OUR PROCESS
It all starts with you and your idea. Whether you come to us with a complete drawing, a rough sketch or a total blank slate, we collaborate with you to realize your vision through an ethical design.
Ethical design at its core is simply good design. We focus on classic design that can remain relevant through time and its ever changing design trends. Good design combined with premium materials and craftsmanship is what keeps furniture from being replaced and out of the landfills. With design we can create heirloom pieces that can be passed down from this generation to the next.
We build our projects primarily from wood sourced from local, environmentally conscious wood lots. Reclaimed and salvaged lumber can also be an excellent choice for furniture, as in addition to their beauty, old growth timbers are stronger, denser and more stable than the trees harvested today.
We build our cabinet carcasses from high-grade North American hardwood plywood. We source our plywood sheets with the highest number of cross-banded veneer layers to prevent the plywood from warping, sagging or swelling over time.
We source our hardware from the finest European manufacturers and offer made-in-house alternatives. Our alternatives to hardware include wooden drawer runners and finger pulls cut directly into the door and drawer fronts.
We are conscious of material off-gassing. We make sure the glues used to manufacture the plywood as well as any of our other products, are low or zero VOCs and do not contain any added formaldehyde wherever possible.
We are bespoke; everything we build is truly custom. We rely on traditional woodworking techniques and skilled individuals. It’s what sets us apart and makes us so versatile. Whether it’s an elaborate turning or laying up complex veneer patterns, it’s all done in house and by us. We are only limited by your imagination.
We believe plant-based oils and milk paint to be the gold standard of ethical finishing. Natural oils and paints don’t mask the natural properties of wood. They are soft, warm and invite you to touch. They age gracefully and develop a rich patina that only adds to the overall character and charm of the piece. We don’t close the door to all other finishes- alternative finishes can have their place. However, it’s important for us to consider their environmental and health impacts.
We stand behind our environmentally sustainable furniture and cabinetry with a 30- year guarantee. These pieces are made from certain materials that we trust and prefer to build with. On all other furniture and cabinetry, we offer a 2-year guarantee.
We are continually looking for ways to repurpose, reduce and recycle our waste. By managing our waste ourselves, we know where we can improve. We do not use any third party waste removal service. The waste we can’t divert, we drop off at our local municipal waste management facility ourselves. Currently we divert our waste by: re-using moving blankets to deliver our finished products; re-purposing solid wood off-cuts into smaller projects such as boxes, inlays and turnings; re-cycling solid wood off-cuts that that can’t be re-purposed as fuel for cooking or heating; and re-cycling wood shavings and sawdust as garden mulch or animal bedding. Over the 15 years we have been in business, we have accumulated some products and materials that don’t align with our current values. We are committed to using up our inventory responsibly and ensuring our new purchases and methods align where possible with our values.