More companies enter niche this year

Heath E. Combs — Furniture Today

IGH POINT — One category of green home furnishings that looks to have established a permanent foothold is reclaimed wood furniture.

While certified furnishings have yet to gain mass appeal, reclaimed pieces have been around for years from specialists like Groovystuff.

Earlier this year, Turning House furniture joined the category, looking to use wood from deconstructed buildings with historical value.

More recently, one of the biggest commitments to reclaimed products came from Four Hands, which announced a subsidiary with eco-designer Thomas Bina and a launch of 100 pieces at the October High Point Market.

Josh Tatelman, vice president of merchandising for retailer Jordan’s

Furniture, Avon, Mass., said that reclaimed items from suppliers like

Furniture Classics have done well at his stores.

“The reclaimed, eco-friendly story creates a nice presentation for our sales consultants, but the consumer really seems to be drawn to the overall look of the case pieces,” said Tatelman.

He said consumers are looking for unique pieces that break the monotony of matching case goods collections. Reclaimed pieces can be shown in eclectic mixes and have applications in every room of the house, he said.

“We are inundated these days with similar looks from Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware, but not everyone can afford to buy from those resources,” Tatelman said.

Furniture Classics began showing some pieces featuring reclaimed timber in 2014 and came out with its first significant offering that October.

“The majority of those SKUs are still with us and it has continued to grow,” said Alex Boyer, vice president of sales and marketing for the company.
Furniture Classics began seeing a movement in reclaimed pieces at European shows in 2013.The company previously had refurbished antique pieces like tables and benches. That encouraged it to begin using reclaimed timber, he said.

Most of its reclaimed product uses lumber of Asian origin, mainly elm, Boyer said.

“We really started making some things out of old doors, starting with a media credenza and a simple sort of linen armoire,” Boyer said. Now, it has expanded into occasional chests and cabinets, dining tables, side tables and sideboards. Almost 25% of the current product line can be considered reclaimed.

Working with reclaimed timber means that wood may simply be brushed clean to stay in its natural state. Shading is often natural, with natural discoloring with a fair amount of difference from item to item, Boyer said.

“In one particular cutting, you could end up with several different color tones from piece to piece, just because of the nature of the product,” he said. “It’s very appealing and part of the story is that no two are alike, every one is unique and different and that’s how it’s being embraced.”

Boyer said it can sometimes be difficult to relay the story of reclaimed woods to a consumer, who may not realize each piece is different. Consumers want what they were drawn to on the retail floor and it can be problematic for stores if they deliver a piece that is slightly different, he said.

To deal with this, some stores are delivering the floor sample chosen by a consumer and replenishing it with another reclaimed piece from the warehouse, so customers get exactly what they saw.

Furniture Classics is working to create point-of-purchase materials explaining the timber and green nature of the product at retail, Boyer said.

Chris Bruning, vice president of Groovystuff, a veteran in the reclaimed category, has witnessed an explosion in reclaimed woods.

About a decade ago, Groovystuff began making its easily distinguishable style of rustic Western looks from reclaimed teak wagon wheels. This year it took its reclaimed story further with third party Forest Stewardship Council-Recycled label certification.

Bruning said that during Groovystuff’s first few years, he focused on letting the product speak for itself. If a piece was made from wood reclaimed from a plow, he would point out a place on the wood where hands had pushed it, or would note that the swivel action on barstools was from wagon wheel hubs.

“We didn’t say it’s eco or green. We said this is incredible product because of its salvaged story, and look at the ingenuity of it,” he said. “That’s what sold that line, the character of the piece.”

Using reclaimed woods has allowed the company to enter categories it may otherwise have been hesitant to enter, he added. For example, Groovystuff introduced a lighting line this fall. Bruning said that with little competition among companies selling reclaimed lines in lighting, there was no reason not to enter the category.

Reclaimed furniture has become a big enough niche that designers are pushing its boundaries. At Four Hands, the new line with designer Thomas Bina features contemporary designs using reclaimed woods. More than 100 hand-crafted pieces are made from a mixture of South American reclaimed hardwoods and natural finishes with no stain applied, using pure dovetail joinery, tongue-and-groove and mortise-and-tenon construction.

Discarded telephone poles are fused with metal to create a past-and-present mix. Wood tones vary throughout the line. Bina said he also drew inspiration from 1940s and 1950s hardware shapes, designing furniture with a sophisticated edge and slight rustic touches.

“The collection is intentionally super modern. Many styles look good mixed together,” he said.

Darren Green, owner of the Old Wood Co., a young reclaimed wood manufacturer based in Asheville, N.C., also has been aiming to bring a more modern touch to pieces. He said he is working to expand the depth of style in reclaimed wood pieces. “I’ve seen a lot of reclaimed product in the market. What I’ve seen lacking is the real modern, clean lines,” he said.

His goal is a rustic, clean contemporary look for the product line, which spans occasional, dining and lighting, and can be customized.

Green, formerly a Lee upholstery sales rep for eight years, began showing as The Old Wood Co. in Lee’s showroom in April 2015. He started the company the previous fall and now offers about 20 designs.

The company consists of Green, one full-time woodworker, and a part-time employee.

“I wanted to kind of do something a little different; sell something not typical to the marketplace,” he said.

He plans to develop other products using lumber certified by third parties. Green works with a local blacksmith to cast iron, sometimes from old engine radiator blocks, for some items in the line.

“I’m not going for the person that goes for a table made in a factory, and there’s thousands of them out there,” Green said.

He said that as a consumer, he has been doing more research into the background of companies on big ticket purchases, and thinks that trend might benefit Old Wood.

“Maybe others are researching and willing to make an investment for a company they respect or agree with,” Green said.

Source : www.furnituretoday.com