custom furniture
Vermont – The Fine Furniture Capitol of America
Looking for authentic handmade wood furniture, made in the good 'ol USA? It's not so easy to find it anymore, is it? Most Americans think of North Carolina as the fine furniture capitol of the USA, but over the past 30 years, that has changed. The furniture companies we think of as being quintessentially American — for example Thomasville, Broyhill, Ethan Allen and Lane — no longer make much, if any furniture in the USA. Instead they outsource their furniture to factories in China, Vietnam and other third world countries.
So where does one go to find authentic, high quality, handmade wood furniture? It turns out that Vermont is now considered to be the fine furniture capitol of the country. By unofficial count, some 2000 small wood furniture makers dot the rural Vermont countryside, taking advantage of the heavily forested nature of our state for supply of natural, eco-friendly raw materials.
At Vermont Woods Studios Furniture we represent many of these craftsmen, providing a low cost venue for the marketing and sale of their work. Our mission is to collaborate with Vermont's fine furniture makers, enabling them to spend more time in their studios doing what they do best: making beautiful, solid wood furniture. At the same time we can focus on our expertise: customer service– thus creating greater efficiency and the best possible prices for your heirloom quality handmade furniture. Give us a call to learn more about Vermont's many fine furniture makers and how to bring their work into your home or office.
Handmade Wood Furniture: Decreasing The Lead Time
Everyone wants to have handcrafted, American made wood furniture in their home. Why not? It's beautiful, lasts for generations and adds warmth and richness to your space. But at Vermont Woods Studios we do understand that not everyone is able to wait 8-10 weeks to have their furniture custom crafted. Often customers come to us as they are preparing for guests for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas, a birthday celebration or other holiday and they need their furniture fast.
Well lucky for us, Vermont furniture makers are working hard to meet those needs. We are currently able to offer many dining tables and dining chairs with a lead time of just 2-3 weeks. Give us a call or email us regarding lead times for the furniture pieces you're interested in. Believe it or not, it's still possible to have a dining room furniture set crafted just for you with delivery in time for Thanksgiving dinner!
The Vermont Fine Furniture Festival
Ken managed to get me on his Harley this weekend and we drove up to Woodstock to see our friends and colleagues at the Vermont Fine Furniture Festival. If you haven't been yet, you are missing out! It's well worth the trip, especially on a beautiful day like we had this year. Here are some pictures of the festival and our trip.
Here's Bruce Wilkie of On Vermont Time – Beautiful handcrafted clocks and custom furniture.
Vermont's beautiful Fall produce and flowers are available at farm stands everywhere. Sadly we had no room to carry any home 
Many of the finest furniture makers in the state and indeed the country
were at the Festival showing their latest works of art, demonstrating
their craft and offering fabulous deals on handcrafted, Vermont made
solid wood furniture.
Scott Duffy of Rockledge Farm was showing this beautiful walnut table. It has a soft live edge you can barely see, but it's absolutely gorgeous.
Jim Becker makes incredible windsor chairs, barstools and lots of other beautiful furniture as well.
This is a new Craftsman bed we're just beginning to carry at Vermont Woods Studios.
Neal Albert of Shelburne Fine Woodworking makes high end custom kitchen cabinets and a line of custom tables with secret compartments.
A wooden guitar case from the Vermont Woodworking school.
More fabulous produce at Harlow's Farm on the way home.
If you were unlucky enough to miss the Vermont Furniture Festival this year, put it on your calendar for next year. It's always around the last weekend in September. It's a great destination and the perfect excuse to get outside and enjoy Vermont's colorful Autumn scenery.
Buying Furniture Online
Five years ago who would have ever even considered buying high end furniture online? Probably not many but several factors have been changing that. Today you can buy almost anything online and the process for buying furniture just keeps getting better and easier. Here are a few things to consider if you're shopping for fine furniture online:
Quality, Style and Price – Shopping online opens up a whole new world of choices when it comes to furniture quality, style and price. Even if you're planning to buy your furniture at a local brick and mortar store, you'll benefit from researching these options online and learning how they affect each other. You can also get an idea of what prices are fair and reasonable, as prices for the same piece of furniture can vary unbelievably from store to store.
Customization – Big box stores don't typically offer customization but smaller local stores usually do and so do many online furniture stores. A lot of our customers who live in Boston, Manhattan and other cities need to have their furniture customized to fit small spaces and we're happy to accommodate that. Custom furniture is not necessarily any more expensive than catalog furniture, especially if we're working off an existing design that just needs to be sized up or down to fit into your space.
Lead Time – Buying furniture online often means factoring in additional lead time for crafting and/or shipping. For example, at Vermont Woods Studios the average time between order placement and delivery to your home is about 6 weeks. That can vary depending on the particular pieces of furniture ordered, the degree of customization and the customer's location.
One last thing: online furniture stores have had to really focus on customer service in order to survive. The Internet provides such an accessible forum for reviews of our quality that there is no room for mistakes or less than stellar customer service. This is a great thing for both customers and the industry. It raises the bar for online and brick and mortar stores alike.
Vermont Fine Furniture Festival- Mark Your Calendar
It's hard to believe September is here already. The kids are back in school and even though it's a beautiful sunny 90F day here at Vermont Woods Studios, our minds are turning to Vermont's Autumn season and our many Fall fairs and festivals.
My favorite is the Vermont Fine Furniture Festival in Woodstock, VT. This year the dates are September 25-56, 2010 and it's in the Union Arena in Woodstock, VT. Many of Vermont's finest furniture makers will be displaying their work and giving you an insider's view of how authentic handmade wood furniture is crafted. You'll be able to meet the furniture makers and purchase handmade wood furniture off the floor or order affordable custom furniture to be crafted just for you and delivered directly to your home.
If you've ever been inclined to visit Vermont to enjoy the Fall weather and take in some leaf peeping, consider combining your trip with a visit to the Furniture Festival. While you're there, let the craftspeople know if you believe as I do, that Vermont is truly the Fine Furniture Capitol of America.
Cherry Dining Furniture: Customer Feedback
I wanted to share this customer feedback with you and also express our gratitude to Gail P, who took the time our of her very busy day to write this kind review. Thanks Gail!
Dear Peggy and Kendall, Thank you so much for the mug
and coffee from Vermont Woods Studios Furniture. That was a very nice touch – something
kind that you didn't have to do. It jogged my memory and now I'm
sending photos for you.
The buffet which was customized to my specifications is just what I
imagined! It is gorgeous. The delivery was just as promised as well. The
two delivery men were extremely courteous and careful. They were also
very patient while they waited for me to fully examine the furniture.
I have sent you photos of the buffet in its place in my dining room.
We are in California, so I'm sure both the buffet and the table will
change some more in color.
I also sent you photos of the buffet doors
open so you could see that I did make good use of the extra shelves on
one side. I am delighted with the cabinets on the bottom instead of
drawers. It's absolutely right for me. I would never have found the
perfect buffet in a store.
I do not do much ordering online. I hesitated for a long time before I
placed the order. I think the thing that convinced me was an online
comment from someone in Camarillo, CA who had visited your shop in the
summer to see what it was, then ordered and received their furniture
here, less than an hour from our home in Ojai. When I paid the full
amount at the outset, a couple of my relatives questioned my wisdom.
However, having conversed with Kendall on the phone and by e-mail and
having read everything I could find about you on the internet, I felt
quite confident that it would turn out all right and that we would
receive what we wanted. I was not at all disappointed.
My daughter who lives nearby is amazed at how perfect the buffet is
in our dining room. I haven't had much company in just two weeks, but
the one couple who came over for dinner admired it immediately. Thank
you so much for all your patience with my questions and changes. I
appreciate so much the customer service you provided. I am definitely a
perfectionist, so I am totally pleased with all the care you have taken
from planning to constructing to shipping and delivering the buffet.
I am totally happy to support a company like yours
which has sustainability at the core of its existence.
I am also glad to support the individual craftsmen. My father-in-law
has a complete wood shop on his farm where he and my husband have built
more simple furniture like tables, beginning with trees on the farm.
Therefore, my husband has a great appreciation for the craftsmanship of
the buffet.
Thank you for everything! I will definitely recommend your company if
the opportunity arises. The buffet is absolutely an advertisement for
you. I look forward to many years of admiring it in my dining room. I
will not forget its source!
Sincerely, G Peterson, Ojai, CA
Custom Musician’s Stool Gets Nod From Expert in Comfortable Seating
We've been working really hard trying to convey through photos, how absolutely gorgeous Greg Goodman's custom musician's stools are. Somehow the fine art of Greg's choice of figured wood and expert craftsmanship are nearly impossible for an amateur to bring to life through online images.
I guess Bongo sensed our frustration and was kind enough to jump up on the seat and give us a pose we could actually handle with our limited photographic capabilities.
He felt that portraying the level of comfort and confidence afforded by the stool was more important than the quality and craftsmanship involved.
Cats always have their own agenda.
Custom Walnut Dining Furniture
Here's a photo of some beautiful custom walnut dining furniture sent to us by Robert T in Connecticut. Robert basically designed the buffet himself. He started with our Large Vertical-Buffet Media Center and had us craft it with just one side cabinet instead of two. He also increased the height of the unit from 60"H to 67"H. I think it came our beautifully.
Robert also customized our Round Back Chair. This is a chair we typically offer in cherry only, but Robert called to ask if we could craft it in walnut. Since we only make this chair style a couple times each year he had to wait, but he was willing to do that and look how nice they turned out!
The dining room set was completed with our Modern Contemporary Dining Table in solid walnut. The finish for the set is a hand-rubbed Danish oil.
Congrats to Robert for designing such a beautiful dining set. Enjoy!
Find more ideas for custom walnut furniture here.
Custom Bookcases From Vermont Woods Studios
I love it when customers share photos of their furniture after it's been installed in their homes. It really brings our work full circle and gives us a great feeling about what we're doing.
See the narrow space available Bill P. had for this bookcase? We customized the width of our Cherry Moon Bookcase so it would fit perfectly into this space. Bill and his wife wanted doors on the bottom half of the unit too, so we added them. And we made the unit shorter so it didn't obscure light switches and outlets.
Bill needed another bookcase to be customized for a taller height and without doors. This one turned out to be just the ticket.
It doesn't take long for me to to fill up the shelves either Bill
We're so happy that you love your new furniture!
Vermont Woods Studios Furniture Featured in New England Home Magazine
Thanks to editor extraordinaire Erin Marvin, Vermont Woods Studios has once again been featured in New England Home magazine. Our Modern Equinox Table is showcased as "one of our favorite must-haves for the season" with "curves in all the right places".
We are proud to be recognized in such a prestigious collection of unique and beautiful handcrafted New England furniture. Thanks, Erin!
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