Happy New Year from Vermont Woods Studios

We want to wish all our Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture customers, fans and friends a very Happy and safe New Year.  Thanks to everyone for making 2010 a successful year for our craftspeople, our staff and our mission.
We look forward to serving you and your families in 2011.

Thanks for the picture to Jacquie Lawson greeting cards, the most beautiful greeting cards on the Internet.

American Made Furniture

Many thanks to Marcie Gabor and the fine folks at Made In The USA Brand for awarding Vermont Woods Studios Handmade Furniture their prestigious American made brand and logo certification.  Only about 100 American businesses have earned this distinction and we are proud to be one of them.  All of our furniture is indeed Made in the USA-- all handmade in Vermont actually.
Marcie published an interview with us on her blog last week, highlighting the question, "Do You Know Where Your Furniture Comes From?"  More and more our customers are interested in this issue and wanting to make sure their furniture is made of sustainably harvested wood and crafted in America.  If you have a business that makes all of your goods in the USA, give Marcie a call and help spread the word about American made products.

Merry Christmas from Vermont Woods Studios

Many thanks to all our customers, craftspeople, suppliers and friends who have supported our work at Vermont Woods Studios Furniture this year.  With your help we have managed to surpass our sales goals this year while still maintaining our high standards for quality and customer service.  We're pretty proud of that, especially during a time of such economic distress.
We'll take a minute or two to celebrate and revel but for the most part we are focused on the future and there's no time to lose.  2011 brings many new challenges as we continue to pursue our environmental mission by expanding our sustainable Vermont made furniture lines and adding a whole new line of eco-friendly recycled outdoor furniture to our store.
We hope you'll continue to follow our work and help us spread the news about the beautiful heirloom quality, solid wood furniture that Vermont is famous for.  Vermont truly is the Fine Furniture Capitol of America and now this authentic craftsmanship is finally available online and across the country-- and indeed the world. That's worth celebrating!
Wishing you all the best of good health, happiness and prosperity in 2011,
Peggy, Ken, Kendall, Riley, Manjula, Rebecca, Douglas, Dennis and our whole family of craftspeople at Vermont Woods Studios Furniture.

Adopt A Family For Christmas

It's getting close to Christmas.  Have you finished your shopping yet?  If not don't panic. Instead of going crazy trying to make a list, check it twice and scurry around in a frenzy, why not consider giving to a local charity in honor of those family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors on your list?  Nobody needs a new tie or pair of gloves anyway.  Wouldn't you rather have your friends give money to local families who need help, than stress over what new gimmick to give YOU?
We wanted to thank all the agencies who are sponsoring this fabulous alternative to gift-giving this year, it's-- Adopt A Family for Christmas.  At Vermont Woods Studios we're working with a local school.  They're seeing a greater need for food and winter clothing in their student families than they can ever remember.  Many families that used to be giving to projects like this are now in line to receive.

The Salvation Army sponsors Adopt A Family for Christmas projects across the country.  You local churches probably do the same.
It's fun for groups of people at work or in clubs or schools etc. to participate in. You'll get information on the ages and sexes of the people in a family that needs help.  You then either write a check or purchase the following: a toy and an article of clothing for each child, a present for each adult and enough food for a Christmas dinner.
So simple, but it means so much!

Vermont Made Shaker Style Furniture on Sale

Winter has arrived and with the snow comes our handmade, solid wood Shaker Style Furniture Sale! Whether readying your home for the upcoming holidays or looking for the perfect pieces to complement your Shaker Style decor we welcome you to browse and shop our Vermont Woods Studios Online Furniture Gallery.

Here you will find Vermont made solid hardwood Shaker Furniture for every room in your home. Available in natural cherry, maple, oak and walnut woods and traditionally crafted one piece at a time. Take 10% off any single piece or add more pieces and receive 15% off each piece. (plus Free Shipping and White Glove Delivery and set-up in your home).

Shop for your new Shaker bedroom, dining room, living room, or home office furniture securely, easily, and conveniently from our online store. Or if you prefer, contact us  at 888-390-5571 to order by phone or discuss your questions about our Vermont made, solid wood Shaker furniture. Hurry! This Sale ends at midnight on December 28th.

Is Amazon Plagiarizing Your Website?

I can't believe this.  Amazon.com sells dozens of books about how to avoid and protect yourself from plagiarism, but at the same time they're ripping off content from my Vermont Woods Studios furniture website and claiming it as their own.  Check out this site.  It's an Amazon site selling cheap imported furniture and claiming it's Vermont made. The URL and the title contain the words "Vermont Furniture".  The site automatically and systematically copies content from this blog, my twitter account and from other Vermont furniture makers' websites.
Do you find this surprising?  I've tried contacting Amazon and asking them to take the site down, but they don't acknowledge my emails.  My next correspondance is going to be to the Vermont Attorney General.  I realize it's not Amazon.com per se that's copying my content.  But the site owner is displaying Amazon's logo, linking to an Amazon account and sending the user to Amazon.com.  Amazon has to take some responsibility -- and probably shut this guy's account down.
I'm sure they wouldn't just pick on small Vermont furniture makers.  Seems to me like it must be part of a far bigger black hat marketing scheme linked to Amazon.  You may want to check and make sure they haven't hijacked the content on your website.  Let me know what you think.  Have any ideas for how to deal with these parasites?  Please send them my way.  Thanks!

Modern Shaker Furniture Collection - Insiders Scoop

We'll be introcuding our new luxury Modern Shaker Furniture Collection in a few weeks but I wanted to let you have an insiders look at what's to come.  This is one of the three lines of Arthur Weitzenfeld furniture we were photographing in Burlington last month.  We have several pieces up on the website now, but we're still working on it and the entire collection is not yet available online (it is available by phone).



 This is classic Shaker style furniture with a few modern twists, like arched aprons and curved corners.  Actually customers have their choice of square or rounded corners and edges.  It's amazing how different the pieces look just by changing that one feature-- the corners and edges.
These luxury collections by Arthur offer our customers a new finish choice too.  It's a high end, hand-rubbed linseed oil and wax finish-- something you don't see around much these days-- and it's absolutely incredible to the touch.  It's so finely sanded it feels almost like soft skin.  Keep checking back at Vermont Woods Studios furniture to see additional pieces coming online, including beds, chests, dressers, armoires, night stands, dining tables, buffets, hutches, occasional tables and more.  Check out the new photos on our homepage.

Cherry Sleigh Bed, Discount Wholesale Price, American Made

If you've always wanted a super luxurious king size, handcrafted sleigh bed this may be a great opportunity for you.  Our furniture is generally made to order and our prices are not inflated so you will rarely see items on sale for 40% off.  This bed happened to be too big to fit in our customer's bedroom so it was returned to us.  We have no space for it so we've put it on clearance sale for our cost.  Have a look!  It's ready to go and would make an awesome Christmas present, don't you think?  $1670 today.

The International Year of The Forest - 2011

2011 has been declared by the UN as the International Year of the Forest in an effort to raise awareness and strengthen the sustainable forest management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests for the benefit of current and future generations.
At Vermont Woods Studios Furniture our mission is rooted (no pun intended) in forest conservation so we're happy to see this campaign take shape.  Did you know that every second an area of rainforest the size of a football field is lost due to deforestation?

According to the World Bank, deforestation accounts for up to 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.  They also estimate that forests provide habitats to about two-thirds of all species on earth, and that deforestation of tropical rainforests could account for biodiversity loss of as many as 100 species a day.



We'd like to see the UN and governments do something to stop or slow deforestation but we think it will actually have to be green commerce that takes the lead on this.  Consumers have the power to decrease deforestation by purchasing forest products that are sustainably harvested.  Visit the Forest Stewardship Council FSC and Rainforest Relief websites to learn more about how to buy sustainable forest products, like the handmade wood furniture offered by Vermont Woods Studios.

Natural Cherry Wood Furniture Characteristics: Color

Customers are often surprised to learn that natural cherry wood changes colors over time-- quite a bit actually.  Natural cherry wood starts out as a light-toned wood, usually with a color similar to the Modern American 3 Drawer Nightstand shown and it takes time to darken as it is exposed to light.


The length of time to go from this light color to the darker color shown below in our Modern Shaker Bookcase varies with the amount of natural and artificial light in the room and can take anywhere from a month to a number of years.  Most customers, however report that their furniture darkens to at least this hue within 4-6 months.  Cherry will darken even further given enough light.

 
People often ask if there is a way to speed up the ripening process.
Our craftspeople suggest exposing the furniture to as much light as possible.  For cherry furniture that has an oil finish, you can also speed up the ripening (or darkening) process by re-oiling the furniture often. They recommend re-oiling once a day for the first week, once a week for the first month, once a month for the first year and once a year thereafter.
Adding a dark stain is also a possibility but woodworkers always plead with us to have patience and wait it out instead (there is really no comparison between stained cherry and the real thing).
The result-- a natural rich, reddish brown hue that is exceptionally lustrous and supple to the touch.  It is truly worth waiting for especially since our furniture is purchased for a lifetime of use.
Check out more photos of our natural cherry furniture in the Modern American Collection, Contemporary Craftsman Collection and throughout our website.

Vermont Furniture Featured on Local Radio Station, WTSA

Our thanks go out to Vernon, USA's most famous DJ, the Great Tim Johnson of WTSA.net for inviting us into his studio for an interview highlighting the work of Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture Makers.
Tune in to 96.7FM and you'll hear snippets of our conversation with Tim interspersed with great music, local news and lots of fun and games.
Led by Tim, WTSA does a lot of good work for our community including projects like Feed the Thousands and The Reformer Christmas Stocking.  We appreciate Tim's outreach work and are proud to be included in WTSA's fine programming.

Just Don't Call Her a Woodchuck

When you call Vermont Woods Studios Furniture it's very likely the first person you talk to will be Rebecca.  Sort of a formal name isn't it?  So customers have come up with lots of permutations like Bec, Reba, Becaroni, Beckmeister and now today someone added Becster.  We work hard to reinforce these nicknames in the office (to keep her ego in check-- you know), so bring 'em on.  But don't tell Rebecca we told you to.

This is a picture of Rebecca during our last furniture photo shoot.  Bruce is in the front.  Lester and Ryan are in the back.  We call them Chuck and Bore--  nick names are popular around here.

Luxury Vermont Made Furniture on Sale Today!

Here's a sneak peak at the four new furniture lines Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture is introducing in 2011 from Burlington furniture designer, Arthur Weitzenfeld.  We've put them all on a Sneak Peak Sale for the holidays.  These collections feature classic wood furniture designs updated with modern styling.  Check out the traditional and timeless style favorites such as Craftsman, Arts & Crafts, Art Deco, and Shaker -- all with a modern influence and flair.

Perfect for the contemporary home or room. Find new modern wood furniture for your bedroom, dining, living room or home office. Each piece is expertly crafted in Vermont and available in natural Cherry, Maple, Walnut, or woods. Modern in design but still traditionally hand built and finished to last for generations of use.

Take 10% off any single piece or add another piece and receive 15% off your order. (plus Free White Glove Delivery and set-up in your home).  Hurry, this Sale ends at midnight on December 14th.

Marlboro College MBA Program Collaborates on Vermont Furniture Project

Our thanks go out to the fine people at the Marlboro College Graduate Center in Brattleboro, Vermont for their help and support in a recent project we collaborated on together.
MBA students, Jennifer Marshall Grantham, Rupert Grantham and Don Simms who are completing their Masters in Business Administration Degrees in Managing for Sustainability worked with us at Vermont Woods Studios to provide research and recommendations on growth strategies for our business.
We greatly appreciate their time, talents and insight into our business.  I also wanted to thank their advisors Bruce Gardner of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation BDCC and Will Keyser of the Marlboro Grad Center and Startup Owl, who have contributed their expertise to our strategic growth plan.  We value this partnership and look forward to further collaborations in the future.

Solid Cherry Wood Furniture Characteristics: Mineral Deposits

On the last post we talked about natural cherry wood furniture with regard to grain variations in the wood.  Today I wanted to provide some detail about naturally occuring mineral deposits that are characteristic of cherry.
In cherry wood small black flecks occur in the grain where tiny amounts of sap were stored in the cherry tree.   If you click on the photos for a larger view, you may be able to see them (or you may have to enlarge the photos: hold down your CTRL key and press the [+] key at the same time).

Mineral deposits (or pitch pockets) are natural and randomly occurring.  They do not diminish the strength or quality of your furniture.  As we say: they add to its uniqueness. 

The frequency of mineral deposits in our furniture varies with each tree utilized but it is largely reflected in the product photos here and throughout our website.  Like any other fine furniture maker we cannot guarantee the absence of mineral deposits in our cherry wood furniture and we cannot consider the presence of mineral deposits a reason for furniture returns, per our lifetime guarantee policy.

Looking for Cherry Furniture with Virtually No Mineral Deposits?
Most of our furniture makers are reluctant to offer cherry furniture without mineral deposits for a couple reasons. First, it is against our sustainable forestry principles.  Up to five times the number of trees need to be harvested to produce furniture with virtually no mineral deposits.  Second, the presence of mineral deposits in cherry wood can be a matter of opinion.  What one customer might feel was mineral-deposit free furniture may not be the same for another customer.
If mineral deposits are an issue for you, give us a call.  We'll work something out... although I should mention that the price of a "virtually mineral deposit-free" piece is generally about twice that of the regular piece.

Vermont Luxury Online Furniture Store Showcased Nationally on BNET

Many thanks to Caitlin Mara Elsaesser, Journalist Extraordinaire for featuring Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture on nationally acclaimed BNET,

"The hub of the CBS Interactive Business Network, BNET.com provides working professionals with the advice and insights they need to get ahead in today’s workplace. It isn’t a site for those who merely punch the clock: It’s for business leaders—of today and the future--who believe in the meaning of work and who know that nurturing excellence in their staff and their organization is the true measure of success."

We hope Caitlin's article, "How We Saved Our Luxury Furniture Business By Selling to Middle America" will help other entrepreneurs when they're exploring options to keep their businesses growing during tough times.  It's always a work in progress for us and we're thankful for the inspiration we constantly get get from our customers and our mission.
Thanks Caitlin for spotlighting our work with Vermont's finest furniture makers.