Old Hardware, New Furniture

Mark is out and about so today I am your guest blogger!

I’m Alison Heath, the Director of Marketing for Hardwood Artisans. As I mentioned in last month’s newsletter, I have a very curious obsession with furniture. Luckily, I’m in the right place because I work with a bunch of people just like me.

Most of what I buy is antique or “collectible” I suppose since it’s all less than 100 years old. However, I need a file cabinet for my home office and it’s hard to find vintage file cabinets that are in good condition and that aren’t metal (which definitely won’t work with all the walnut in my place). So last week I ordered my own piece of Hardwood Artisans furniture—a modified laptop desk deskmate. It’s not on the website yet, but you can see it in our Alexandria store.

Since the Mid-century look is relatively new for us and I needed a Mid-century detail to match the cabinet to the rest of my furniture, it was off to the internet to find an appropriate selection.

What I found was a lovely little company out in Portland, Oregon called Rejuvenation. Not only did I find the most adorable pulls for my file cabinet, they came in less than a week and the people were incredibly friendly. And they have a blog too.

All in all, a wonderful experience. I can’t wait to do business with them again.

Black Wolf Coffee

I go to a local coffee shop in Warrenton, Black Wolf Coffee, once in a while. Lately, I go there more frequently. Sherri makes the best mocha, and she recently has gotten me hooked (like a pusher) on coffee with two shots of espresso.

I heard that Starbucks had suffered a 97% drop in profits. Gees, I'll take the 3% profit in this economic climate. Stop your whining, Starbucks. You have nothing to complain about.

Danker Furniture announced the closing of three stores in the area. This does not make me happy in any way. It actually makes me sad, and a little nervous. Many jobs are lost, and all the knowledge and talent that has been acquired over the years at Danker is dissipating. Competition is good for businesses. It affords the ability to differentiate oneself from the pack. I like Sherri's coffee better. It has more love in the mix. Many people really liked Danker. They were reputable people who knew their jobs.

I worry about local businesses like Black Wolf. I go more often for several reasons. I figure I have $10 extra bucks a week to burn through, and if that makes a difference of keeping Black Wolf there in a year or not, I'm glad to do it. Also, I've been having some pretty interesting conversations with my barista (that always sounds so impressive) about stuff. Important stuff, like.......I don't know.........stuff. Really, going to Black Wolf makes me feel more centered, more focused on the day at hand. The visit is only for 5 minutes, but when I leave with a smile and a great cup of coffee, I'm good to go.

What I'm telling you is that we are all in this thing together, and some businesses are not doing so well. If they are worth having, go support them. Don't let the doom and gloom of the economic forecasters dictate when and where you spend your money. Gas prices are down, the election is over. Go get a cup of coffee and celebrate.

Washington Spaces

I met a very interesting person today by the name of Jennifer Sergent. She is a reporter for Washington Spaces Magazine, one of the magazines we advertise in.

We found some common ground in that she and I went to the same high school - Langley - though several (read many) years apart. Also, she has a blog - washingtonspaces.com/blog like I do.

I found the time with her refreshing, like talking with an old friend. It's nice to meet someone new who has shared similar experiences at some other time. It was as if I had known her for years. Have you ever had that happen to you?

Did you see us in the Examiner this week?

When I said in my last entry that I am a master craftsman, I did not expect people to take notice so quickly! If you’re looking for some quality reading material, let me suggest a pair of articles featured in the DC Examiner and the Baltimore Examiner.

The first, in the DC Examiner, is an interview I did about our furniture donation initiative with ACTS, which I discussed in a previous entry. Sorry if it sounds choppy… I only had three minutes to interview!

The second, in the Baltimore Examiner, quotes Alison--that thirty-something Marketing Director of ours--about our Murphy and wall beds. Speaking of which, last weekend’s Post ad featured the Library Wall Bed. I think they make excellent guest beds… nothing beats a real mattress for comfort, not to mention the inherent space-saving features of being able to fold a bed into a wall.

We typically sell a lot of these beds around the holidays to families expecting out-of-town visitors, and I have to imagine other furniture retailers experience a similar phenomenon. I’ve also seen some pretty innovative guest solutions out there, though in my house we just put rocks under the mattress to get guests to leave early. In your house, where do your guests go?

"I'm somebody now!"

I like to think of myself as being good at what I do. I work for a company that has been in business for 32 years, and I’ve been a part of it for the last 22. And yet every day I learn something new as a woodworker. In this field, it is very hard to be a “know-it-all,” no matter how hard I may try. So, as you can see, today when I make a piece of furniture for a customer, there are many things--collected over my 25 years as a woodworker--that I take into account. You might even consider me an expert furniture maker… even a master craftsman.

My extremely talented Marketing Director recently coerced me into writing down some of my sage knowledge in the form of an article, which we submitted to DesignLine magazine. Today the mail arrived, and with it came the magazine, with my published article on pages 16 – 17! “The new phone book’s here! The new phone book’s here! I’m somebody now!”

So, what do you think? Did you learn something? Bonus points if you can guess which movie I’ve quoted.

Dining: Linnaea-Style!

Wow! We’ve received a lot of interest in a product we’ve not even debuted yet… our Linnaea dining set! We’ve already drawn up plans for a table, and we’re working on the chairs as I type. Here, you can see two of the table drawings. It’ll be at least 4 weeks until we even have a picture of this never-before-seen item!

However, we do have one Linnaea dining item you CAN see now: the Linnaea credenza. This great piece is diminutive in size and works great as a small server or even as a living room cabinet which stylistically matches other items in the Linnaea Collection.

Do you have any other ideas for items we ought to add to the Linnaea Collection? If so, please leave a comment below!

Linnaea Updates

Dance, monkey, dance. The stress test worked.

Jason and me with "the slider" cabinet. The top doors slide to the center or the far left and right to reveal a jewelry drawer in the top middle. The drawer is on metal glides for full extension and is fully lined with a complete jewelry organizer. The drawers are curved fronts, like the case and top. These pieces should be in the showroom within two weeks.