Vermont Woods Studios - Eco Furniture Blog

Earth Day Challenge: Get Green Office Certified

Earth Day is just one week away, on Sunday Aprill 22, 2012.  At Vermont Woods Studios we're encouraging our customers, craftspeople, vendors and friends to Green-up their Workplaces by instituting earth-friendly office policies like going paperless, recycling, using compact fluorescent lightbulbs, buying Energy Star rated equipment and so on. 

You can celebrate Earth Day by virtually attending our Green-up Your Workplace Challenge on Facebook.  It's just a click of your mouse and we'll plant a tree for each person who "attends" the event.

So here's today's Earth-friendly tip:  get your office "green certified".  It's easy- nothing too official but I think it's worth doing, if just for the insight you'll get as you think through your answers to the certification questions.

The process was developed by GreenLine Paper Company. There are 24 questions on your office energy use, building construction, office supplies, waste reduction/recycling and transportation, which will determine your score. It only takes 5 minutes to complete and it's a great (and Free) way to show the world that you are making an effort to be sustainable and environmentally conscientious.  Check it out and let us know how you score!

 

Frank Lloyd Wright Homes Are Looking For YOU

 

Frank Lloyd Wright: The Houses by Alan Hess and photographer Alan Weintraub includes the famed Fallingwater, Robie House and Taliesen West.

 

 

I've always loved American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, especially for his mastery of green design. But until recently when we started offering the Copeland collection of Frank Lloyd Wright® Furniture I had little idea of the breadth of his work.  He designed hundreds of landmark buildings and homes during a career that spanned more than 70 years. 

He really is "the greatest American architect of all time."

So it's very sad to see so many of his residential creations on the market at Save Wright.  The homes are concentrated in Illinois and California but also scattered throughout the USA from Pennsylvania to Washington to Montana.  Many are in varying states of disrepair and desperately in need of someone to restore them to their former splendor.

Are you, by chance looking for a world-class landmark to call home?  Well, even if you're not spend some time browsing through Save Wright.  Who knows?  Maybe you'll fall in love with something you can't resist and then become a part of saving America's history.  How cool would that be?

 

 

 

 

Frank Lloyd Wright: Mid-Century Modern by architectural historian Alan Hess and photographer Alan Weintraub

 

 

Real Cherry Wood Furniture on Pinterest

 

 

Are you using Pinterest yet?  I know it might seem overwhelming to sign up for yet another social media account, but this is one I think you'll really love. 

Pinterest makes bookmarks and favorites obsolete.  Now you can do all that visually and intuitively on Pinterest.

Check out our new Cherry Wood Furniture Pinterest board.  We've selected great photos of cherry furniture from our website and many others to illustrate what natural cherry actually looks like.

One of the things I love is that you can see at a glance all the different shades of natural cherry as it's in the ripening process.

You'll notice too that each piece of cherry furniture is Made in the USA, another good clue when looking for real cherry wood furniture.  Learn more about cherry wood, it's unique characteristics and color variations at Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture.

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.

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!

 

Vermont Furniture Featured on Apartment Therapy

Apartment Therapy is one of our favorite interior design websites.  They're always finding some new, creative way to beautify your home and make it a relaxing respite.

I love their motto:  "saving the world, one room at a time".  Check it out for gorgeous photos and ideas about achieving simplicity, luxury and affordability in your home.

We're always pleased when Vermont Woods Studios gets a mention from Apartment Therapy because our missions seem synergistic.  This week they featured our Vermont Made Shaker Style Furniture Sale on their Weekend Guide-- I guess because it's simple, luxurious and affordable. 

So, if you made a New Years resolutions to de-clutter and organize your apartment, check our natural, sustainable Shaker bookcases and file cabinets sale.  2012 is your year to go green and go home!

Christmas - Birth Of A New Tradition

Reprinted with permission from a letter by Rita Settle to the editor of the Orlando Sentinel

 

My friend Deana clipped this letter out of the Orlando Sentinel and sent it to me after reading about our American Made Holiday Gift Challenge.  We thank Rita Settle for her creative holiday gift suggestions.

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods -- merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!

It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?

• Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?
• Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.
• Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.
• Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down the Benjamins on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.
• There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.
• How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?
• Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.
• My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.
• OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.
• Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre? Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.
• Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine. THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.

Anonymous websites?

By Guest Blogger, Dennis Shanoff

The way we shop is certainly changing. Shopping via the internet has provided us greater variety & access to products. In a physical or regional shopping experience you have the chance to at least drive by or poke in and see what the business is about. Meet the people, get a feel for the product or service, and develop trust and confidence in the business. You know, feel good about spending your money there.

So with almost every product or service you seek you have many choices as to where to purchase it. And it’s your decision who gets your hard earned money, right?

So why is it that there are a number of web stores that reveal so little about themselves? At the very least you should be able to find in one click from the home page where they are located, how long the have been in business, and as many ways to contact them as possible. And of course it wouldn’t hurt to learn more about the people behind the scenes. And are they truly experts in this product field or just capitalizing on a trend or popular product? It’s not hard to build a website that simply collects orders and transfers the order fulfillment via drop shipping? In that case have they ever seen or used the product before? Do they know how to use it, maintain it, properly size it, etc? Can they speak from experience about a products satisfaction, performance or reliability?

It just gives me the impression that they want you to just buy online and they not be bothered. Some even tempt buyers in with unusually low prices? Are they marking up list price just to mark it down? Or it makes you wonder how they might cut corners to sell for so low or how they can run perpetual sales? When buying something sight unseen online you want to feel confident that you will get exactly what you expect and that if something does indeed go wrong there is an expert ready and willing to help with an easy resolution.

So you may want to do what I do. When you find a few web sites offering what you want, take the time and poke deeper into each site. It should be easy to uncover the web business that not only has the best expertise but is working hardest for your business and appreciates it the most!

Is It Possible To Make Polywood Furniture Assembly Instructions Interesting?

OUR GOOFY POLYWOOD ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS VIDEO

 

OK-- we introduced our new line of Polywood recycled plastic outdoor patio furniture this Spring.  Unlike our solid wood furniture, Polywood furniture is shipped in a box via UPS and it must be assembled by our customers. 

Several customers have asked how difficult it is to assemble the polywood pieces and we wanted to respond to that.  It's actually pretty easy but we didn't want to put people to sleep with a boring show of Ken with a screw gun traipsing through the step-by-step instructions.

So we decided to buy an Adirondack chair for each staff member and have a race to see who could assemble their chair the fastest.  We filmed it and are hoping it will at least be a mildly amusing way to convey the basics of assembling Polywood furniture.  Check it out for me.  It's definitely a goofy video, but the truth is... we get that way sometimes.  OUR FUNNY POLYWOOD ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS VIDEO.

Vermont Eco-Friendly Furniture Story Syndicated by Creators.com

A few months ago a syndicated columnist, Anica Wong of Creators.com gave us a call at Vermont Woods Studios Furniture to ask, "What's so eco-friendly about your furniture?"  It's a great question especially since there is so much green-washing out there.  It seems that every furniture brand and furniture store is now hitting the "organic, sustainable furniture" theme in their advertisements, regardless of their environmental policies.

So anyway I told Anica that Vermont Woods Studios is not a furniture company that suddenly "went green".  Actually we're a bunch of trehuggers that partnered with some of Vermont's best fine furniture makers to create a company that delivers handcrafted, Vermont-made, eco-friendly furniture to customers all across the USA.  She then asked all about our story and wrote a nice article that is being syndicated in several newspapers like this one, The Calgary Herald.  Check it out.  And many thanks to Anica for including us in her story!

Vermont Handcrafted Furniture: Watch Our New Video and See How It's Made

Many thanks to filmmaker Luke Stafford of Mondo Media for creating a beautiful, professional video about Vermont Woods Studios Handcrafted Furniture.  The video features two of our favorite woodworkers: Chad Woodruff of Vernon, Vermont and Greg Goodman of Brattleboro, Vermont.  Luke visited both of their studios and filmed them in action. 

Chad was making pieces for his line of mission-craftsman style furniture and Greg was working on a live edge wood slab table made out of a local catalpa tree.  We thank them both for taking time out of their busy schedules to introduce our customers to their work.  I can tell you that they are some of the finest artisans in our state and we are proud to be working with them.

You can view the video by going to our Vermont Woods Studios homepage and clicking on the third box down on the right where it says "watch".  Let me know how you like the show!

 

 

Vermont Furniture Story To Be Featured on The Weather Channel

Did you know there is a link between the wood furniture you buy and global warming?  Some folks at TWC do and they've invited us to be their guest on The Weather Channel's new live show, The Lightning Rod with meteorologist Mark Elliot.

So what's the link between furniture and the weather?  OK, it's a little tricky but stay with me.  Up to 90% of the furniture we buy in the USA is imported (mainly from Asia) and made from wood that has been illegally clear-cut from the world's rapidly disappearing rainforests. 

Rainforests play a role in regulating global weather by producing oxygen, giving off carbon dioxide, and regulating temperature and moisture.  The oceans (algae) are the other major contributor to oxygen production but as they become increasingly polluted, our dependence upon the rainforests for weather modulation increases.

As rainforests are destroyed for timber that feeds the global market for cheap furniture, they are less able to regulate the weather.  Purchasing furniture made from rainforest woods like teak, brazilian cherry and mahogany supports this illegal rainforest timber trade.  The Washington Post talks about this in more detail in an article, "Corruption Stains the Timber Trade".

Choosing American made furniture and flooring built with sustainably harvested American wood decreases the demand for rainforest woods and helps decrease the rate of rainforest destruction, thereby enabling the rainforest to do its job of regulating global weather.  So that's the link.  We're excited to talk about it more with Mark and the crew of The Lightning Rod.  Watch us live at 10pm EST on Monday July 19th to see how it goes!

Many thanks to Trish Ragsdale, The Lightning Rod producer for all her help in planning and arranging for our appearance on the show.