Hardwood Furniture
Conscious Connection: Eco Friendly Furniture Article
Anthony Chiaravallo of Conscious Connection profiled me and our eco-friendly furniture in his magazine this week. Thanks Anthony!
Big thanks to Anthony A. Chiaravallo, Founder & CEO of Conscious Connection Magazine for featuring Vermont Woods Studios sustainable, eco friendly furniture this week. Conscious Connection is widely regarded as the leading cultural creative magazine. It spotlights a “global community of thought leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries advocating for global peace, personal transformation and eco-creative living”.
Kelsey and Anthony have been collaborating on CC’s Creative Home Living Series that focuses on incorporation of sustainably and locally sourced products into the home. We join green living expert Susan Inglis of the Sustainable Furnishings Council SFC, earth conscious designer Barry Dixon and many others in Anthony’s series on green home design.
Check out this beautifully-designed and thought-provoking venue if you’re looking for the latest on: Social Business, Health and Fitness, Eco Design and Creative Lifestyle. If you love it as much as we do, let Anthony know on his Facebook.
Solid Wood Bookcases: A Customer Review
I know everyone thinks all customer reviews are phoney — and for good reason: most of them are. But ours are real and below are the verbatim thoughts of our new friends in Austin, Texas who are oh so happy with their new solid wood bookcases, custom crafted here in Vermont.
Michelle just forwarded me this customer review on our solid wood bookcases:
Hi Michelle, We just wanted you to know how pleased we are with our bookshelf! It is just beautiful, and exactly what we hoped it would be. The construction and craftsmanship is first class, and we could not be happier with it. Please extend our thanks to your outstanding craftsmen/craftswomen for a job well done! We plan to post some very favorable comments about the work you did for us on your website. Is there any other way we could help “spread the word” about the great products and service you are providing, that would be helpful to your business? We want to do all we can to encourage and support builders of fine, American-made, furniture like Vermont Woods Studios. Best regards, Raymond and Bobbie S, Austin, Texas
What a great way to start the day, right? We’re sending our sincere thanks out to Raymond and Bobbie and also beginning to work on a webpage for them and other Vermont Woods Studios fans to publicly gush about Vermont’s fine furniture. Have any other feedback or suggestions for how we can make the most of your testimonials? Post your comments on our Furniture Testimonials page, in the space below, or better yet on our Facebook.
Looking for more detail about how customers like their Vermont made furniture? Check out these other blog posts:
- Furniture Reviews: Customer Ratings For Quality
- Online Furniture Shopping: Customer Reviews, Ratings and Complaints Drive Continuous Improvement
- Online Furniture Shopping: 2011 Customer Satisfaction Survey Results
- 98% Customer Satisfaction Rating for Vermont Made Furniture
- Vermont Furniture Reviews on Sitejabber
Home Office and Living Room Furniture Sale
Sean will be staffing the showroom this weekend during our Home Office and Living Room Furniture Sale. Give him a call or stop by — we don’t want him to get lonely.
With the weekend forecast bringing 90F+ weather, you may just find yourself inside taking refuge in the living room. And then while you’re sipping an ice cold, Vermont brewed Woodchuck Hard Cider (that’s Kelsey’s favorite) or a Long Trail (Dennis’ favorite) in front of the TV, you may start wishing you had a beautiful new entertainment center or media console. Or a couple handcrafted cherry end tables to set your drink on. Well if that happens, you’re in luck! Living room furniture and home office furniture are on sale at Vermont Woods Studios today through June 13th.
Now’s your chance to update your living room or home office with real wood furniture and timeless Vermont styling that shows off the beauty of natural wood. Take 10% off any single piece, 15% on two pieces, or 20% on three or more pieces of furniture*(plus free shipping). Your new solid wood furniture will be crafted especially for you in your choice of natural Cherry, Maple, Walnut, or Oak woods. Each piece of furniture is solidly built to last for generations and backed by a lifetime guarantee.
You can customize your new living room coffee table, TV stand, bookcase, desk, or wood filing cabinet online or if you prefer, contact us at 888-390-5571 to order by phone or discuss your questions. Sean will be staffing the showroom this weekend. Give him a call or stop by, even if it’s just so he doesn’t get lonely.
As always, Copeland and Polywood furniture are excluded from the sale but that’s only because we have a low price guarantee on them every day.
Things Change and So Will Your Natural Cherry Wood Furniture
Sean is drawing some interesting analogies between himself, Liz and natural cherry wood furniture today.
Guest blogger: Sean Henry
Editors note: Sean Henry and Liz Francese are our front line, crackerjack, Vermont-made furniture sales people. If you’ve purchased from us before you’ve probably talked to them on the phone (and you’ve definitely received emails from them) so you’ll totally “get” Sean’s tongue-in-cheek essay on how people and cherry wood change over time. If not, I guess you’ll just have to visit us at Stonehurst and see for yourself.
Let me explain something. When Liz and I were youngsters, we were adorable. No seriously, we were absolutely adorable. We were cute, blond, loveable, patriotic (me) and verbally expressive (Liz). As I am sure you can see from the pictures we were the kind of kids that parents would love to pull pictures out of their wallets to show off to all their friends. But as you can also see, things change. Well, maybe not all things change (this is where I tell you to look at both of the pictures of my favorite co-worker and see if you can find the similarities between the two pics).
Okay, so now that I have that part out of the way… The one thing I wanted to point out — and yes I am finally getting to the point — is that we both used to be blond or perhaps I should say dirty blond. We both had a nice, light head of hair and over time it has become a darker shade of brown. You may say to yourself, “what does any of this have to do with Cherry wood furniture?” Well let me tell you.
Natural Cherry wood is a lot like Liz and I. When it first arrives, it will be a light, almost dirty blond color. The light color of new Natural Cherry wood may not be what you expect to see after looking at all the beautiful images of cherry wood furniture on our website. Don’t worry, this will change. Over time, Cherry wood darkens or “ripens” as it ages and as it is exposed to light. As the Natural Cherry ripens, you will see the beauty of the wood and all its amazing characteristics come through. You will start to see a noticeable change after just a few months. After six months to a year it will have that rich, ripe auburn color. After that the color of the Cherry wood will change more gradually. You can see the difference in the pictures above.
One last thing I want to point out before I stop writing this long-winded blog (I am new at this). You have probably noticed my baby picture with the American flag and my very American red white and blue sailor suit. I thought it would be a good reminder to everyone that our Memorial Day Sale is coming up soon. So it might be the perfect time for some change and the perfect time to think about how our Vermont-Made, Handcrafted, ever-changing, beautiful, Natural Cherry wood furniture will look in your home!
Vermont Tavern Table
Our newest arrival, the Vermont Tavern Table is handcrafted in Vermont of solid cherry wood (table top) and a solid maple base that’s painted black.
We are excited to introduce our newest furniture item, the Vermont Tavern Table. This is a little different from our signature Shaker Style tables. It’s an Early American design, crafted with a thick, solid cherry top and a maple wood base that’s painted black. The base is traditionally crafted with large, William & Mary style turned legs. Our craftsmen were careful to remain true to the original designs and proportions of the tavern tables that first became popular in Vermont and throughout New England over 200 years ago.
You can customize the Vermont Tavern Table online in 6 sizes to fit perfectly into your dining room or kitchen. And we’ve added a new cherry ladder back chair that goes perfectly with the table to round out the Early American design.
Let us know what you think of this new handmade dining room furniture in the comments section below or on our Facebook. Give Liz and Sean a call if you have any questions. We’ll have this table in our new showroom at Stonehurst if you’d like to see it in person.
Frank Lloyd Wright Furniture to be Discontinued by Copeland
Need to round out your Frank Lloyd Wright Furniture collection? Better give Liz or Sean a call today as Copeland Furniture will be discontinuing this line as of June 30, 2013.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings but we were informed by Copeland Furniture yesterday that the following collections of their Frank Lloyd Wright furniture line are being discontinued as of June 30, 2013:
We are sorry to see these pieces go as they were a big hit with our customers. If you currently have Frank Lloyd Wright furniture and think you may want to round out your collection, now is the time to do it. Give Sean or Liz and call with any questions or to place an order.
On the upside, because of the limited nature of the pieces they are sure to gain value over time as they become collectors items. The Dana Thomas Grand Dining Collection, FLW Barrel chairs, the Boynton chairs, the Usonian Collection, the Heurtley House chairs and all of the Copeland Frank Lloyd Wright furniture pieces would certainly be a good investment at this time.
No More TV Dinners
The Modern American Dining Room Furniture set is on sale today!
Every day, multiple times a day, we sit down to eat a meal. Most people do not eat lunch at home, but lunch aside, you probably eat breakfast and dinner at home. Where in your house do you eat these meals? Do you sit at the table? Eat over the counter? Sit in front of a TV? An increasing amount of articles, which you can read here, here and here, state that those who eat in front of the TV are more likely to be obese.
You may be wondering, “why is a furniture retailer writing about the correlation between TV watching and obesity?” Let me make the connection for you: we sell dining furniture. It’s time to break that habit of sitting on the couch to eat dinner. Perhaps a new solid wood table and hardwood dining chairs would be an incentive to start having meals in your kitchen or dining room again.
Our dining room furniture is available in a variety of designs, shapes, and wood types, so there is something in our online gallery to fit any home’s style. All of our pieces of dining furniture are crafted in Vermont using sustainably harvested hardwoods. Each piece is built to order, so you can customize the piece to fit your needs. Whether you’re just looking for a small table to fit in the corner of your kitchen, or you’re looking for an extension table so you can host the next family holiday, our craftsmen can craft what you need.
Right now all of our dining room furniture is on sale! This is a buy more, save more sales event. Take 10% off one piece, 15% off two pieces, and 20% off three or more! It’s easy to earn the 20% off discount with this sale; a solid wood table and two dining chairs would do the trick! Plus, all of our dining furniture is backed by a lifetime guarantee.
Browse our online gallery (not while you’re eating, we hear that’s linked to obesity too) for your new hardwood dining furniture. If you have any questions for our fine furniture specialists, feel free to contact them.
Natural Wood Furniture: American Made For Healthy Homes
This Natural Wood Furniture set is part of our 100% American made Modern Shaker collection. The wood is sustainably harvested in local and regional forests that are managed by professional foresters. Furniture finishes are non toxic and eco friendly.
American Made Furniture vs Imports
While we’ve watched the price of most home decor items skyrocket over the last 30 years, have you noticed that the price of furniture has actually tumbled? It’s true. For a couple centuries we Americans prided ourselves on making high quality, natural wood furniture that was coveted around the world. North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont and other New England states were leaders in the fine furniture industry.
But in the 1960′s and 70′s many of America’s big furniture makers (like Ethan Allen, Broyhill, Thomasville and Lane) started to move their operations overseas and superior quality became a thing of the past (along with hundreds of thousands of American jobs). Prices fell dramatically. Instead of preserving our grandparents heirloom quality wooden furniture for our homes, we began buying cheap, trendy furniture imports and replacing them frequently as breakage occured.
Natural Furniture for the Healthy Home
Fast forward to 2013 when home owners are getting tired of cheap imported furniture that ends up on the curbside in 5 years. And they’re worried about the health effects of toxic flame retardants and formaldehyde that come standard with imports. Especially in households with children, it is simply not worth the risk.
Families are coming back to American made natural wood furniture with non-toxic finishes. Yes the furniture is more expensive up front, primarily because the American worker is paid a livable wage (as compared to wages that often amount to just a few dollars/day in Asia). But the high quality and environmental integrity of American made furniture is winning customers over. In fact, many brands are offered with a lifetime guarantee, indicative of the superior value of American made furniture over time.
What kind of furniture is in your home? Where was it made? Is it time to rediscover the real thing? Learn more about American made, natural wood furniture on the sustainability section of our website.
Shaker Furniture Sale: Last Chance to Save
This is our American Shaker Bedroom Furniture set, handmade in a small workshop just north of Montpelier, VT. It’s on sale this week until Thursday at midnight. You can find hundreds of other handmade Shaker furniture pieces also on sale– all 100% American made, right here in Vermont.
Just a quick note today to let customers know that our Shaker Furniture Sale ends Thursday of this week. It’s a “buy more–save more” event where you can save up to 20% on Shaker bedroom, dining room, living room, or home office furniture. Plus, receive free shipping and a lifetime guarantee.
Have a look at our Online Shaker Furniture Gallery and shop securely, easily, and conveniently from your dining table, office or back yard. Or give Liz or Sean a call at 888-390-5571 to order by phone or discuss your questions.
Our furniture is 100% American Made, solid wood furniture guaranteed for a lifetime of service to your family. Why settle for anything less?
Natural Cherry Furniture: Blossoming in Vermont
Vermont’s cherry trees are just starting to leaf out and will soon be blossoming this Spring. It’s hard to believe that these gangly trees covered with flakey gray, scales can be transformed into some of the world’s finest cherry furniture like the Cherry Moon Bed shown above.
Spring is the time of year when the (normally homely) black cherry tree gets to dress up and strut it’s stuff. Hard to believe isn’t it– that these gangly trees with rough, scaley bark will be transformed into beautiful flowering flora (and perhaps one day into natural cherry furniture like the Cherry Moon Bed above).
But it’s true. In a few short weeks they will be bursting with fragrant white and yellow blossoms which will give way to delicious black cherry fruit. These are the trees that provide a sustainable source of wood for over half of the furniture customers purchase from our store, Vermont Woods Studios.
Interested in learning more about cherry trees and natural cherry wood furniture for your home? We are the experts! Check out some of the many “cherry wood” articles we’ve written over the years and give us a call to let us know if you’ve got a question we’ve yet to answer. We’ll jump right on it!
- Cherry Wood Characteristics
- Natural Cherry Wood Furniture: What Color Is It… Really?
- Solid Cherry Wood Furniture: Is it Real?
- Cherry Wood Furniture: Where Does It come From?
- Solid Cherry Wood Furniture: 3 Ways To Tell If It’s Real
- Natural Cherry Wood Furniture Characteristics: Grain Variations
- Natural Cherry Wood Furniture Characteristics: Color
- Natural Cherry Wood Furniture Characteristics: Mineral Deposits
- Solid Cherry Furniture: 18 American Made Collections From Vermont
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