About Heather Barrett
Heather is a Brattleboro native who returned to the area to join the Vermont Woods Studios marketing team. She earned her BS in Mass Communication at Champlain College, where she gained a passion for public relations and marketing. Heather is a travel enthusiast, social media junkie, and a lover of all things outdoors.
Posts by Heather
Vermont Maple Open House Weekend
Love Vermont Maple Syrup?
So do we! This weekend is the Vermont Maple Open House Weekend. It is a perfect time to visit some Vermont sugar houses to see how nature’s candy is made. There are over 100 farms and sugar makers opening their doors to the public this weekend, giving you a chance to watch the maple sugaring process no matter where you are in Vermont.
Take a tour of a single sugar house or several this weekend (March 23-24). There are sugar makers both large and small scattered through out the state, so you can witness traditional techniques like boiling sap over a wood fire or new high-tech practices. No matter where you go, you will see an exciting process and get to taste some of the best maple syrup in the world.
March and April are prime sugaring months in Vermont, so this is a great time for the Vermont Maple Open House. If you can’t make the trip, or you want to do a little homework before this weekend, visit the Vermont Maple website to learn how maple syrup is made.
You can see a list of participating sugar houses on this Google Map, by visiting the Vermont Maple website, or by searching by county.
See you at the sugar house!
Benefit Furniture Sale For The Dions
Our Acting Webmaster, Loryn, does a lot for Vermont Woods Studios. She was hired as a Marketing Assistant and when our webmaster left, she seamlessly took on that role. From making our website beautiful, to leading our benefit meetings, to writing about green interior design on our blog, Loryn does it all- with a smile.
Now, we have the chance to do something for Loryn and her family (the Dion’s). We received the news last week that Loryn’s family home in Fall River, Massachusetts, suffered substantial damage after a tragic kitchen fire. Luckily, all of her family members and pets are all okay. The house’s kitchen was affected the most by the fire, however, the rest of her home has smoke and water damage too.
To help the Dion’s, we’re doing what we know best: selling furniture. We will be having a benefit furniture sale on Friday, March 22. For every sale we have that day we will donate $50 to the Dion’s.
Help us help the Dion’s! This benefit furniture sale falls on the same day as our Make A Set Furniture Sale, so you can save big while helping one of our hardworking employees. The more you buy, the more you save, and the more her family benefits!
Spread the word about our benefit furniture sale by sharing this post with your friends! It’s one week away!
All Under One Roof
Much work has been done to the previously detached accessory building. The former studio apartment is now connected to the rest of the building and is under some major remodeling.
Since the new addition was built to attach the two existing buildings, the crew has been hard at work connecting the new “L” shape structure to make everything under one roof. A key part of this project was aligning the roof lines. The detached accessory building’s roof line was substantially lower than the new addition and the main house’s roof. Another key part of this project was getting all the floors at the same level. The original flooring structure was removed and lowered almost two feet. In the “After” photo above you can see the lowered floor in comparison to the old entryway door.
This room is going to get new, larger windows in a later part of construction, in addition to a cherry wood floor and a ceiling made out of reclaimed wood boards. We aren’t certain what this floor space in our showroom will house, but we think it will display our bedroom furniture pieces.
The accessory building was last used as a studio apartment, so it needed a lot of dismantling. You can see the living room area in the “Before” photo above. On Facebook we have a Stonehurst-Before construction album, where you can see a photograph of the apartment’s old kitchen, bathroom and loft sleeping area.
Much remains to be done but the hard parts and hard weather seem to be passed us. There is still construction work being done in other areas of Stonehurst, and we will bring you up to date the next time around. We are expecting the showroom remodel to be completed in mid May!
Continue to follow our blog for construction updates on the Vermont Woods Studios Showroom, Stonehurst.
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Best Selling Style: Shaker Furniture
For every room in the house, our best selling furniture pieces are shaker style. Top: Vermont Shaker Moon Bed. Bottom: Vermont Made Shaker Custom Dining Table, Vermont Shaker Bookcase, Classic Shaker Writing Desk
What do our best selling pieces have in common? They’re all Shaker style! For every room in the house, our Shaker furniture pieces always come out on top. Our Shaker style furniture ranges from traditional styles featuring elegant straight lines to more modern shaker furniture that incorporate contemporary round lines into the design. Shaker furniture has been made since the 1700′s, and our craftsmen have dedicated themselves to keep the same simplistic, functional, and sturdy design in every piece of Shaker furniture they craft.
Shaker Bedroom Furniture
Our online gallery features almost 100 pieces of Shaker style bedroom pieces. Although it’s a close tie between pieces that are most popular, the Vermont Shaker Moon Bed is our best selling bed. The Vermont Shaker Moon Bed features traditional tapered legs and gorgeous arching curves in the headboard and footboard. Like most pieces of Shaker furniture, this bed is most popular in natural cherry wood.
Shaker Dining Furniture
It’s easy to see why the Vermont Made Shaker Custom Dining Table is most popular among our customers. It is simple in design, sturdily built for years of use, and is built to order so it can perfectly match your kitchen or dining room. Like it says in it’s name, this dining table is customizable. What does that mean? Customize your table size in 12 solid top sizes and 18 extension table sizes. Customize your table top shape to be rectangular, oval or boat shaped. Customize your table in natural cherry, maple or walnut wood.
Shaker Living Room Furniture
Shaker furniture, renowned for it’s sturdy design, is a perfect style for living room furniture. When putting your life collection of books or antique display plates on a bookshelf, it’s important to feel confident that it will remain sturdy. Our Shaker style hardwood bookcases are crafted to last a lifetime (guaranteed). They will remain strong for years to come, so you can feel certain that your precious belongings will be safe. Our most popular bookcase is the Vermont Shaker Bookcase. It is crafted in a small workshop near Vermont’s state capital, Montpelier, using sustainably harvested hardwoods with a non-toxic finish.
Shaker Home Office Furniture
The Classic Shaker Writing Desk is our most popular piece of home office furniture. It is available in three distinct leg styles: flair (shown as the product’s main image), tapered or mission style. You can see these three styles by clicking the gray question mark next to the leg style option. Further customize this piece by choosing from three sizes, and three drawer options. This shaker style desk is a great option for a home office or business.
Good News For You
All of our Shaker style furniture is on sale! You can buy our best selling pieces at a great price. The more you buy, the more you save. Take 10% off one piece, 15% off two pieces, or 20% off three pieces. It’s the perfect excuse to buy a bed and nightstands; dining table and chairs; bookcase and end tables; or a desk with a few file cabinets. All of our furniture is handcrafted in Vermont with natural wood. Receive free shipping and a lifetime guarantee during this sale! Copeland Furniture is an exception to this Shaker furniture sale; however, the Copeland Sarah Shaker Collection is always priced with a low price guarantee.
Start browsing our online gallery today. If you have any questions our fine furniture specialists are available by phone, live chat, or email.
Wags To Riches
Loryn and I stopped by the Windham County Humane Society to drop off a few donations for their Wags To Riches Auction, and to pick up some tickets.
The Windham County Humane Society, located in Brattleboro, is our area’s most important resource for facilitating pet adoptions. This animal shelter’s mission states, “The Windham County Humane Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of animals and enhancing the relationship between individuals and pets through adoption, education, advocacy, compassion and promotion of animal welfare.” Volunteerism and donations are vital to the prosperity of the organization, so every year the Windham County Humane Society hold a large fundraiser to help subsidize the cost of running the organization and keeping pets healthy.
The annual Wags to Riches Auction is being held this weekend. This is the largest and most important fundraiser of the year for the humane society. The fundraiser will be held at the Putney Inn on Saturday, March 2, starting at 6PM. There will be great food, great company (make sure to say hi to Peggy, Loryn, and Douglas), and great items to bid on. All of the items at the auction have been donated by local businesses or people in the community. The items vary from something small and practical, like a gift card to the pet store, to something large and luxurious, like an African Safari!
All of the money raised at this event will go directly to the Windham County Humane Society, which will support their programs like low cost spay-neuter clinics. This organization is near to many of our hearts at Vermont Woods Studios, as we are all animals lovers, and many of us have adopted our pets from the humane society.
Tickets cost $40/person, and can be purchased on the humane society’s website, by calling their office, or on March 2nd at the door. Everyone is welcome to join in on the fun, so be sure to bring a friend or two! Click here to visit their website to preview some of the items you can bid on (including our wood cutting board + coasters, and the 3 day weekend at Stratton Mountain that Peggy donated).
If you are unable to attend this event, there are many other ways you can support the Windham County Humane Society. You can make an online, tax-deductible, financial donation or donate items off their wishlist.
New Dining Furniture: Which “Wood” You Choose?
Making The Hard-Wood Decision
Your first attraction to a hardwood dining table is the color of the wood. When shopping for a new dining or kitchen table, you probably have a color or wood type in mind before you have thought about a size or a style- and that’s okay! When it comes to tables looks matter. Our online gallery mostly shows our furniture in natural cherry wood, but our tables are available in 4 types of wood: cherry, walnut, maple, and oak. Below you will find a little bit of information about each of our wood types and how they look.
Cherry
Cherry wood is commonly identified by it’s beautiful reddish color that improves with age. Natural cherry wood starts out as a light red tone, and darkens to a richer tone over time. Cherry is one of the sought after hardwoods for furniture in the United States.
Walnut
Walnut wood is easily recognized because of it’s dark chocolate brown color. Black walnut wood is the only dark North American wood, which adds to it’s appeal as a rare, luxury type of wood. Walnut wood has become one of the most popular wood species for organic live edge tables.
Maple
Maple wood is much lighter than cherry or walnut wood. It is a white looking wood with a slight reddish-beige undertone. Maple wood typically has an understated straight grain, giving maple furniture a smooth finish. Maple is a perfect wood for a table because of it’s strength and resistance to shock.
Oak
Oak wood is very classic. People have been making furniture out of oak wood since the beginning of time, and is most often used for craftsman-style furniture. Oak is a lighter wood, similar to maple, but has a more pronounced grain. It is common to find contrasting grain on a piece of real oak furniture. This rugged wood has very subtle color change over time.
Hardwood Dining Tables
All of these woods are very strong and make durable tables, so you can’t go wrong. Our hardwood dining tables are skillfully crafted for style, function, and generations of use. Each piece is made with sustainably harvested hardwoods. Once you decide which type of wood best fits your home and your aesthetics, use the drop down menus in our online gallery to choose between natural cherry, walnut, maple or oak wood.
During our Winter Dining Room Furniture Sale, you can big on a new dining furniture. Save 10% on one piece, 15% on two pieces, or 20% on three or more pieces of furniture. Plus, each piece is backed by a lifetime guarantee and we will ship it for free!
Shop for your new dining room furniture securely, easily, and conveniently from our online gallery. If you prefer, contact us at 888-390-5571 to order by phone or discuss your questions about our Vermont made, fine wood furniture. Our fine furniture specialists are also available through our live chat option or by email.
* Copeland Furniture and Polywood Furniture are not included in the Presidents Day Furniture Sale as they are always priced with a low price guarantee.
“Tap Into Vermont”
Vermont’s maple sugaring season is right around the corner. Enter for a chance to win the “Tap Into Vermont” getaway! Image via Vermont Tourism
Vermont maple syrup has been a topic of discussion lately at Vermont Woods Studios. We have had a few people mention that they have started to see the iconic metal sap buckets hanging from maple trees. Many of us were in agreement that it seemed too soon for the sugaring season to begin; however, we are beginning to hear that the sap buckets aren’t lying; it is sugaring season.
To commence the Vermont maple sugaring season, Governor Peter Shumlin will tap a sugar maple tree on the Vermont State House lawn. This event will happen on February 27th, with many maple themed events following.
Vermont Tourism has announced that they have joined with Vermont’s Chief Marketing Office, Ski Vermont, Vermont Maple Sugar Makers, Cabot Creamery, Long Trail Brewery, and Amtrak to provide a sweet Vermont travel deal. Amtrak’s Vermonter and Ethan Allen trains will have ambassadors on board every Friday through March 15, showcasing spring skiing and the maple sugaring season. According to a recent press release, the ambassadors will “provide information, concierge services, goodies and ski deals.” During the train ride, passengers will be able to sample Cabot cheddar cheese, Vermont maple syrup and Long Trail beer (March 1 only). The Vermonter train has scheduled routes from Penn Station in New York City to Rutland and to Waterbury, and the Ethan Allen train will have a route between Waterbury and Springfield, MA. For more information about the schedules, please the Vermont Tourism website.
Vermont Tourism is offering several Maple themed travel packages, and the chance to win the “Tap into Vermont” vacation contest. The contest winner will receive a five day lift/lodging package at Killington Resort for two people, plus a Vermont maple gift basket.
Vermont is widely known for it’s real maple syrup, as it is the largest producer in the United States. An additional event to learn about how the pure maple syrup is produced, plan a trip to our state during the weekend of March 23-24. This will be the Maple Open House Weekend in Vermont. We will blog about this event and highlight some Vermont maple sugar producers in March.
New Furniture Designs
The beginning of the year is a busy and exciting time for us, as we’re adding new furniture designs to our online gallery. We just finished adding new bedroom and dining room pieces. We are also excited to announce that we have expanded our line of live edge dining tables! Below you can read about our new pieces of fine wood furniture. We’d love to hear what you think! Comment below, or let us know on Facebook.
New Bedroom Furniture
The Sutton Platform Bed and the Sutton Platform Bed With Reclaimed Headboard are two great additions to our line of solid wood beds. They perfectly blend in with our existing Live Edge Bed. The only difference between these three beds are the headboards, making it easy to customize this bed to fit your style. The solid wood headboard, live edge headboard and reclaimed headboard choices perfect match the stylish platform base of the bed. Create a bedroom set by pairing a bed with the Sutton 1 Drawer Nightstand and the Sutton 6 Drawer Dresser, which feature the same platform base. All of these pieces are available in your choice of Cherry, Maple, Oak or Walnut wood. Please view the individual pieces to see the live edge and reclaimed wood options.
New Dining Furniture
Our new hardwood dining furniture is inspired by Mid Century Modern designs. The pieces are the Addison Boat Top Dining Table, Addison 4 Drawer Buffet with Glass Doors and Addison 4 Drawer Buffet. The most iconic attribute about these pieces are their splayed, round taper legs. The wood boat top dining table is available as a solid top table or an extension table, giving you the option of 11 table sizes. The buffets feature four centered drawers and two wood or glass doors. Behind the doors are a total of four adjustable shelves, one being a wine shelf. The brushed nickel pulls adds an extra modern flair to these natural wood buffets. Customize these pieces in your choice of natural Cherry, Maple, Oak or Walnut wood.
New Live Edge Tables
A huge trend in the furniture industry right now is live edge furniture. Each wood slab is unique, making your piece one of a kind. We have added three new live edge tables to our online gallery: Metropolitan Dining Table – Live Edge, Boston Trestle Dining Table – Live Edge, and Boston Dining Table – Live Edge. Each of these tables feature an organic live edge top. The best part about the live edge tables are that they match any style home. If you want a modern take on a traditional shaker style table, the Boston Dining Table may be your first pick. The tapered legs add a shaker feel to this design. The Boston Trestle table has the durability of traditional craftsmanship with a touch of modern style. The Metropolitan Dining Table is the most modern design of the three live edge tables. It features a clear, powder-coated steel base. These metal legs create a modern industrial look. In my opinion, the best part about all of these table designs are the simple bases. Each base or table legs are understated, allowing the natural live edge top to stand alone in it’s beauty.
Harris Hill Ski Jump
Vernon, Vermont, where Vermont Woods Studios is located, is about 20 square miles and has a population of about 2,200. So, many of us either live in Brattleboro, or travel there a few times a week for necessities (groceries) or entertainment (movies, restaurants). This weekend, our neighboring town has an exciting event for Vermonters and visitors alike: the annual Harris Hill Ski Jump Event.
The Harris Hill Ski Jump is a 90-meter jump, which is designed to International Ski Federation specifications. It is the only 90-meter ski jump in New England, and there are less than a handful of this size in the United States. Skiiers from around the world zip down this huge jump, launching themselves more than 300 feet in the air at 60 miles per hour! As read in the Brattleboro Reformer, “According to event organizers, this year’s event will not only feature the annual Pepsi Challenge and the Fred Harris Memorial Tournament, but also the only U.S. Stop on the International Ski Federation’s FIS Cup and a stop on the United States American Ski Jumping U.S. Cup Tour.”
The ski jump closed in 2005 due to significant maintenance repair that needed to be done. With the help and support of the local community, they were able to complete an extensive renovation to restore the jump to it’s original first-class ski jump in 2009. The Harris Hill Ski Jump has continued to be a popular community based event each year. It is put on entirely by volunteers and local sponsorship. Join the Brattleboro area community during this is a two day event (Saturday, February 16th and Sunday, February 17th). Visit the Harris Hill Ski Jump website for the full schedule and additional event information.
Come visit for Presidents Day weekend and enjoy this event. In addition to flying skiiers, there will be concessions, a beer tent, and souvenirs. We just had a huge snow storm (thanks, Nemo), so this is a great time to be in Vermont!
Preview: Presidents Day Furniture Sale
Right now you may be preoccupied placing your Edible Arrangement order or making dinner reservations for Valentine’s Day, but some of the biggest sales events of the year are only a few days away. This Friday you will see all of the big ticket items on your wish list go on sale. Presidents Day is a retail holiday only second to Black Friday (which is 9 months away).
Traditionally, many Americans take advantage of these discounts to make larger purchases like new cars, electronics and furniture. This is the first time that retailers will offer discounts on their new lines and designs. As a consumer, one of the questions you may ask yourself before you make a big purchase is, “how long will this last?” or “how long will I have this?” For many of your purchases, like a new top of the line television with a surround sound system, the answer is probably less than 5 years. Technology is rapidly changing and these types of items become obsolete almost as soon as we buy them.
Unlike cars and electronics that have new versions come out every year, the functionality and durability of hardwood furniture has remained the same for over 200 years. We know there are a lot of items to choose from this Presidents Day, but furniture is different from your other options because it is crafted to last a lifetime- it’s guaranteed. Our online gallery features dozens of fine wood furniture collections and 100′s of pieces in a variety of timeless styles. Each piece is crafted to order, so you can customize your furniture in your choice of natural Cherry, Maple, Oak or Walnut wood. All of our furniture is 100% American made right here in Vermont.
During our Presidents Day Furniture Sale, you can save 15% storewide* plus free shipping! This is one of the deepest discounts that we can give our customers, so we only offer it a couple times a year. We are honoring this discount for 5 days only, but you can preview our bedroom, dining room, living room, and home office furniture by visiting our website today. Bookmark what you like ahead of time, receive the savings this weekend
If you have any questions about our Vermont made wood furniture, feel free to contact our fine furniture specialists. They are available by live chat, phone (888-390-5571), or by email (info@vermontwoodsstudios.com).
*This storewide sale excludes Copeland, Polywood, Barnwood and Artisan Furniture
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