Nina took this picture of the VWS Green Team, including our new mates, Alex and Katrina. From left: Ken Farabaugh, Alexandra Chisholm, Michelle Rooks, Peggy Farabaugh, Sean Henry, Dennis Shanoff, Greg Augustine, Nina Markiw, Kelli Dobosz, Katrina Moore and Brian Doherty.We Grew Our Team
We were lucky to be able to add Alex Chisholm and Katrina Moore to our team at VWS this year. Alex is our showroom manager who's always working hard to keep Stonehurst warm and welcoming for your visit. We call Katrina our 'everything bagel' because she has her hands in several different projects that range from sales to customer service, logistics, shipping and technology.
We Launched Our New Brand
In 2020 we focused on refining how we communicate who we are and what we care about as a company. Our friends at Solidarity of Unbridled Labor helped us articulate what makes VWS so special. In early 2021, we launched that new brand into the world. Check out the new logo, color palette, tag lines, and graphical print elements of our VWS brand.
We Made Some Cool Videos
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br616Nki3JY[/embed]
As part of our efforts to communicate our new brand, we worked with Scout Digital to produce some new videos. We spent a day filming at our headquarters at Stonehurst and a day at one of our partner workshops, Vermont Furniture Designs. You can check out our new videos on YouTube.
We Planted Close to 100,000 Trees!
The red arrows point to Monarch butterfly forested habitat we're helping to restore in Mexico. Learn more about our work with Forests for Monarchs here.As a wood furniture company, we're committed to forest conservation & reforestation. Planting trees to fight climate change and preserve wildlife habitats is a passion of ours. We plant trees on the 109 acre wood where our showroom resides in Vermont. We also work with our partners at Forests for Monarchs to plant trees in Mexico where the monarch butterfly over-winters. This year we planted almost 100,000 trees.
We Brought In New Furniture Makers
In 2021 we experienced such a high demand that we had to find partners outside of Vermont to help make our furniture. We're happy to announce that we now carry furniture made by Zimmerman Fine Furniture and Tucker Furniture, both based in Pennsylvania.
We Launched New Products
The Brindille Console Table by Hubbardton Forge is one of many new items we added to our store this year.
Nina was busy photographing and showcasing over 100 new furniture items on our website in 2022. The Brindille Console Table is one of 10 new occasional tables by Hubbardton Forge. Check out our other new additions by Lyndon Furniture, Copeland Furniture, Maple Corner Woodworks and Vermont Furniture Designs.
Our Lead Times Got Longer... a Lot Longer
Most industries in the US and worldwide are experiencing supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic. Although our furniture is all made in the USA we were not immune to delays. A perfect storm of factors caused our lead times to grow from as little as 4 weeks to over 30 weeks for some items. We are always working with our furniture makers and our shippers to get your furniture to you as fast as possible AND in pristine condition. Thankfully, lead times are finally starting to decrease and we are hoping to get back to normal asap. You can find an up to date estimate of lead time on each of our product pages or by giving us a call at 802-579-1302.
We Launched An Inventory Program To Speed Things Up
Due to the increase in production times, we felt like we were letting down customers who didn't want to wait for their furniture. So we launched an inventory program. In the past, our furniture was exclusively made to order. This year, we began keeping some of our best selling products stocked so that we could offer them as "Quick Ship" items.
We Made Our First Harvests In Our Edible Landscape
Jake and Katrina took the lead on our Food Forest at Stonehurst. We're growing an edible landscape of apples, peaches, pears, blueberries, corn, squash, potatoes and a whole bunch of other fruits and vegetables for our team members and customers to enjoy.
We Reopened Our Showroom @ Stonehurst
Customers come from near and far to visit our Stonehurst showroom in Southeastern Vermont. We do our best to keep it open when possible, always using best practices to prevent infection. Please give us a call if you'd like to visit and we'll keep you up to date with our covid protocols.
We Helped Our Favorite Charities
We found a new way to support local charities this year. Dennis and Kelli proposed that we replace our annual Secret Santa party with a project to support the team's favorite non-profits, Magzalea Farm & Sanctuary and the Vermont Food Bank. Together we raised over $300 for these worthy causes and delivered much needed supplies.
Things We Missed Due to COVID-19
Like everyone else, Covid got in the way of some of our plans last year. Most notably, we were unable to travel to Mexico to help our friends at Forests for Monarchs with their tree planting activities. We also missed the annual Connecticut River Cleanup on Green Up Day. We're hoping to get back on track with both of those activities this year.
Cheers to Healing and Happiness in 2022!
Please visit our online furniture store and give us a call (802-579-1302) if you'd like to visit Stonehurst in person. We're looking forward to your visit!
