My promise to our customers

The economy has grasped businesses in a stranglehold that is choking the life and breath out of our sense of security. Every day, the news headlines have a depressing array of more announcements of layoffs and business closures. We've seen starving businesses respond with drastic reductions, slashing their profits in order to keep their doors open a little bit longer.

I don't think the answer is to do business more cheaply. We should be doing it better. We are all working as hard as we can, so perhaps we need to work smarter. 

What does that mean? Well, we need to focus on doing our job without distractions or shortcuts, to forge ahead with innovations that will continue to improve our products and services, and keep our eyes on our number one priority: you, the customer.

I believe the best thing we can do for our customers is to look at what you need for your home or office and to provide you with the quality that lasts a lifetime. The way I see ClearLake Furniture, it is our job to:

• Live up to your standards of excellence — and then exceed them with furniture that is crafted to your liking and built with only the best materials by highly skilled artisans.
• Continue to create new designs for fine hardwood furniture that meets your need for function and desire for style.
• Help you to customize your furniture with your choice of materials, sizes, and details so that you get exactly what you want.
• Communicate with you throughout the process of crafting your furniture so that you know how it's progressing and when it will be delivered to you.
• Coordinate delivery that is convenient for you!
• Back up everything we build with the guarantee of your 100% satisfaction.
• Be your resource for solutions about your furniture, its maintenance, your decorating challenges. and other needs we can meet.
• Respect your concerns, welcome your inquiries, and address your requests promptly courteously, and professionally at all times.

If you ever feel we have not lived up to any of these responsibilities, please email me at brent@clearlakefurniture.com. And if we've done a good job for you, feel free to let me know that, too!

Smith Brothers joins our furniture family.

There are a lot of comings and goings in our ClearLake Furniture showroom, particularly with our upholstered pieces, which comes in on an almost weekly basis, but disappears from the showroom floor with equal speed.

Smith Brothers of Berne's upholstery has proven to be the right addition to our furniture "family" When we were looking to expand our choices in this area, we looked at a lot of companies, but none came so close to our own business mission as Smith Brothers. The quality craftsmanship, timeless designs, and attention to detail and personal service were a solid match with our own.

We looked at many companies and got a lesson in furniture buying! There is a vast difference in the construction of upholstered furniture, just like with hardwood pieces. But at least with our hardwood furniture, you can see every bit of the construction! With upholstery you can be so easily distracted by the fabric and style that you might miss some of the simple flaws.

Here's what I like about Smith Brothers of Berne and, more importantly, why YOU should, too:

• The frames are made of kiln-dried hardwood maple to resist warping, which can occur from household humidity.
• Smith Brothers' coil spring suspension is machine-tied for maximum durability.
• The suspension features an elevated front support edge for better sitting and longer life.
• Each seat is individually supported and floated over the frame.
• The legs are built-in so they won't loosen or break.
• The back and seat cushions are polyester-wrapped, which adds plushness and prevents the covers from slipping around the foam core.
• Every piece carries a lifetime construction warranty.

When you're shopping for upholstered furniture, be sure to compare these features with the pieces you're considering. And if they can't offer a lifetime warranty, be sure to ask why!

The story of the "All Come Home" table

Every year, we at ClearLake Furniture support the public schools in our area by donating to the live auction for the Okemo Community Challenge Ski Ball. This black-tie event is one of the biggest fundraisers each year. In the past, we've contributed gift certificates. Auction guests "won" $500 certificates for a little less than the face value and the Challenge raised much-needed money. All were happy.

I decided to do something more interesting this year. I designed and crafted a one-of-a-kind console table with two drawers. The top was made of Vermont maple with a cherry base and legs. But this is a one-of-a-kind table for a different reason. I added a cherry inlay on the maple table top with the words "all come home", which is the English translation of the Indian word "Okemo".

I've done many wood inlays in my career as a furniture crafters, but this one was by far the most challenging. Getting the curves right and fitting them tightly into the table top took many hours. I enlisted the help of the sign shop at Okemo Mountain Resort with their laser-cutting tools, which was a definite help.

The "all come home" table has a few other features that make it truly unique. For the top, I chose tapped maple because it had some beautiful streaks that resulted from moisture seeping in around the tap holes. This particular maple was "rescued" from being firewood, having been felled at a construction site in northern Vermont. The cherry for the base and legs was FSC-certified wood.

I also built in a secret drawer, which is a common feature in antiques. This practice dates back to the days when people didn't trust banks to store their precious treasures and papers. It seemed like a good add-on for this table, given the current state of our financial system.

In all, I invested more than 50 hours working on this one piece. It was a labor of love because I, too, support our schools and recognize that they need more than their meager budgets can provide. The table which would retail for $3,500 (if I had the energy to do this again) sold for $2,550 at the auction.

I feel good that this year, I donated more than gift certificates. I contributed my time, creative energy, and the skills that I have invested a lifetime in building. Giving doesn't need to require writing a check. Time is precious. Give it wisely!

Upholstery: The "cushier" side of ClearLake

Our marketing maven Sue has been bugging me to write more about our upholstery. She says people don't realize that we also sell upholstered furniture that reflects the same quality of our custom-crafted hardwood pieces.

Maybe I spend so much time in the workshop beneath our showroom that I don't see these pieces coming and going so quickly. I know the upholstered furniture is wonderful, even though I'm not usually permitted to sit in it because of my sawdust-covered pants.

Since Sue is also a customer, I suggested that she should stop nagging me and use that energy to write about our collection of Smith Brothers Upholstery furniture herself so I could get back to the workshop. So, here is what she gave me:

Our family purchased a new recliner from ClearLake Furniture for my 85 year-old father for Christmas. He was thrilled to get a replacement for the tired, old chair in which he has been spending his days, where he eats, watches (and yells at) the television, and snuggles his beloved poodle. I think my mother was even happier to see that old chair go to a local charity. But let me tell you about the process of getting this chair, because I think THIS is what truly distinguishes ClearLake Furniture from its competitors:

• Hannah took the time to help me choose the chair and showed me the exceptional construction of both the frame and the cushions. Then she guided me through the fabric choice, wisely helping me pulling out swatches that reflected the wall colors and other pieces in the living room so we could find the fabric that would work best. She was fantastic!
• Once I ordered the chair, Barbara stayed in touch and let me know when it arrived at the shop — a week earlier than expected! She went to great pains to coordinate the shipping with me. She's a real asset to ClearLake!
• The delivery men showed up on time. That, in itself, is a phenomenon in these days of "we'll be there between noon and whenever." They were very careful with the chair and extremely friendly, even after the long day they had already endured.

ClearLake Furniture is not just a furniture maker. You are a team of highly talented professionals who make the experience memorable!

Here's one more compliment for you. Both my sister and sister-in-law said the recliner was so beautiful that they would want it in THEIR homes — and if you knew how picky both of these women are, you'd know this is the highest compliment!

So, when are you going to start telling the world about your wonderful upholstered furniture???

Thanks, Sue I think I just did!

Resolutions that are made to be broken

Well, we're now one month into 2009 and I'm trying to remember the last time my New Year's resolutions didn't include some alteration to my eating habits (the dreaded "D" word). and the solemn vow to turn my treadmill from a clothes hanger back into a fully functioning piece of exercise equipment. Well, I hate to break a streak so I've decided to resolve to eat more fruits and less junk. I will limit my diet soda habit to no ore than one per day. And dark chocolate — which I consider a health food for its antioxidant power — will no longer be one of my primary food groups. And I promise to take my eager dog for more frequent walks, with the firm understanding that cold temperatures and foul weather are reasonable excuses for skipping those jaunts.

I don't know if I'm still feeling some residual warmth from the holiday spirit but I have also resolved to be a better businessperson. No, I wasn't visited by three spirits. In a time when businesses are closing their doors and people are losing their jobs and their homes, the community as a whole needs to work harder for the good of the whole, not just the one.

Price reductions are not the answer — at least not for ClearLake Furniture. The process of hand-crafting furniture with the exceptional quality we produce can't be compromised. To save money and reduce the prices, we'd have to hurry it up, move faster, and cut a few corners, and that's just not acceptable.

Instead, we are looking at ways to support both our customers and the people who are in need. In 2009, I will look to you for suggestions as to how we can be part of the solution to help those most in need. In future posts here, I will share some of the suggestions from our staff, customers friends, and colleagues, so please stay tuned! We can work together to regain the strength that has been the benchmark of this wonderful country.

Ho ho hum

After all the holiday gifts are unwrapped (and exchanged or returned), the decorations taken down, and the house returns to quasi-normal, where do your thoughts turn? Well, you could run to the stores with your new supply of gift cards, but you might as well wait until the inventory has been restored to something more palatable than the leftovers that no one else wanted. Huge discounts are really only worthwhile if it's a great price on something you truly want. I don't know about you, but I've got enough clutter. I don't need more.

I find that once the chaos of the holidays has quieted and I'm surrounded by a snow-covered yard that doesn't need mowing or gardening, my thoughts turn to improving my indoor spaces. That means that one room will probably get some sort of makeover this winter. And when I make over a room, I remove EVERYTHING — furniture, rugs, wall art — and start with a blank canvas. Sure, it makes everyone else in the house a little annoyed, but I'm a domestic artiste and that's what we do! 

This year I'm tackling the dining room. It's boring. The walls are going from off-white to a soft, creamy yellow. The old curtains will soon be history. And the china plates on the wall will head to storage until I'm ready to reconnect with them. In their place, I'll hang some frosted glass shelves to display an array of family photos. The hutch will move to the opposite wall, just for a change. Two new wall sconces, a new area rug, a new table runner and centerpiece, and I'm done — unless I cave in and add a buffet. Every makeover deserves at least one new piece of furniture. And I figure I've saved a lot of money by not getting caught up in the January sales and not bringing home deeply discounted stuff the will clutter my space. In other words, I'm nesting, and investing in my comfort is, as they say in the commercials … priceless!

Home office makeover

The term "home office" used to mean the headquarters for a corporate conglomerate. In the 21st century, "home office" reflects the purest meaning of the two, separate words: an office in the home. Apple Computer, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and even Hershey's Chocolate started as home-based businesses. Whether you're running a business from your home or just need additional office space there, you need to consider a few things when setting up your home office:

1. Organization. File cabinets, desk drawers, and shelves are essential to the home office, but don't let them become repositories of unorganized files, notes, and materials. Create a system that will work for you.
2. Flow. Look at the way you work. What keeps you moving from place to place during an average work day? What do you need within reach of your desk or primary workspace? Do you need certain equipment (e.g., printer, files) close by? With wireless technology, you don't have to be hard-wired in one place. Walk through the paces of your workflow and then lay out your office to accommodate your paths.
3. Space. How much square footage is available for your home office? What do you need for electrical outlets or phone jacks? Do you work primarily from your computer? Is it a desktop or laptop? Should you use a traditional desk or would an armoire allow better use of your space?
4. Aesthetics. Are you going to have clients and vendors come to your home office? What image do you want the ambience to convey? How will you use the natural light? Do you need soft light and natural colors or are you ore stimulated by more vivid hues? What atmosphere promotes more productivity? Your home office aesthetics are as important to a productive environment as the placement of your computer or the size of the room!

Your home office may be in your residence, but it IS a place of work, which means a corner in the kitchen or the dining room table is not suitable. Create the environment that will help you achieve the best results.