The Origins of Shaker Furniture: A History Quiz!

Last updated on February 28th, 2019 at 04:22 pm

Shaker furniture is on sale today.  Learn about it's origins and see how it's made.
Our Shaker furniture sale is going on today!  Do you know where this timeless and enduring furniture comes from?  Take our quiz below and then come visit us at Stonehurst to appreciate Shaker style up close and personal.

In honor of our current Shaker furniture sale, I thought we should highlight a little history about the people who developed this beautiful, simple and elegant style.  Their creation is timeless and enduring & it continues to be one of the most popular fashions in the furniture market today.

I bet you already know a bit of history about the Shakers.  Test your knowledge by filling in the blanks below:

  1. The term Shakers is derived from the Shaking __________, a small, radical group from England who first came to America in 1774, led by the prophet Ann Lee.
  2. Today there is only one active Shaker community, with three members, who live on _______________ Lake in the state of _____________.
  3. ______________  was a part of Shaker orthodoxy, so Believers had no choice but to recruit people from the outside world to prevent their communities from dying out.
  4. Early Shaker furniture makers focused on simplicity in their designs because they believed that excessive ornamentation or decoration was a sin of _________.
  5. The Shakers were among the first in America to try mass production. Unlike the Amish, the Shakers embraced technology that increased ____________, believing that they were saving time that belonged to God.

How did you do?  Check your answers with the key below:

  1. Quakers
  2. Sabbathday Lake in Maine
  3. Celibacy
  4. Pride
  5. Efficiency

Of course this beautiful style can’t be fully appreciated in photos, so make plans to come visit us at Stonehurst and shop our Shaker furniture sale today!

 

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This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains.

American Made Outdoor Furniture: What’s The Best Wood?

Last updated on June 30th, 2022 at 02:59 pm

Best Wood for Outdoor Furniture?
I think the best wood to use for outdoor furniture isn’t wood at all. It’s POLYWOOD, made out of recycled milk jugs and guaranteed for a lifetime of outdoor use.  Shown here is the new Bayline Dining Furniture Collection.

Tis the season for buying outdoor furniture and prepare for spring and summer!  Even in Vermont we have a couple nice days each year when everyone wants to lounge in the sun with a cold drink and a good book.

Our customers often discover us when they’re searching for American made, eco-friendly furniture.  We’ve worked in collaboration with Vermont furniture makers for many years but have stuck to selling just sustainable indoor furniture for the dining room, bedroom and home office.

So when customers began to ask for outdoor porch, pool and patio furniture we were at a loss.  What type of wood could we make it out of?  The cherry, maple, walnut and oak woods we typically use for indoor furniture won’t hold up to outdoor conditions.  Plus, we offer a lifetime guarantee on our furniture.  How would we do this for an outdoor line?

Adirondack Chairs | Polywood | Recycled Plastic
This POLYWOOD Classic Adirondack chair is made in America of recycled plastic.  We guarantee it for a lifetime of use!

American Made Outdoor Furniture

We considered many options.  Teak and mahogany are about the only types of wood that would meet our standards for weather resistance and longevity but they are both rainforest woods that are often harvested illegally and unsustainably.  Not an option.

So after researching all the alternatives we selected an American made wood-alternative material for our first outdoor furniture line. It’s called poly wood and it’s made in Indiana of recycled plastic milk jugs.  It’s not real wood, but it has the look, thickness, weight, and feel of real wood plus it’s virtually indestructible and maintenance free.  No more scraping, painting, or weatherproofing needed.  POLYWOOD recycled plastic furniture can even be left outside year round eliminating the need for seasonal storage.

So that’s what we chose for our first outdoor furniture line.  We really do feel that POLYWOOD is the best “wood” to use for outdoor furniture.  With summer being so short up here in Vermont, we want to spend it enjoying our all-weather outdoor furniture rather than maintaining it!  How about you?  Check out the POLYWOOD furniture collections we offer.  It’s eco-friendly, Made in America outdoor furniture and it comes with free shipping and a lifetime guarantee.  Pretty tough to beat, I say.

Rec ycled Plastic Chaise Lounge
This POLYWOOD chaise lounge weighs over 50# so it won’t blow away when high winds come in off the ocean.  It’s available in 12 different colors including red, yellow, blue, orange, green, black and white.

 

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This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains.

Solid Wood Furniture Buying Guide

Last updated on August 14th, 2018 at 03:34 pm

Astrid Bedroom Set | Solid Wood Furniture | Black Walnut | American Made in VT
This top quality solid wood furniture set is handmade of real solid American black walnut wood.  To get the best price, shop for Astrid bedroom furniture as a set and save on white glove shipping and delivery.

I’ve been looking for a definition of “solid wood furniture“.  I’m finding the same thing I found when I looked for a definition of “American made furniture”.  Anything goes.  Here’s an example of what I found on a popular reference website (About.com),

Solid walnut wood furniture means that all exposed parts of the piece are wood. But the frame and inner parts may be of other, less-costly wood.  Thin layers of fine, decorative wood can be bonded to the face of low cost wood pieces. This is called veneering.

Now does that sound like solid wood furniture to you?  I don’t think so.  If you’re shopping for high quality furniture and solid wood construction is important to you, try asking your salesperson these 5 questions to help clarify things:

Is This Real Solid Wood Furniture or Veneered?

When you take a look at the edge of a solid wood tabletop you can see if the graining on the top carries through on the edge – the way marbling does in a piece of steak.  If this is not the case, you are looking at the “banding” on a veneered piece.  Another way to tell solid wood is to look at the underside of the piece.  Does the grain look like the same as the wood on the table top? If not, then it’s probably veneered.

Is this Furniture Made Of Hardwood of Softwood?

In North America, typically the best quality solid wood furniture is made of native hardwoods, such as cherry, walnut, maple, oak, ash and birch.  Although hardwood is more expensive than softwood, it has a higher density and is therefore usually harder and heavier.  Hardwood grain is closed, tight and non-resinous as opposed to softwood grain that’s loose and resinous, thus it splits easy.

Is the Craftsmanship Top Quality?

You can buy plenty of solid wood furniture that’s of poor quality.  For example, I just searched for “solid hardwood furniture high quality” and Google shopper’s first result was a solid wood bed for $68.98.  What good does it do to have solid wood construction when poor workmanship is going to limit the life of a piece to a couple years?  Check for solid craftsmanship, top quality joinery and meticulous finishes in your furniture.  A salesperson should be able to show and tell you about construction details such as mortise and tenon joints, dovetails, miter joints, finger joints, splines, biscuits, dowels, butts, dados, rabbets, tongue and groove and more. Durable, robust joinery is critical to the life and usefulness of a piece.

Finish is important too.  Most imported furniture is finished with cheap coatings that contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds like formaldehyde and benzene) which can cause asthma and allergies especially in young children.  Ask your salesperson to explain what’s in the finish and how many coats have been applied to protect the furniture over time.

Is This American Made or Imported Furniture?

Are you wondering why imported furniture is so much cheaper than American made furniture?  It’s not just that Chinese wages are about 1/10 of American wages.  It’s about where the raw materials come from.  In the USA, wood furniture is made from sustainably harvested wood that comes from well managed American forests.  With imported furniture, the wood is typically clear cut from the world’s rapidly disappearing rainforests.   Although imported furniture often carries labels that it’s made of American cherry, walnut, oak or maple woods, that is rarely the case.  These labels are trade names used to describe woods of suspicious origin that are stained to look like familiar American woods such as cherry and walnut.

Am I Getting The Best Value & Price?

Top quality solid wood furniture is inherently expensive, so you’ll want to be sure you’re getting the best value and price.  Find a local craftsman or retailer you can trust. Try to purchase your furniture as a set, rather than piece by piece.  Purchasing furniture sets not only creates efficiency in the craftsman’s workshop, it also saves money in shipping and delivery.

For more tips on purchasing top quality solid wood furniture with the best value and price, visit our Facebook and join the conversation.

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This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains.

Our 3 Step Guide to Finding Quality Furniture

Last updated on August 14th, 2018 at 03:52 pm

Quality Furniture

 

If high quality furniture is important to you, there are some things you should know before you shop!

Quality furniture might not on the top of your priority list if you are in you’re early twenties or thirties, but as you get older and start building a home you really treasure, finding quality furniture is an important step. Sleeping on hand-me-down mattresses and buying the cheapest furniture you can find, whether it be on Craigslist or at a yard sale or at a discount furniture store, at some point becomes unthinkable. And the hunt for real, high quality furniture becomes an important challenge.

So if you’re in the market for a new bed and maybe a new dresser or chest, or some new pieces for your dining room, how can you find pieces that are not only fairly priced, but built with quality as well? Well, with some research and years of experience in the furniture industry, we’ve come up with 3 steps to ensuring you are getting good quality furniture!

1. Know your wood types

If you are on the market for good quality wood furniture, it’s essential to know the difference between the different types of wood. Wood furniture typically falls into three different categories: solid wood, veneers, and particle board.

Quality solid wood furniture is usually more expensive than the other types, and for good reason. It’s sturdy, beautiful, and more natural in look and feel. It’s important to take care of your solid wood furniture, however, because they can sometimes be susceptible to wear and tear like scratches and water rings. Cherry, Oak, and Maple are always good choices for wood furniture as they all look lovely and are strong, solid woods.

Veneers have an inexpensive wood base covered by thin layers of better quality wood. The cheaper core means it’s less costly than a true solid wood piece.  While veneers are less high quality than true solid wood, that doesn’t mean it is “bad” for furniture, though it is important to find a real veneer. Cheap, low quality furniture usually features a MDF (Medium-density fibreboard) with laminate coating on the sides that have the wood grain printed on it. 

Particle Board is made from a combination of compressed woodchips and resin, often coated or veneered for furniture. It’s basically the scraps of the furniture world, making it the cheapest type of wood furniture. While it can look decent, it will not hold up for long and is not a great choice for anyone looking for true, long lasting quality.

Quality Furniture Featuring Dovetail Joints

2.  Check the Joinery

Drawers and Doors provide perhaps the quickest and easiest quality check on craftsmanship.  Make sure they are well fitted and adjusted properly.  Drawers and doors should close easily and be flush with the cabinet front.  The hardware should be substantial and adjustable in case of jostling during shipping and moving processes be sure to have your delivery crew make any necessary adjustments before they leave your home).

Dovetails: Dovetails are strong, attractive, joints that slide into one another and are noted for resistance to being pulled apart. Dovetail joints are commonly used to join the sides of a drawer to the front. Once glued, a wooden dovetail joint requires no mechanical fasteners. Dovetails are harder to cut than most joints, so they are usually seen on top quality furniture pieces.  This type of joinery is so strong because of it’s unique shape, making it extremely difficult to pull them apart. It’s this incredible strength that makes them a staple of many top quality solid wood furniture pieces.

Mortise & Tenon: Simple and strong, mortise and tenon joinery has been used for millenia by woodworkers around the world to join pieces of wood, usually when the pieces are at a 90° angle. The joint may be glued, pinned, or wedged to lock it in place. By inserting one element of wood into another, a mortise-and-tenon joint provides unshakable strength.

3. Make sure it’s made in the USA 

Besides the fact that American made furniture has a centuries old heritage & reputation for incredible craftsmanship, furniture that’s hand made in America gets an immediate gold star for integrity, just for the fact that the wood is legally and sustainably harvested (this is often not the case with imported furniture).  You  can also feel good that USA made furniture is creating American jobs and sustainable economies.  Another benefit: no worries about toxic finishes and glues (common in imported furniture) that might offgas in your home or be ingested by small children.

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This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains.

Quality Hardwood Furniture Buyers Guide, Part II

Last updated on August 20th, 2018 at 02:49 pm

Today’s post is Part II of our Hardwood Furniture Buyers Guide.

Hardwood Furniture Finishes

Hardwood furniture finishes: oil, wax, lacquer or poly?
Which fine hardwood furniture finish is right for you: oil, wax, lacquer or poly (hint: got kids? Go for the lacquer or poly)? This cherry wood dining table is finished with a blend of hand rubbed linseed oil and Poly gel.

Waxes and oils, such as beeswax or mineral oil are often used as hardwood furniture finishes because they sink into the fibers and condition the wood. These finishes bring out the grain of the wood and create a soft, supple surface but they need to be reapplied periodically. Alternatively, lacquer, shellac, varnish, poly and other non-porous coatings may be applied just once, creating a water proof coating that is almost maintenance free.

Which is best for you? Well if you have young children you many not have time to be oiling furniture, so lacquer may be your best bet. On the other hand, if you adore the feel of a well-oiled natural wood surface and you don’t mind taking the time to re-oil periodically, go for the oil and wax.

Care of Fine Hardwood Furniture Finishes

Fine hardwood furniture is an investment that should increase in value over time, however that depends on how well you care for it (particularly for furniture with an oil or wax finish). If you follow the furniture maker’s instructions your wood furniture should last a lifetime and more!

Oil Finish on Quality Hardwood Furniture
This Cherry Moon Nightstand is made with cherry hardwood and finished with natural linseed oil. To keep the wood soft and supple, it is smart to re-oil it 1/month during the first year.

Protect Against Water and Humidity

Wood is very sensitive to changes in relative humidity. As the weather changes, so does the relative humidity in your home and in the moisture content of the wood in your furniture. Fine hardwood furniture that’s coated with lacquer or poly is sealed and protected from the occasional water spill.

Replenish Oil and Wax Finishes Periodically

Oil and wax finishes must be replenished frequently during the first year. A rule of thumb is: clean and oil your wood furniture immediately upon delivery into you home. After that oil it once/week for the first month. Then oil 1/month for the first year. After that oil your furniture 1/year. This will result in a soft supple patina that will not only protect your furniture but add to it’s beauty and value over time.

Construction Details in Fine Hardwood Furniture

Joinery

Mortise and tenon joinery illustration
Mortise and tenon joinery is often used to attach side pieces to corner pieces and legs.

Joinery speaks clearly about the craftsmanship of a piece. Be sure to inspect corners and drawers to see how they’re crafted and look for these robust and durable joints:

Mortise-and-Tenon Joint

Mortise-and-tenon joint are often used in armoires, dressers, chests, cabinets, tables, chairs, desks and bookcases. The tenon (projecting piece) on a board is inserted into the mortise (cavity) on another board, then glued. An M-T joint may be further secured with a peg inserted through both pieces.

Dovetail Joint

The dovetail joint is typically used in drawer construction. Wedge-shaped projections on one piece interlock with corresponding slots on another.

Hardwood furniture construction details
Dovetail joints are shown attaching drawer fronts to the sides of the drawers (middle photos). Quality hardwood furniture also employs sturdy hinges and finished backs on case goods.

Use of Veneers

Veneers have taken a bad rap over the past several decades because much of the cheap, imported furniture sold in big box stores is made with low quality plywood or fiber board, then covered with a thin wooden veneer. Although solid wood construction is often preferred by those seeking high quality hardwood furniture, there are certain furniture designs that require veneers, for example sleigh beds that have curved wooden panels.

Why Hardwood versus Softwood Furniture?

In the world of trees and lumber, hardwood is relatively rare. About 80% of all timber comes from softwoods like pine, hemlock, cedar, and spruce. Only 20% of our timber is from hardwood trees like cherry, maple, oak, walnut, mahogany, teak and beech. As such, hardwood is relatively rare and expensive so why choose it over softwood? Generally speaking hardwood is more dense than softwood and has a tighter grain making it more resistant to decay. The density also makes hardwood more difficult for craftspeople to work with, but the beauty of the grain and the patina that develops over time makes solid hardwood furniture a prized possession.

If you’re in the market for high quality furniture, what’s your favorite wood? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments section below.

 

 

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This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains.

Hardwood Furniture Buyers Guide, Part I

Last updated on August 20th, 2018 at 02:49 pm

Hardwood Dining Table and Chairs | Cherry
This hardwood dining table, buffet and chair set is made of American black cherry wood.  Mortise and tenon joints are used as well as dovetails in the drawers of the buffet.

Shopping for top quality hardwood furniture? We encourage customers to take their time and learn to enjoy the details that make fine wood furniture an heirloom you family will cherish for generations. This short guide tells you what to look for in your fine wood furniture, including types of hardwoods, joinery and finishes.

America’s Top Hardwood Choices for Fine Furniture

The American Hardwood Information Center lists 23 different species of American hardwoods including alder, ash, aspen, basswood, beech, cottonwood, hickory, sassafras and elm.  The following are time tested favorites for American made hardwood furniture.

American Black Cherry

Cherry wood is a reddish brown hardwood with a smooth, fine grain.  It’s perhaps the most prized furniture hardwood in America. People are often surprised to learn that natural cherry wood furniture changes colors over time– quite a bit actually. It starts out as a light-toned wood and darkens as it is exposed to light.

Top Quality Hardwoods include American Cherry, Maple, Walnut, Oak
These top quality hardwoods are favorites in the world of American made furniture: Cherry, Maple, Walnut and Oak.

Sugar or Hard Maple

Sugar Maple Wood (aka: hard maple) is usually light reddish brown in the center or heartwood but sometimes considerably darker (dark maple is often mistaken for cherry wood). Maple sapwood is typically white with a slight reddish-brown tinge. Maple is heavy, strong, stiff, hard, and resistant to shock.  It has a fine, uniform texture with generally straight grain, but variations such as curly, wavy, rippled, birdseye, tiger, flame or fiddleback grain occur and are often selected for specialty custom artisan furniture.

Oak

Oak has been the wood of choice for many of America’s most beloved mission and craftsman-style furniture makers, like Gustav Stickley, Greene and Greene and Frank Lloyd Wright.  Oak is a solid, sturdy and very durable hardwood with generally uniform coarse texture and prominent rays in the grain.  Oak wood may darken slightly over time, taking on more amber tones however the change is very subtle, unlike the significant color change with cherry wood.

Black walnut is North America's only chocolate brown hardwood
This hardwood bed, night stand and chest set is made of black walnut wood.  Black walnut is North America’s only chocolate brown hardwood.  It’s relatively rare and typically carries a 20-40% price premium.

American Black Walnut

Black walnut wood is the only dark North American wood. It’s prized by woodworkers for it’s strength, grain and color which is a rich chocolate brown– with occasional purple tones. There are over 20 species of walnut trees but it is the Eastern Black Walnut tree (aka: American Walnut) that is native to North America and is used for our American made walnut furniture.

If real top quality American hardwoods are important to you, be aware that imposters are everywhere.  Much of the “maple”, “walnut”, “oak” and “real cherry furniture” on the market today is actually made from cheaper woods like rubberwood, poplar, alder or other fast-growing wood alternatives.  They are often illegally clear-cut from the world’s rapidly disappearing rainforests, then bleached, texturized and stained to look like American hardwoods. When considering a purchase of wood furniture from large  “American furniture companies” like Bassett, Broyhill, Lane, Lazy Boy, Kincaid, Ethan Allan, Thomasville, Pennsylvania House, Drexel, Heritage, American Drew and Pottery Barn– be sure to ask what the wood species is and where it was grown.  You may be surprised by the response.

If you’re in the market for solid hardwood furniture, what’s your favorite wood?  Let us know on Facebook or in the comments section below.

Next up: Quality Hardwood Furniture Buyers Guide, Part II: all about fine furniture finishes, joinery & solid wood vs veneers.

 

 

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This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains.

Easily Buy POLYWOOD Cushions Online

Last updated on August 14th, 2018 at 03:35 pm

Polywood Cushions Online

 Shop for POLYWOOD Cushions Online Easily at Vermont Woods Studios

So you bought your wonderful new eco-friendly Polywood outdoor furniture, but forgot to buy the POLYWOOD cushions? No problem. We have a great selection of luxurious Sunbrella fabric cushions, specially made for your POLYWOOD pieces. Beautiful colors like Forest green, Pacific blue, Sunflower yellow and Bravada salsa are just a few of the chic and summery colors we have to choose from.

Add a little extra plushness to POLYWOOD’s already comfortable, high-quality outdoor furniture with this extensive line of durable marine grade fabric cushions. It’s weather resistant, stain and fade resistant, quick drying, and available in 12 different colors and patterns of your choice. Buy a few different cushions to mix and match as you change your decor. 

An outdoor POLYWOOD® set simply is not complete without these wonderful POLYWOOD Cushions to give your backyard patio a spa-like feel. Just kick up your feet and relax!

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This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains.

Top Quality Wood Furniture: A Buyers Guide

Last updated on August 14th, 2018 at 03:35 pm

shaker-quality-wood-furniture

Shopping for Quality Wood Furniture?

It’s not that easy anymore, especially if you’re shopping online.  I just googled the phrase “top quality wood furniture” and came up with products like a 5 piece dining set for $356 at Target and a twin bed complete with underbed storage at Walmart for $139.  Those are not products that most of us would call “high quality”.

Checking Quality in the Showroom

At Vermont Woods Studios we’ve been working for 9 years to be able to provide a showroom (Stonehurst) where customers can come and experience the beauty and honesty of true high quality wood furniture.  I’ve noticed that when customers visit us, often they split up in the store.  One person chats with us about their needs and the style of their home, while the other person inspects the quality of our furniture.  He/she opens drawers, looks underneath table tops, moves dressers around to see how the backs are attached and so on.  This is an important part of the purchase process.  But what if you’re shopping online?

cherry-wood-buffet

How to Gauge Quality when Shopping Online

Online fine furniture stores must provide enough detail via photos and articles to enable customers to judge their quality.  On our website, for example we post a “Construction Details” page for every furniture collection we offer.  Here you’ll find details ranging from the natural characteristics of the wood, to the type of joinery used, to instructions for care & maintenance (which are dependent on the type of wood and finish selected).

Find more tips and advice on buying fine furniture here: Top Quality Wood Furniture: A Buyers Guide.

 

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This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains.

Cherry Furniture: The Ultimate Buyers Guide

Last updated on August 14th, 2018 at 03:36 pm

 

Cherry Furniture | Handmade in Vermont | Real Solid Hardwood
Dennis and Nina took this picture at Stonehurst, our new fine furniture showroom.  It’s our Vermont Shaker Moon bed, dresser and nightstands, handmade in Montpelier of natural cherry wood.

Cherry furniture is enjoying the top spot on our customer’s list of favorite wood species again this year.   It’s been the trend for several years and no doubt 2014 will be another banner year for cherry wood.  Most Vermont woodworkers are set up to offer customers a choice of at least the Top 4 American Hardwoods used in fine furniture making, that is:  cherry, maple, walnut and oak.  But cherry has always been the favorite as far back as I can remember.

In responding to customer preferences as well as the availability of high quality, sustainably harvested cherry wood, Vermont furniture makers have become America’s authority on fine cherry furniture.  We work right alongside them at Vermont Woods Studios and have been sharing their knowledge on our website, in our blog and in a variety of articles.  As we head into the furniture buying season, I thought I’d compile some of these resources and publish them as The Ultimate Buyers Guide for Cherry Furniture.

Check it out and let us know on Facebook, if you have additional questions we can add to the Guide.

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This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains.

Is Your Wood Furniture Brought to You by Organized Crime?

Last updated on September 29th, 2022 at 02:43 pm

Luxury Furniture | Avoiding Global Rainforest Destruction | Choosing Sustainable American Made Furniture
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 (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:

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.

 

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This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains.