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!

The post Things Change and So Will Your Natural Cherry Wood Furniture appeared first on Vermont Woods Studios.

Heather Barrett (left) and Loryn Dion, the women behind Vermont’s Green Furniture Blog are showing off their Secret Santa gifts, received at our Made in America Christmas Party.  Heather has a Tervis tumbler and a Kringle candle.  Loryn has a set of handmade ceramic coasters designed and created by Heather.

Who Writes Vermont’s Green Furniture Blog?

There’s a lot of creative energy at Vermont Woods Studios these days and happily we have a number of talented writers who are willing to share our daily goings on through this green furniture blog.  Pictured above are Heather Barrett (left) of Brattleboro VT and Loryn Dion (right) of Northfield MA who work long and hard on many aspects of our Vermont furniture store, including keeping you up to date on the latest office shenanigans.

Holiday Hot Topic: Made in America Christmas Shopping Challenge

The photo above was taken Friday at our “Made in America” Secret Santa party where each of us gave and received American made Christmas gifts.  It’s part of our Made in America Holiday Shopping Challenge (we figure with Americans spending about $586 Billion this holiday season, if all of those gifts were made in America it could generate 5.8 million jobs.  OK we know that not every gift can or should be made in America, but still shopping “American made” can create a lot of jobs).

Not Just Red, White and Blue– Green Too!

Anyway, if you want to follow these two creative writers you’ll find their contributions right here every week.  Besides keeping us up to date on American made Christmas gift ideas, Heather tends to blog about green furniture, Vermont Travel and all things adventurous and exciting in the Green Mountain state.  Loryn’s been keeping her focus on Green decor and interior design but you never know what kind of provocative topics she might wander off into.

To stay in touch with Heather and Loryn, subscribe to this blog on the top right or join their conversations on Facebook.  And keep a look out for insider secrets from their newly recruited accomplice, Liz Francese who’ll be taking you on occasional trips behind the veil at Vermont Woods Studios Sales and Customer Service.  More about Liz coming soon!

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Meet Liz Francese! She and Heather Gantt are our Sales and Customer Service crew, working with you to help with furniture selection as well as answering your questions about Vermont’s fine wood furniture and how it gets from the forest to your dining room.

If you’ve called us at Vermont Woods Studios to ask about fine furniture, place an order or just find out more about our company, there’a a good chance you talked to Elizabeth Francese.  Liz and Heather Gantt are our “front office” Sales and Customer Service crew, working with customers on the phone, via online chat, email and in person.

It’s hard to believe that Liz has been here for 4 months!  And I’m just now getting around to introducing her to you.  Well, it’s not entirely my fault since she (like everyone else around here) isn’t all that crazy about being in the spotlight.  It’s possible, actually that she’s been dodging me about this blog post.

Anyway, if you’ve been working with her on a furniture order, you already know how personable, diligent and smart Liz is.  She’s a quick study and that’s good because the learning curve is pretty steep around here and the stakes are high.  For example, if your furniture has already been crafted and you’re waiting for shipping and delivery, Liz is the logistics wizard who makes all that happen.  She coordinates between you, your craftsman and our shipper to ensure your furniture arrives on time and in pristine condition.  It can be a high-pressure job but she’s up to the task and we’re getting a lot of feedback from happy customers who are pleased with the results.

While introducing Liz though, maybe I should share a few things you won’t already know.  Well… she’s a graduate of Keene State College with a BA in English and a minor in art.  While in school Liz volunteered for alternative Spring Break projects in New Orleans (post Hurricane Katrina, painting houses in poverty stricken areas) and Moab UT (removing invasive species from public lands and making trails).

Locally she’s volunteered in many environmental projects, including cleaning the Ashuelot River and participating in the Solar Festival.  Oh and I don’t want to forget this little known fact– Liz used to work at the Fantastic Umbrella Factory, which sounds like a fascinating place you might want to visit one of these days.

So that’s the inside scoop on Liz Francese.  She’s been an extremely competent and fun-loving addition to our group and we’re feeling very lucky to have her here at Vermont Woods Studios.  Next time you call, ask Liz what she’s up to and how her day is going.  You’re sure to get an interesting answer!

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