Monarch butterflies are known for epic migrations, traveling thousands of miles every year. Their route can span from Mexico to Canada, which makes it difficult to protect monarchs, because there’s no one single habitat to preserve.
Peggy Farabaugh, is the founder and CEO of Vermont Woods Studios in Vernon, a sustainable furniture company. She’s trying to create the kind of collaboration that will protect monarchs. She has joined forces with Jose Luis Alvarez, a Mexican tree nurseyman who started the organization, Forests For Monarchs.
The creatures that soar in the air, displaying their orange, black and white patterned wings known as the Monarch butterfly, are now few and far between in Vermont.
The Monarch population has dropped 90 percent in North America and Mexico, according to Peggy Farabaugh, founder of Vermont Woods Studios. The monarchs cannot survive without milkweed plants. As caterpillars they only eat milkweed plants and as butterflies, they need milkweed to lay their eggs.
Vernon is an entry point for monarch butterflies migrating north from their wintering grounds in Mexico.
In June, a group of nature lovers got together on the back deck of Vermont Woods Studios and shared milkweed seeds and plants — milkweed is the monarch’s only food source and the over-use of pesticides has nearly eliminated it from today’s landscape. We are planting milkweed in our gardens and backyards with the goal of providing habitat that will bring monarchs back to Vermont.
In the last few decades, Peggy Farabaugh noticed a distinct decline in the monarch butterfly population. After learning why, she decided to do something about it.
During the first week of September, the back deck of Vermont Woods Studios, the Vernon business she owns with her husband, Ken, became a sort of caterpillar hatchery.
“We have 15 cocoons in mesh hampers, and some on the milkweed plants in the field” behind the building, she said. The pupae should hatch into monarch butterflies by mid-month.
Already following our Blog? For more info sign up for our e-newsletter
Today’s Huffington Post features an article about Vermont Woods Studios by our favorite journalist and champion of women in business, Laura Dunn. The article is part of a series spotlighting the contributions of a diverse spectrum of women leading commercial businesses, academic institutions, media outlets, governments and non-profits. We are infinitely grateful to Laura for including me and Vermont Woods Studios in her line-up of famous and not so famous people who are working to change the world.
In addition to writing for the Huffington Post, Politico and The Daily Beast, Laura has her own successful blog, Political Style, which discusses politics, fashion and culture. Although she hails from across the pond, Laura interned in the US House of Representatives for Rep. Patrick J Kennedy and has worked on many election campaigns. She currently works for an Assembly Member at the National Assembly for Wales. Her feature on Vermont Woods Studios explores why we started the company and highlights the green mission that holds us together through thick and thin.
I want to take this opportunity to shout out a word of thanks to our customers, employees and other partners who have made Vermont Woods Studios successful over our 10 year existence. You are the real heroes — the ones who are fueling the movement and making our sustainable furniture business possible. We are deeply grateful.
Already following our Blog? For more info sign up for our e-newsletter
Every couple weeks, Sean sends a survey out to customers who have recently had our Vermont made furniture delivered to their homes. We want to make sure that we’ve met & hopefully exceeded customer expectations. And of course if we’ve fallen down on the job in any way, we have to ensure we’ve made things right with the customer and upgraded our systems so mistakes don’t happen again. Surveys also give us a chance to ask our customers what changes they think we should make to better serve their future needs. Occasionally though, we slip in a question that quite honestly, could be seen as a little self-serving… like:
What were the most important factors in your decision to buy from Us?
Quality craftsmanship is always a recurring theme in response to this question. Here are some other specific responses that Sean and I were reading today:
“We wanted to support a local business when its price-point was the same as large online retailers. The personal touch was important as well”
“Styles available; quality and source of woods; friendly, knowledgeable, helpful sales person (Rebecca)”
“The guarantee; that it was made in the U.S.; the pleasant people who responded to our question”
“You build with walnut and cherry. Best woods for furniture. I had just finished a walnut table and needed the chairs to be of the same wood. The combination is spectacular!”
“Price and having a basic design that you were willing to alter, and having had a sale that covered the cost of the alteration to the design. It was also a help that you’re close enough to Boston that I could go arrange the alterations in person – we looked at a several of tables.”
Then there was this one from Phyllis W:
“I am not a wealthy person, but when I buy something, I want to love what I buy”
To me, that says it all. It’s the bottom line and the reason we work so hard to keep this small business in business. We want our customers to love what they buy. To Phyllis and everyone who has invested their valuable time in responding to Sean’s customer satisfaction surveys: thank you for helping us to continually improve and further our mission of furnishing a greener world. We hope you love your new furniture!
“My guest today is Peggy Farabaugh, owner and operator of Vermont Woods Studios, an online furniture store specializing in high-quality, eco-friendly, handmade wood furniture from Vermont. She’s a CEO who breaks for salamanders, has bottle-fed rescued squirrels, and spends her vacations volunteering to plant trees in the rainforests of Central and South America. She believes in the future and in the people who build it. A former distance learning instructor at Tulane University with a master’s in Environmental Health and Safety, Peggy turned an interest in forest conservation and endangered species into a thriving, local furniture business. Now in it’s 10th year, Vermont Woods Studios exists not only online but in a lovingly restored 200 year old farmhouse in the woodlands of southern Vermont. ”
Selling Vermont-made furniture from sustainable wood is Peggy Farabaugh’s mission. But customers have found far more at Vermont Woods Studios.
“There’s a warmth to fine hardwood furniture and a unique texture too. The rippled linear grain of oak, the icy smooth polish of maple, the warm silky feel of cherry, the slippery sheen of dark walnut, it beckons to be touched — table tops rubbed, chairs sat upon, cabinet doors opened and closed, smoothly and effortlessly. Which is why Peggy Farabaugh’s idea of selling Vermont-made hardwood furniture online did not seem like the best business concept when she came up with it in 2005.
“It’s ridiculous to think that you could sell fine furniture on the Internet because people have to see it and have to feel it,” said Farabaugh, who smiles and laughs easily.
More surprising, Farabaugh knew very little about either furniture or running a business.
But she had a mission. She wanted to start a business that would help save the rainforest by selling furniture made from sustainable wood grown in the U.S. (and preferably Vermont) and to bolster Vermont’s 200+-year-old furniture-making tradition.
So she started Vermont Woods Studios. From a spare bedroom in her Vernon home, she began selling unique Vermont-made furniture, such as Chad Woodruff’s quarter-sawn white oak tables, David Holzapfel’s ultra-modern yet primitive coat racks made of maple saplings and blackened cherry burls, and her husband Ken’s own maple inlaid side tables. Surprising even to Farabaugh, and through trial and error, she found a niche.
Now in its ninth year, Vermont Woods Studios has grown 35 percent in the past two years, and business doubled in the two previous years. The company now employs over a dozen people, and this past fall, they opened Stonehurst, a renovated 18th-century farmhouse and barn that serve as company headquarters and showroom. It’s finally a place where customers can see — and touch — the cherry, maple, oak, and walnut fine home furnishings that they have found on the web.
But the reasons customers have flocked to Vermont Woods Studios may surprise Farabaugh.”
We wish to express our deep gratitude to Peggy for all the time and talent she put into telling our story! And if you love part 1 as much as we do, stay tuned, we’ll be posting part 2 of our story on the blog early next week. Part 2 will include some spectacular customer stories and more insight on why we’re “more than just sustainable wood.”
Already following our Blog? For more info sign up for our e-newsletter
Since we’ve made the transition over to Stonehurst, our new headquarters and showroom, we’ve had some of the most wonderful experiences with our customers. It’s been a pleasure for us to meet our guests in person and help them have a comfortable and easy Vermont furniture shopping experience. From helping our guests choose Vermont made decor and artwork for their homes, to assisting in the creation of the perfect custom furniture, or simply giving guidance for furniture upkeep; we love that our guests are excited about their shopping experience with us.
Jeannie and Jeff S., are two of our customers who made a trip out to Stonehurst to see our furniture up close before they made any decisions. Pleased with our showroom and the quality of our designs, they decided to purchase a bedroom set and new dining room furniture. The photos included in this blog were sent in by them, along with this lovely note:
“We had a wonderful experience at Vermont Wood Studios starting with our thoughtful and extensive meeting with Sean at your lovely Brattleboro showroom. Sean gave excellent advice to customize our order and kept in touch while the craftspeople made our bedroom and dining room furniture. It was delivered earlier than expected by the very capable ALB Transport in perfect condition. We are absolutely thrilled by the beauty and uniqueness of the bed, dressers, dining room table and chairs. We are happy to recommend both the furniture and customer oriented values of Vermont Wood Studios! With much appreciation, Jeannie and Jeff S.”
We really appreciate this positive feedback, and are proud to showcase Vermont wood furniture in such a grand location (& with such a great staff!). Our team is here at Stonehurst Monday-Saturday 9-5, and we’d love for you to visit to see for yourself! Visiting Stonehurst before you shop online makes the buying experience that much more comfortable, as you’ll see first hand the luxurious quality of our handcrafted furniture designs in a natural Vermont home setting.
Governor Shumlin kicked off Vermont’s First Economic Summit in Rutland yesterday by signing a new downtown development law.Yesterday I traveled to the Paramount Theater in Rutland for Vermont’s First Economic Summit. Where else but Vermont could a small business owner like me elect to join the Governor, many of his Cabinet members and some of the most successful CEOs in the state to brainstorm about our economic future? New York? California? I don’t think so. Only in Vermont.
Anyway, about 125 people gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges of doing business in America’s greenest state. On one hand our taxes are high, environmental regulations are onerous and the cost of living is barely affordable for most workers. But, somehow we love to live, work and play here anyway.
So we looked at why that is and listed a lot of benefits that Vermont has to offer: beautiful scenery, short pleasant commutes to work, relaxed pace, local economies, vibrant farmers markets and co-ops, fabulous farm to plate restaurants, skiing, hiking, fishing, camping, nice neighbors, working landscapes, clean lakes, rivers and streams, sustainable development and so on. Not to mention easy access to government officials!
Then the task was reconciling the pluses and minus’ of Vermont’s economics in terms of concrete fix-it strategies. We broke out into small groups to focus on: workforce development, the Vermont brand, Vermont infrastructure, Global competitiveness, Innovation and a few other topics. I was lucky to find myself working in the Vermont Brand group with Kathleen Wanner of the Vermont Wood Manufacturers Association VWMA, Lynette Kemp of Vermont’s Department of Taxes (we tried not to hold that against her) and Colleeen Leonard, Vermont’s Working Lands Policy Administrator from the Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets.
At the end of the day all of the small groups presented their ideas and recommendations to a plenary session and we discussed plans to follow through both formally and informally. Now our challenge is to make things happen in a way that preserves Vermont’s pristine rural character and brings economic prosperity to all it’s citizens. Think it’s doable?
You can read more about the Economic Summit on Vermont Digger.
Robin Scheu, Executive Director at Addison County Economic Development Corporation led the break-out group working on defining Vermont’s brand. I worked with Kathleen Wanner of the Vermont Wood Manufacturers Association VWMA (the only one looking at you), Lynette Kemp of Vermont’s Department of Taxes (we tried not to hold that against her) and Colleen Leonard, Vermont’s Working Lands Policy Administrator from the Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets.
Already following our Blog? For more info sign up for our e-newsletter
