Let's Nail the Cure

Paslode introduced its "Let's Nail the Cure" Tool Graffiti to help promote breast cancer awareness. The company will donate 25 percent of its profits from the "Let's Nail the Cure" Tool Graffiti to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
These decals or skins fit right on the body of the tool. Represent!

Diversify, diversify, diversify!

Technology is shaping how we live and what we buy. A savvy furnituremaker in Oregon, Substrata, sells a gorgeous line of custom wooden cases and docking stations for the iPad, iPhone and other personal electronic devices. The cases are made from exotic woods such as, Zebrawood, Maple, Fir, Walnut, Padauk and Wenge.

The tech accessories as well as other products create a nice revenue stream when consumers are hesitant to invest thousands in a custom piece of furniture. A $100 to $150 custom case for their newest toy is easier to swallow. iWant one!

Cabinet sales decline 28.3% in 2009

Cabinet manufacturers reported sales totaling $4.8 billion for 2009, down 28.3 percent compared to total sales for 2008, according to the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association’s monthly Trend of Business Survey.
Stock sales were down 24.1 percent, semi-custom sales were down 30.2 percent and custom sales were down 37.2 percent.
December 2009 monthly sales were down 9.8 percent compared to December 2008. Stock sales were down 16 percent, custom sales were down 25.8 percent and semi-custom reported a slight 0.5 percent increase compared to December 2008.
Survey participants include stock, semi-custom and custom companies whose combined sales represent more than 60 percent of the U.S. cabinet market.

Give the gift of wood next Valentine’s Day

OK, so I’m a day late and a dollar short for Valentine’s Day 2010. However, you can give your partner the gift of wood next year.
A marketing savvy Vermont woodworker has created The Naked Table Project, a Valentine’s weekend couple’s retreat that makes a contemporary heirloom-quality family table, designed by Charles Shackleton.
Six months before the event, 80 to 100-year-old sugar maple trees are harvested from a local sustainable forest. The wood is logged, sawn, dried and machined by various local artisans. Assisted by several ShackletonThomas furniture makers, 15 couples spend their first day assembling, smoothing and finishing the tables.
The weekend also includes a nature hike through the woods with a professional forester to see the actual source of the lumber and to indentify a replacement seedling tree. The GPS coordinates of each tree are recorded and attached to the base of the signed and numbered Naked Table. The weekend ends with a feast around the completed tables. All the tables are lined up to create a 75-foot-long table adorned with locally grown foods.
All tables come with a certificate stating the origins of the wood and a list of the chain of people who helped create the table.