Organized crime is currently responsible for an unprecedented rate of rainforest destruction.  Unchecked illegal logging is rampant in tropical countries too poor to effectively monitor and enforce conservation regulations.  You can help save the rainforest by avoiding the purchase of imported forest products like wood furniture and flooring.

Forest conservation is at the heart of our mission at Vermont Woods Studios and we’re always trying to raise awareness about where your wood furniture comes from.  If you’re committed to buying American made furniture– no worries.  Chances are it’s made from legal wood, sustainably harvested from well-managed forests right here in North America.

But if you’re buying imported wood furniture (and according to a Washington Post article 70% of furniture sold in America is imported) then: Houston, we have a problem.

A recent Washington Post article by Brad Plumer entitled Organized Crime is Getting Rich Cutting Down the Rainforest describes how the illegal logging trade has become just as lucrative (and far more destructive) than the drug-trafficking industry.  50 to 90 percent of forestry in tropical areas is now controlled by criminal groups!  “A great deal of logging simply takes place illegally — much of it in tropical areas such as the Amazon Basin, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia.” (ref: United Nations and Interpol)

The U.N. estimates that illicit logging is now worth between $30 billion to $100 billion, or up to 30 percent of the global wood trade.  That illegal wood is often shipped from pristine rainforests to China, Vietnam and other third world countries where it’s fabricated into low quality furniture which is sold to US consumers. We’ve written quite a bit about the links between rainforest destruction, global warming and the furniture and flooring you choose for your home:

• Blog posts on rainforest conservation and protection of endangered species of the forest
• Tiger Conservation, Rainforest Preservation and Your Furniture
• Forest Conservation is About More than Trees
• Saving The Rainforest:  Why Green Consumerism Is Key
• And lots more

If you’re considering buying furniture at IKEA, Home Depot or any big box store… ask where the lumber originates and let us know what you find on our Facebook or in the comments section below.  Then re-discover sustainable, American made wood furniture and join us in feeling good about your furniture and your green home.

The post Is Your Wood Furniture Brought to You by Organized Crime? appeared first on Vermont Woods Studios.

Recently I’ve been bombarded by furniture television and radio commercials all with the same message, “look for the Made in America tag all over our stores!” My immediate thought was, that’s great, more big box stores are jumping on the American made bandwagon. Then, I was a little frustrated. Why should consumers have to zig-zag through large stores trying to find a small tag signifying that the product was made in America? Shouldn’t retailers make it easy for customers to find the products made right here in our own country? Vermont Woods Studios sure thinks so!

Shopping from our online gallery you don’t have to look for the made in America tag, because we sell 100% American made furniture. No gimmicks and no tricks. Our furniture has been, and always will be, made in America. Not only does buying American made products help our economy, but American made products signifies quality. So when you’re looking for high quality, American made furniture, don’t look for the tag, just come to us!

American Made Bedroom Furniture

If you’ve landed on this page because you’re already in the process of looking for American made furniture, then I have a surprise for you. Right now is our American Made Bedroom Furniture Sale. Our solid wood bedroom furniture is individually crafted right here in Vermont by skilled fine furniture makers. Because each piece is crafted to order, you can customize the piece as little or as much as you want based on what you see in our online gallery. Choose from natural cherry, maple, oak, or walnut wood, as a starter. Additional customizable options are shown in the drop down menus of each individual product.

We have hundreds of quality bedroom furniture pieces in our online gallery. Choose from over 80 solid wood beds, over 70 dressers, over 100 chest of drawers, over 60 nightstands, and dozens of armories and mirrors. Our American made bedroom furniture is also available in a variety of styles, from traditional shaker, to a modern style, so there is something to perfectly match everyone’s home.

Start browsing our online gallery today! Our fine furniture specialists are also available to take your order by phone or to discuss your questions about our American made furniture. Use our live chat option in the top right corner of our website, email them, or give them a call at 888-390-5571.

*This sale excludes Copeland Furniture, which holds a low-price guarantee 365 days a year.

The post Don’t Look For The “Made in America” Tag appeared first on Vermont Woods Studios.

A customer sent us the pretty snapshot of our Contemporary Craftsman Furniture installed in his bedroom.  Nice craftsman design, accented with a cheerful comforter and an adorable puppy!

Vermont’s Home to Some of Today’s Best Craftsman Furniture

Around the turn of the 20 century, Gustav Stickley was perhaps the most famous maker of craftsman furniture.  But in contemporary times, you’ll find some of the best Craftsman style designers building high end furniture right here in Vermont.

Today’s Craftsman furniture retains the robust solid wood architecture and attention to detail of the originals by Stickley, Greene and Greene and others.  But it often incorporates lighter, modern elements adapted from Asian furniture styles.  The Contemporary Craftsman furniture shown above is handcrafted in Burlington, Vermont of solid maple wood with black walnut accents.

I think the gentle curves in the legs and drawer pulls change the personality of Craftsman furniture from HEAVY and strong to light and cheerful.  This photo is one a customer kindly submitted (thanks Neil!).  The pretty floral print (and adorable puppy) really tops off the modern craftsman style they’ve created for their bedroom, don’t you think?

Another customer sent this photo of our Cherry Moon Furniture Collection. Robin’s attention to detail creates a beautiful result:  timeless furniture to enjoy for the rest of your life.

The Cherry Moon Furniture Collection

Here’s another customer photo of what I’ll call Vermont Craftsman furniture.  It’s our Cherry Moon bedroom, handmade in Montpelier, VT.  This bedroom set is made of all solid cherry wood with black walnut accents (drawer pulls).  Here the curves are still graceful, but in different places.  This cherry wood furniture is a couple years old, so it has darkened to a rich reddish brown color.  If it’s hard to see the details and craftsmanship, check out our Cherry Moon collection and click on the photos for larger images.  Robin’s attention to detail creates a beautiful result:  timeless furniture to enjoy for the rest of your life.

More Vermont Craftsman Furniture

We have a number of other craftsman and mission style furniture collections on our website.  All can be customized with two toned wood combinations (maple and black walnut, cherry and black walnut) like those you see here.  We also carry the Frank Lloyd Wright Furniture collection by Copeland Furniture and custom Craftsman Collection by Chad Woodruff of Vernon, VT.

To learn more about Craftsman Furniture, visit our showroom or check out our Vermont Furniture Encyclopedia.

The post Contemporary Craftsman Furniture appeared first on Vermont Woods Studios.

We have a large variety of solid wood desks to fit all your home office needs. Whether you need a lot of storage, or you like the minimalistic look, we have the real hardwood office furniture you’re looking for.

Slimmed down technology is rapidly changing the sizing and functional needs of furniture. The rooms that are most impacted by this change is the living room and home office, because these rooms are home to most of our electronic devices.

Real Wood Home Office Furniture

When you trade in your large desktop computer for a sleek laptop, you will probably find yourself trading in your large computer armoire for a writing desk. Trading in your clunky old computer desk means that you can finally get rid of the cheap particle board desk! It’s time for you to treat yourself to real wood home office furniture. This furniture, unlike your electronics, will stay in style and will last forever.

Despite how small our electronics have become, we have found that people really enjoy having a little storage space in their real wood home office furniture- even if it’s just one small center drawer. We offer a variety of storage options with our home office furniture, because we know how much a difference it can make. If you like the new minimalist look of desks, a desktop organizer, or a hutch (shown in the image above) can be a great option. It provides you with enough space to hide away your chargers and cords, but doesn’t take up too much additional space. Small wood filing cabinets are another option for storage in your home office. Our two-drawer filing cabinets are small enough that they can nest right under your desk.

Media consoles come in many sizes and varieties. Flat screen TVs mounted on our living room walls have cut back the need for a large TV stand to hold our electronic devices.

Solid Wood Living Room Furniture

It is common for a contemporary living room to have a flat screen TV mounted on the wall, or set on a small media console. This cuts down on the space we use in our living rooms, allowing more space for a nice rocking chair. Similarly to the home office, our new electronic devices assist our decisions in furniture. Many people are looking for a small, simple wood media console that holds their cable box, Blu-Ray player, and sound system. In our online gallery you will find a variety of media consoles that store these devices in a number of ways. Some of our tv stands have glass doors to display the contents. Others have solid wood doors, so you don’t have to worry about keeping your cords always look neat and organized. For those of you who still enjoy a large piece of furniture to use as a focal point, we have a variety of wood entertainment centers. Our entertainment centers offer more storage space for your living room.

Sale

With our Home Office & Living Room Sale, you can save up to 20% on your new, slimmed-down or traditional wood furniture. Start shopping our Vermont made furniture today. You can conveniently shop 24 hours a day from our online gallery. If you perfer to order by phone, or have any questions about our furniture, you can contact us at 888-390-5571. This sale ends on December 18th.

So, what do you think? Do you prefer traditional style home office and living room furniture, or the new minimalist designs? Share your thoughts in the comments section, or start a conversation on Facebook.

The post Traditional vs. Minimalist: Home Office & Living Room Furniture appeared first on Vermont Woods Studios.

Veterans Day is a time to pause and thank those who served or are serving in our armed forces and support the military. As part of the celebration, Vermont Woods Studios ran a four day benefit sale to raise money to donate to the Adopt a Soldier Program. With $20 of every sale being collected, we are proud to announce that we were able to raise $350 towards adopting Sgt. Peter A. Avila’s family.

Sgt. Peter A. Avila is currently serving with the 25th Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade, D Company located in Hawaii.  Peter began in the military as a Marine and now is a US Army Soldier. He has served four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and will soon be deployed again.  Peter’s wife Crystal is suffering from kidney disease and debilitating complications.  Peter and Crystal’s two little boys (Kenan and Kaleb) and a baby girl (Deanna) are growing up without their father’s presence nor do they have family members living close enough to assist in times of need.  Many other military families are in similar circumstances, serving their country without complaint.

The Adopt A Soldier website provides easy ways to help, such as:

• Donate a holiday gift or phone card
• Send letters to our troops
• Send a care package to a soldier or his/her family
• Make a financial donation to a soldier’s family

Thank you to everyone who purchased from us or donated to the Adopt a Soldier Program during Veterans Day this year. And a big thank you to all of our military personnel! That staff at Vermont Woods Studios appreciates the sacrifices and dedication of our service men and women.

The post Thank You for Helping Us Support the Military on Veterans Day appeared first on Vermont Woods Studios.

Don't forget to watch us (or set your DVR) tomorrow night on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer and then join with all of us who are promising to buy at least some American made gifts this Christmas– and be sure to get counted on Facebook! 

As a company that sells exclusively American made furniture (Vermont-made, actually) we're psyched to get this level of traction behind our push to create more American jobs.  As consumers, we have the power and what better time than Christmas (when we're each spending an average of $700 on gifts) to excercise that power!

The post Made in America Furniture Sale: Back For The Holidays appeared first on Vermont Woods Studios.

If you're someone who drives an eco-friendly fuel efficient car, you may be interested to know that your choice of furniture has a bigger impact on the environment than your car choice.  That's because deforestation is repsonsible for a greater contribution to air pollution and global warming than the entire transportation sector.

Take a minute to watch our nationally broadcast video segment about American made furniture crafted from sustainably harvested wood and let us know what you think.  We'll look forward to hearing from you!

The post Vermont Eco Furniture Featured Nationally on The Weather Channel appeared first on Vermont Woods Studios.

Many thanks to Harris Faulkner and Chris Snyder at Fox News for making us feel so welcome and comfortable on the set of The Strategy Room.  A segment of the interview is posted on the Fox News website. 

Harris was most interested in the fact that a high tech Internet business is run out of a horse farm in Vermont.  What's so unusual about that?

Have I been in the country too long?

Got to get back to feeding chickens and mending fences now

 


Many thanks to Annette for providing us this beautiful space to
work in.

The post VWS Farm Office and Showroom A Hit on Fox News appeared first on Vermont Woods Studios.

Here is a photo of Polly's living room, showing a custom Cherry Moon Coffee Table and a Cherry Moon End Table.

 

And here's a photo of a different custom Cherry Moon Coffee Table.

Polly's Vermont-made Shaker cherry dining table and Mission chairs
have a very different style than the Cherry Moon pieces, but the cherry
wood really ties it all together, doesn't it?  Well that and Polly's  interior decorating skill.

I hope you enjoyed this peek into Polly's home as much as I did.  Thanks for sharing the photos, Polly!

The post Vermont Made Furniture: A Customer Shares Photos of Her Beautiful Home appeared first on Vermont Woods Studios.