Paul Vaugoyeau, of Hem, a Swedish online modern furniture retailer, explained to Curbed how Amazon subsidizes shipping. Typically, a small business has to charge for shipping in order to stay afloat, and that can sometimes be almost 15 percent of the purchase price. In addition to the challenge of name recognition, small businesses face the issue of expensive shipping costs for customers, a problem big businesses don't have to contend with. The furniture market is so saturated with big name companies, it's a constant uphill battle for small business furniture makers.
Understanding that locally made, high-quality furniture comes at a cost is the first step to bettering our local businesses and economy. And that something is going to have to be the way Americans view quality and the retail landscape. You can't have high-quality goods at a low price point that are both made locally and ethically. Just like with the clothing industry, you can't have it both ways. There needs to be a shift in the mindset of this country's consumers. That's a really tall order to ask of furniture makers. People are pretty interested about that at the moment.”Ĭreating High Quality, Yet Affordable and Accessible FurnitureĪmericans want high-quality, locally made furniture at a low price point. It’s not made the way old-timers did it a hundred years ago, but it’s damn close. It’s all in the eyes of the beholder, but the stuff we make is made to last, no doubt. It’s more an heirloom piece, different from something you’d pick up at a different retailer. "It’s locally harvested from Indiana, just one state over. "The number one thing we try to push is that our furniture is solid hardwood that you may or may not be able to get in other places," Hayes Shanesy, of Brush Factory (a Cincinnati-based furniture maker), told Curbed. So how do smaller makers stand out in an already crowded market? Let's take a look at some of the issues facing today's furniture makers.īeing Able to Stand Out in a Crowded Marketįurniture designers have to constantly contend with bigger companies and industry giants knocking off their designs for a cheaper price point.
Most of the challenges stem from the ability to stand out and be successful in an overly populated market. Today's woodworkers make up a huge percentage of the funiture making segment.Ĭurbed recently spoke with furniture owners and designers about the difficulties and challenges of making furniture in today's market. It's a Herculean task to make high-quality, affordable and accessible furniture that stands out in a crowded and ever-growing market. But today's small business furniture makers face a daunting task: to revolutionize a stagnant industry filled with big fish and impossible odds. The US furniture market is worth an estimated $96.4 billion annually.
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