In some real ways writing about furniture, taking photos, marketing, and managing a website is about seeing what you see and having something to say. This blog for instance is a chance to see how our industry works, how our company works, and finding something to say about it. Not just anything, but something that helps people better understand the furniture they buy. There’s an art to taking a good product photo. I’m basically just an amateur, but i’ve found that getting the perfect lighting and backdrop for a shot is basically impossible in our building. Even if i do get good lighting and backgrounds, when i see the photo on my computer, i don’t like it and edit it anyway. Maybe i’m just too picky.

Having something to say. That’s an interesting concept in the furniture industry. Our company is a family business built in Durham, NC. We’re local and small, but we have to compete with larger companies and even with international companies that are selling into our market. It’s tough but we do it. When that’s your situation, you have something to say. You have to be able to justify why you cost more and what advantage they’re going to get by buying it from you instead of getting any-old-thing at the cheapest price possible.

So thank you Ruohonen for giving me pause to think about what i do and what my family’s company does. I hope i can think more deeply in the future about what my photos are saying and i hope i can translate that into what i write about the furniture.

One of the interesting things about making custom unfinished furniture and selling both standard and custom furniture is that its easy to overwhelm people. Most of the time when a person comes in, they are looking for something that suites their needs that they can take with them. It’s great when we have it, but the more functionality you need, the more likely you’re going to need something built. That is totally OK. It just might require a bit of patience.

At Durham Bookcases and similar stores, we can built what you need with the features you want. This kitchen island [1], for example, was ordered by one of our wholesale accounts in Washington, DC. We don’t keep these in stock because we don’t get that much call for them. But we built it and it turned out beautiful (at least to me!). The customer got a slat-shelf and utensil drawer. The drawer has a beadboard bottom which gives it an extra touch of charm. The slat-shelf means that water from fresh produce won’t pool and that air can circulate through what is store on it (not to mention in looks cool). This piece offers things that you might not find ready-made in a store.

It’s basically a table that has been raised and built with a drawer and shelf. So it’s similar to things we keep in stock, but required a bit of modification. We love doing that. It keeps retail and manufacturing interesting and lets customers get what their looking for.

So what does this all mean? Three things:

1. Don’t be afraid to get what you want. You may have to look for something similar to use as a starting point and then see what modifications are available to get the features you need.
2. Don’t be scared to let the staff make suggestions. They know their products and can probably help you get exactly what you want. When i help someone i try to keep in mind ways to get them what they want and save them money.
3. Don’t be afraid to be patient. This is the hard one in our instantly downloadable world, but unfortunately quality and precision take time. The more features you want, the more time it might take, but in the end you get the benefits you wanted.

[1] www.thebookcaseshop.com

1. You control the interaction between color [1] , space [2], and psychology.
2. You can find furniture that fits your space and not have to make the space fit the furniture
3. You can get the features you need in one piece and possibly create multipurpose furniture thus saving space.
4. You can get what you need without having to buy something bigger just because smaller sizes are not popular on the market.

For a small space, nothing gives you options like unfinished furniture. Check out your local unfinished furniture store and manufacturer to see what’s available and if you happen to be near Durham, NC come check us out at Durham Bookcases (www.thebookcaseshop.com)

[1] http://www.precisionintermedia.com/color.html

[2] http://www.invitinghome.com/Idias_Advice/Decorating_Colors_Effect.htm#2

Claim:Unfinished Furniture fits your home like nothing else can.

If this sounds like a strong claim, it is meant to be, but I think I can prove it. Unfinished furniture is just that: unfinished. This offes you three advantages.

1. You can focus on natural grain pattern,
2. you focus on the shape of the piece without being distracted by color, and
3. you can choose the color that goes with your style.

That’s the argument in bullet points.

Thesis 2: Quality furniture is green.

Premise 1: Efficiently manufactured furniture is green.

Durham Bookcases uses similar principles when we manufacture furniture. When we cut parts we try to get as much out of a single piece of wood as we can. This is simply good business. But it’s also Green Design. By maximizing the use of natural resources we can provide quality products that consume less to produce. (Check out our page on Green Bookcases for more).

Premise 2: Furniture that uses less oil and other synthetic based products is green.

When we finish a piece of furniture, we use a water-based poly acrylic finish and water based stains. This means that unlike the oil-based stains and finishes of the past, the finish does not require paint or lacquer thinner to clean up. Water works fine. It also is not near as noxious for our finishing staff. Hendrickson et. al. note “For most consumers, energy efficiency and recyclability are less important product attributes, which means that designers cannot compromise other product attributes in becoming green.” [1] Because the technology behind water-based finishes has improved so much, with our products you don’t have to sacrifice a strong finish to save the environment.

Premise 3: Durable furniture is green.

If something is durable it does not have to be replaced. This removes the problem of it rotting in a dump. It also means that you don’t have to pay to replace it. Also quality durable furniture can probably be repaired or refinished unlike laminated MDF. So if your bookcase gets a scratch in it, it can most likely be fixed. If a piece of molding gets damaged, it can be repaired. Also durable furniture is furniture that will last. This means that when your son or daughter gets their first place and needs a shelf or table, you can pass the piece on to them. They don’t have to buy anything, which reduces consumption of natural resources and energy.

Conclusion

So here the logic. Cheap furniture does not care about the environment because it is more prone to breaking, so it can’t be repaired, and it ends up in a landfill. Quality furniture cares about the environment because:

• efficiently manufactured furniture is green
• furniture that minimizes the use of oil and other synthetic material is green
• durable furniture is green.

Try to buy furniture that meets these criteria. Check out local shops instead of big box stores. And if you’re having trouble finding one check us out at www.thebookcaseshop.com. So next time your driving your hybrid car to the store to shop for furniture ask yourself if what you’re going to buy matches the car you drive.

From where we sit Pine is not cheap wood. Actually it’s price has risen dramatically in the last 10 years. Construction grade ply has gone up, not to mention the higher quality required to build furniture.
At Durham Bookcases, when we build an unfinished pine bookcases, we use
furniture grade plywood and solid wood. This means that we can’t buy
the plywood you see at construction sights or in racks at Home Depot or
Lowes. It just won’t cut it (pardon the pun).

Towards the end of 2011, we’re finally able to find furniture
grade radiata pine [2] plywood
and appropriate solid wood for the trim. Why the change in costs? I
don’t know, but my guess is that we’re coming out of a decade of war
and no longer sending as much pine plywood overseas.