Here at From the Source we get an intimate look at materials, construction, and the struggle to create products in a way that respects the craftsman, worker, planet, material, and consumer in equal fashion. With all the current chatter about stimulus, what’s shovel ready, embracing innovation, and creating a green-collar economy, what gets lost in the shuffle are the challenges involved in being a truly green company (Kermit said it wasn’t easy…)
The difficulties and challenges aren’t talked about as much, perhaps because it’s not easy to get everyone to embrace something if they know it’s going to be hard. However, the difficulties don’t lie in the moral choices that arise. Some things are come naturally; to try to treat employees well, to choose materials that are safer, cleaner, and better for the planet, and it’s usually a pleasure to be able to talk to customers about where a particular wood comes from. It’s satisfying to know that we design and build our furniture to be taken with you as you move through life or, in time, passed on to relatives and friends. We think that part’s easy. The difficulties seem to lie with how to reconcile those principles with the reality of how we live life now.
