As part of Birchwood Furniture Galleries’ dedication to excellent service and providing product knowledge, we’re bringing you another look inside one of our highly respected solid-wood furniture suppliers. You may recall a previous post about Handstone Furniture. Today, we bring you a more in-depth look at this company that has made a name for themselves by creating a product whose quality is reminiscent of days gone by.
Earlier in the summer, some of our managers had the pleasure of visiting the Handstone factory. Although to call it a ‘factory’ would be misleading if you were to lay your own eyes on the Handstone property. To visit this manufacturer is to take a trip back to simpler times.
As you make your way down quiet country roads, the land is dotted with unmanned stands, local farmers selling homegrown goods on an honour system. More likely than not, you’ll speed past the odd community resident meandering through the country side on a horse and buggy.
Spread out over miles of pristine Ontarian farmland, the mill is comprised of a handful of small properties, some separated by twenty minute travel times. Each farm serves a different function of the manufacturing process. From conception to completion, every individual piece of furniture travels from property to property, carefully wrapped, to have parts built and assembled, or to be finished, and packaged for shipping.
Our managers have been in the furniture business for over twenty years each, and neither had ever experienced anything like this. They were in awe of the simplicity of Handstone Furniture’s practices, their commitment to both quality and eliminating waste.
This Mennonite business is made up of family and community members, and it shows. Where other well-known, established furniture suppliers take more of a big-business approach, Handstone is more interested in getting things right than watching their bottom line.
.jpg)
Because Handstone is so rooted in the community, the stakes are higher than ever to give back and respect the land that has given them so much. The Handstone family is not interested in mass-producing a quick turnover product just to see it take up space in a landfill in a few short years. They make hand-making beautiful, heirloom-quality furnishings to be handed down from generation to generation. Not only does this devotion to quality furniture mean that you save money in the long run, it also means a lesser impact on the local environment.
In their mission to reduce the environmental impact of their industry, Handstone makes every effort maintain a small carbon footprint throughout their production process. Once a tree is cut down, every sliver of wood is put to good use. Leftover cuts from their solid-wood furniture production is used to heat local homes. Even the sawdust has a purpose, carefully spread over stable floors to provide bedding for horses. Nothing goes to waste!
Birchwood Furniture Galleries is proud to offer Handstone Furniture in store. Want to hear more about this Canadian company, and their quality solid-wood furnishings? Visit our fully furnished Calgary showroom and let our well-informed Design Consultants show you why we stand behind Handstone. Be sure to like us on Facebook and sign up for our monthly newsletter for more insider supplier details.
