was yesterday and fortunately it was a Yankee Swap (because it's possible that some of us are on the naughty list).  Anyway we all gave gifts that were made in America:

A bottle of Kendall Jackson California wine, a Harley Davidson beer mug, a handcarved wooden letter opener (Ken picked that one out, of course), a Cangles bracelet made out of recycled soda cans, a handmade glass ornament, a paperwhite bulb, Vermont made goat's milk caramels (yum!), a Vermont made silk scarf and a cool necklace that has a hidden pen in it.

If you haven't had your holiday office party yet, it's not too late!  See if your colleagues will go for an American made theme.  Then let us know what you bought either in the comments section below or on our facebook.