When I talk to architects and designers about using American hardwoods I am usually battling preconceived notions of how our forest resource is managed in the United States. The destruction of the rain forests taints the picture of sustainable American hardwoods. The media has done a great job of convincing people that when we use a tree we are killing…
I have been in the hardwood business for nearly 26 years. The last 4 years have been spent talking to designers and architects about using sustainable American hardwoods in their designs for residences, hotels, restaurants, museums and public buildings of all sorts. I am struck occasionally by the fact that designers and architects are willing to subjugate their aesthetic vision…
I have been traveling with Dan Hackett, CEO and President of Frank Miller Lumber, for the past two and a half weeks. We have spent time with architects and designers in Singapore as well as distributors of hardwoods in Perth and Sydney, Australia. We have visited flooring and furniture manufacturers in Singapore, Perth, Sydney and Takayama, Japan. We have been…
In the world of figured hardwoods, there has always been this spectre hanging around in the shadows. It presents itself in the inevitable clash between the imagined look of the lumber and what actually turns up at the plant or workshop. Many years ago I sold figured and exotic hardwoods to a variety of woodworkers. If, for example, I took…
I have an immensely interesting job. I get to talk with designers and architects about using American hardwoods in projects all over the world. After several years I am finally being invited into design meetings as hotels are taking shape. There are several projects with which I am involved now that are for well-known international architecture and interior design firms…
Hardwood Floors Offer Beauty and Versatility While some manufactured flooring attempts to imitate hardwood, there no substitute for American hardwood floors made from verifiably sustainable American hardwoods. There are myriad hardwood flooring choices available in today’s market and American Red and White Oak are among the most popular choices. Bamboo is often touted as a rapidly renewable alternative to American…
Thoughts about the three main similarities between humans and trees: American Hardwood trees are like humans in three distinct and profound ways: Both are mostly water Both have a peak life span of approximately 80 years Both are completely unique Let’s talk about items #2 and #3. While humans can live longer than 80 years, trees can also. However, past…
I have told architects for several years the sad story of a large home being built in 2001 for a very famous celebrity. When I was still selling lumber for Frank Miller Lumber I was called by all of the hardwood flooring suppliers in the region, all looking for lumber for 10,000 square feet of rift sawn white oak flooring…
As I travel all over the U.S. and around the world talking to architecture and design firms, I have been struck by the unbelievable volume of planned construction of five and six-star hotels in the next five years. One hotel group has 80, yes 80 hotels scheduled for China in the next five years. Another has 15 planned for India…
I have been assisting some designers and architects in the past year who find themselves up against the clock on a job where hardwood specifications aren’t being met. I tell them the problem is that it’s very rare that the people who are trying to get the job will actually tell the truth about what is and is not possible.…