It’s a beautiful, warm sunny summer day at Vermont Woods Studios which makes it hard to believe Autumn is almost here. But if the weather isn’t enough of a reminder, the annual loss of our student interns is making it all too clear.
The Fab Four gathered and cut 40 cords of firewood this summer!
Today we send them our heartfelt thanks for all the hard work they put in throughout the summer. Perhaps the toughest job they had was gathering, slicing and dicing 40 cords of firewood to keep the rest of us warm during the winter.
What name do you think this band of rock stars should take up?
They also pitched in on many other tasks required to maintain our woodlands and keep our Stonehurst fine furniture store looking clean, green & beautiful. We wish them great success at school and in their other endeavors. Hope to see you guys back here next summer!
Stay out of Taegen’s way when she’s driving the tractor!
Name suggestions for this new member of the Vermont Woods team?
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“Tiny House Nation” is a television program that features innovative Tiny Homes from across the United States. Renovation experts and hosts, John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin travel across America to explore creative small spaces and the imaginative folks who occupy them. They also help new families design and construct their own dream tiny homes! Houses can be no larger than 500 square feet, and include anything from micro-NYC apartments to caboose cars turned mini-roadtripping home. This series celebrates the Tiny House movement and its explosive growth in the United States!
We’re excited to announce that we have provided some POLYWOOD® outdoor dining furniture to the tiny home! Sustainable Living is a major part of our company, so when we saw that there was going to be an episode shot in Vermont we knew we had to get involved. Douglas and Dennis made the trip up to Montpelier to hand deliver the furniture and meet the crew. We had been waiting in anticipation to see the show on air, and we were thrilled to see the Vermont tiny home in action last night on the FYI Television network!
What do you think, could you survive life in a home less than 500 square feet?
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If you’re starting to notice an influx of fine furniture photography, you’re paying attention to the work of Nina, our Photographer & Merchandising Assistant! Nina & Dennis have been travelling around Southern Vermont finding great places to set up our furniture & take new photos for the site. Most recently, they’ve been working on a project at George’s Mill in Vernon where they are building a photo studio from scratch!
The original George’s Mill was reconstructed in 1974 by Nicholas George, and the 2nd building (the post office) was built in 1985 by Eli N. George. This location is actually where our previous office and headquarters were, before making the move to Stonehurst.
Take a Behind the Scenes Look at George’s Mill Progress:
Riley, Tristan & Dennis set up the wall structure at George’s Mill.
The team has made great progress at George’s Mill and they aren’t done yet! Nina, however, has already used the space for the backdrop of a new bedroom collection photo! The fusion of Photoshop and a little elbow grease comes to life with our new Holland Collection.
The woodworkers are part of a network cultivated by Vermont Woods Studios, a company dedicated to promoting the Vermont custom furniture industry on a large scale. Natural finishes are standard for each custom piece, along with hardwoods sourced from Vermont tree farmers and sawmill operators.
Read more:
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The 19th of August is International Orangutan Day, a day put aside to recognize the extreme dangers facing the palm oil industry’s most recognized victim. Once widespread throughout the forests of Asia, Orangutans are now found on just two islands, Sumatra and Borneo (Indonesia). On the brink of extinction, there are now only about 6,600 of them left in the wild. Orangutan’s are beautiful, intelligent creatures that share 97% of human DNA. They are complex, curious, and they need our help. We cannot let Orangutan’s become the first great ape species to go extinct in the wild, as experts suggest may happen if action is not taken now.
Why Orangutans are Endangered:
Habitat Loss- The loss of Orangutan habitat has been devastating, as Sumatra has lost more than HALF of it’s forests in the last 25 years. “The orangutans’ forest home is being felled and turned into oil palm plantations on a massive scale, logging continues even within national parks, and road networks divide the remaining forests into isolated fragments. Human-orangutan conflict is now frequent in farmlands, as orangutans raid crops in search of enough food for survival. The expansion of farmlands and the building of new roads opens up the forest, making it easier for hunters and poachers to capture orangutans and other protected wildlife.” (1) This factor is one of the driving forces behind our mission, as we work to provide a source for beautiful wood furniture that does not contribute to mass deforestation.
Illegal Trade- While Orangutan’s have been protected by law since 1931, the illegal trade of Orangutans has continued to decimate populations. They are often captured for use as an exotic pet or for entertainment purposes, as commonly seen in the circus.
What We Can Do To Help:
Avoid Palm Oil- Palm oil is causing mass deforestation of Orangutan habitats, leaving them with no place to live and raise their babies. As they search far distances for a new home, they have to look further and further apart often times ending up in palm oil fields. When this occurs they are unknowingly tresspassing, and palm oil farmers are legally able to kill them right on spot to protect their crops. Orangutans are left with little to no food or resources, and when deforestation from fires occur there are many slow moving Orangutans that are burned alive in the process. By Boycotting palm oil, you are doing a small part to keep these majestic creatures safe.
Boycott circuses that use Orangutans as entertainment, and write to your local government to keep these circuses from your community.
Write to your local legislators and The President. Ask them not to explore palm oil as a biofuel option.
Write your favorite companies that use palm oil and ask them to use sustainable sources for their ingredients
Support companies who do not use palm oil in their products or support the palm oil industry
As passionate environmental advocates, we are happy to help spread awareness about Orangutan’s today. If you’d like to learn more about World Orangutan Day, check out the #OrangutanDay hashtag on Twitter or Facebook!
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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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Mission style furniture was established during the early 1900’s during the boarder “Arts & Crafts” or “American Craftsmen” era. When the style first emerged, it was a revolutionary furniture & design movement that was created as a response to the industrial revolution and the way it devalued the individual furniture maker. This style of architecture, interior design, and decorative arts “became affordable to middle class homes built in the United States during the Arts and Crafts period between 1900 and 1930.”
The Significance of Mission Furniture
Many of the major players of the Mission Style movement including William Morris, John Ruskin, Gustav Stickley and Frank Lloyd Wright, believed that the Craftsman was being lost to the mass produced, “soulless” furniture of the Victorian Era. Mission furniture was a complete departure from the over embellished and “glamorous” furniture that the Victorian Period was known for. In the Victorian Era, “A bare room was considered to be in poor taste, so every surface was filled with objects that reflected the owner’s interests and aspirations.” Reflecting a time in society when domesticity meant absolute privacy, and when the Bourgeois existence manifested into the interior space. The home was used as a curtained off retreat, wary of intrusion, and “opened only by invitation for viewing only on occasions such as parties or teas.” Basically, the Victorian Home was a manifestation of upper-class values (while still using overly adorned, low quality decor and furniture).
“The Victorian Bedroom at Dalgarven” by Roger Griffith – Own work. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
This is what The Mission Furniture Movement rebelled against, the highly “glamorous” ideals of the Victorian Era that weren’t inclusive of the real middle class. It represented an entire shift in cultural attitudes and values. Mission furniture aimed to represent the true American worker.
Mission Furniture Features
Mission furniture is bold yet simplistic, reminiscent of a traditional Rustic Farmhouse. It’s heavy in appearance and build, with emphasis on using clean lines and natural materials. Mission style typically incorporated locally handcrafted wood, glass, and metal work–bringing the artisan back into the picture and straying away from a mass produced look. Mission furniture is very sturdy, and found some inspiration from Shaker furniture with it’s aim to be usable as well as stylish. Mission style is a design that “emphasizes simple (horizontal and vertical) lines and flat panels that accentuate the grain of the wood.” This style intends to reveal the craft of woodworking and the skill & labor of the individual craftsman. It’s unpainted and unadorned, making it fitting furniture for practically any style of home!
Our Reflection
Mission Furniture is important to us because it represents exactly why we are here, to promote the craft of fine artisan woodworking. Our culture has seen a revival of cheap, mass-produced furniture available online and in big box stores– and our furniture crafters are creating expert furniture designs with the same passion and integrity that sparked the Mission Style movement over a hundred years ago. If you’d like to see more of our collections of Mission furniture, please browse hundreds of our locally crafted and sourced pieces!
What do you think of Mission Furniture? Let us know in the comments or send us a Tweet.
All of our tiny tables (end tables, side tables, smaller than usual tables) are expertly handcrafted in Vermont and guaranteed for life. These aren’t style of the moment tables, they are timeless tiny tables that are guaranteed for life and will never go out of style.
Whether you use them as a side table in your living room, a bedside table, a plant stand, or simply as an accent or accessory in any room– these 5 tables are sure to please.
Handmade in Vermont using sustainably harvested wood. It is an eco-friendly piece that can be customized to meet your exact needs. The subtle arches in the legs give it a whimsical feel that can bring a feeling of elegance and femininity to any space!
Made to the highest standards, and meticulously handcrafted by skilled furniture makers. Shown in walnut wood, this ultra modern piece is versatile enough to fit practically any space. The unique styling and shape of the legs give it an eclectic charm. It’s the perfect tiny table for a craftsman style furniture lover.
Features a clear powder coated steel metal base, the result is a beautiful, solid wood end table perfect for a loft or city apartment. A modern, clean and simple design that looks great in any setting. This fusion of wood and metal makes it the most industrial of the tiny tables on this list.
Can be used in almost any corner of your home or office. Use as an end table, cocktail table, lamp table, plant stand or to showcase that special work of art. Choose between a rounded or straight edge profile. eco-friendly non-toxic oil finish.
Ultra curvaceous, making it the most luxurious looking of the tiny tables on the list. It’s subtle, chic, and makes the perfect accent to any french country home.
Which of these tables do you like the best? Let us know in the comments section or send us a tweet!
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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?
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).
If you live in an area where the weather can be a severe and unpredictable, then you’ve likely seen outdoor furniture ruined or tarnished by the rain, snow, wind, or intense heat. Maybe the wood began to mold or crack from too much time spent outside in wet weather, or perhaps it started to fade– whatever the problem, you won’t have it with our Faux Wood Adirondack Bar set. Our Faux Wood Adirondack Bar Set furniture is made from recycled plastic lumber, meaning that hundreds of discarded milk jugs were re-purposed to create this stylish outdoor furniture! It’s ultra sturdy, built to resist all weather conditions, and comes in dozens of fade resistant colors.
Our Faux Wood Adirondack Bar Set is beautiful, sustainable, and built to last (so we’ve backed it with a lifetime guarantee).
If you’re going to create the perfect Adirondack Bar Set, you have two great options for seating. A) Our Adirondack Bar Height Chair, or B) The Adirondack Counter Chair. They both come in 7 earthy colors and come with lots of great features including:
Made from eco-friendly POLYWOOD® HDPE recycled plastic lumber and maintenance free
Best All Weather furniture solution, leave outside year round
Resists heat, below freezing cold, salt air, and corrosive chemicals
No painting, staining, waterproofing, stripping or resurfacing
Great value! This is a product you will never have to replace
Perfect for both residential and commercial outdoor use
Made in the USA
Complete your “set” with one of our bar height tables. Our Outdoor Bars and Counter Tables are super durable, maintenance free and available in many modern styles and colors! Voted best quality outdoor pool and patio bar furniture, our POLYWOOD® outdoor furniture collection brings super durable outdoor entertainment furniture that not only looks beautiful but is made to last and give you years of maintenance-free enjoyment. Pick one of these tables to accent your new Adirondack Bar Chairs, and you’ll have the elegant and eco friendly faux wood Adirondack bar set of your dreams!
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