If I can be another voice, another option, or if my social media feed can show people what local beautiful products are then that’s good and I know if I’m doing that and other local businesses are doing that, we’re supporting one another in supporting our communities to become more sustainable.
My general outlook in life is that I live from a sense that this world has been created by a loving God and my life in response is to be a part of stewarding and looking after that world.
That is the essential foundation that undergirds my life.
That is the essential foundation that undergirds my life.
So when I look at the processes in my business I think ‘how can I minimise my cost, minimise my waste and reduce the size of my environmental footprint in the way I do business?’.
It’s not about competitive advantage and trying to market my business as environmentally friendly, it’s about aligning my business with who I want to be as a responsible human.
I do use a lot of recycled timber, partly because it’s beautiful.
It tends to be old-growth timber from generations ago so it has a lot more character and richer grain than new-growth timber - that you buy from timber mills now - but I don’t exclusively use recycled timbers.
It tends to be old-growth timber from generations ago so it has a lot more character and richer grain than new-growth timber - that you buy from timber mills now - but I don’t exclusively use recycled timbers.
For me, it’s about trying to use whatever I can because I hate waste, so anywhere that I can minimise waste is a good thing.
For example, I might have a thin strip of jarrah leftover from making a table so I’ll turn it into a board or a little business card holder.
It means that what you see at the markets is all recycled and reclaimed, even if that means it’s reclaimed from my own waste.
It means that what you see at the markets is all recycled and reclaimed, even if that means it’s reclaimed from my own waste.
In my workshop, I have skylights so I’m not using any lights and I have systems like coloured coded bins.
Timber scraps that I can’t use for my own projects go to other people that can practically use them like Richard from Dogboy Knives, a local retired woodturner, or a young rock climber that makes climbing holds out of timber because most of them are made out of plastic.
Timber scraps that I can’t use for my own projects go to other people that can practically use them like Richard from Dogboy Knives, a local retired woodturner, or a young rock climber that makes climbing holds out of timber because most of them are made out of plastic.
I collect my sawdust to give to a local egg producer who use it to create bio compost out of their eggshell scraps.
And if it’s none of the above I have a bin that every so often I open up to people that have wood fires.
And if it’s none of the above I have a bin that every so often I open up to people that have wood fires.
All these little things take a little bit of time but it means that the only thing that goes to waste is a standard 140L red bin once a week and I think it’s pretty cool that I’m not throwing out piles of timber offcuts.
I just love the story of taking things that are considered waste and turning them into something beautiful.
I had a guy come to me with an old outdoor dining table - nothing fancy - old wood, made of jarrah.
I had a guy come to me with an old outdoor dining table - nothing fancy - old wood, made of jarrah.
It was disintegrated to the point that he brought it to me in a box of pieces but I was able to turn it into a coffee table for him, just by reworking and adding some other recycled timbers.
Now he has a unique coffee table made from the outdoor table his family used as a kid - full of memories tying him to his parents that have passed.
Now he has a unique coffee table made from the outdoor table his family used as a kid - full of memories tying him to his parents that have passed.
One of the things I am personally working toward is the idea that furniture can undergo the same revolution that food has.
In the same way that people are now looking at the steak or vegetables on their plate and want to know where it’s from and the conditions it has been grown in.
In the same way that people are now looking at the steak or vegetables on their plate and want to know where it’s from and the conditions it has been grown in.
I’ve taken that idea of farm to table food and I’ve implemented it in my work with clients.
We allocate a tree to be felled on their property with the express purpose that it will be returned to them as furniture. It’s a longer-term process because when you fell a tree the timber has to dry for about two years, but I really do love that idea.
We allocate a tree to be felled on their property with the express purpose that it will be returned to them as furniture. It’s a longer-term process because when you fell a tree the timber has to dry for about two years, but I really do love that idea.
We are also heading that way with a lot of new timber in Australia.
If you buy from reputable suppliers they track exactly where that timber has come from - from the forest to the mill to the wholesaler - so you know that it’s sustainably grown, sourced and milled.
If you buy from reputable suppliers they track exactly where that timber has come from - from the forest to the mill to the wholesaler - so you know that it’s sustainably grown, sourced and milled.
The driver for lots of small businesses, certainly the driver for mine, is the value of less is more.
So without necessarily even trying to be radically sustainable small business just tends to be that way because we don’t have the economies of scale to manipulate and create markets the way these huge companies do.
So without necessarily even trying to be radically sustainable small business just tends to be that way because we don’t have the economies of scale to manipulate and create markets the way these huge companies do.
You can buy one piece of furniture from me for the cost of five or ten pieces of furniture from a place like Ikea.
But the only reason we think it’s reasonable to buy a dining table for $699 is because you can.
But the only reason we think it’s reasonable to buy a dining table for $699 is because you can.
I explain to people, I can barely buy the timber for that price.
And I’m not talking fancy timber - you buy Tasmanian oak which is about as cheap and readily available as anything in this country - but the cost for me to get Tasmanian oak here to make that table is not far from the price it’ll cost you to buy a table for that much.
And I’m not talking fancy timber - you buy Tasmanian oak which is about as cheap and readily available as anything in this country - but the cost for me to get Tasmanian oak here to make that table is not far from the price it’ll cost you to buy a table for that much.
So if you just need a table I’m not your guy. But if you want something that’s particular, that’s beautiful, that has a story and is locally made, then I am.
And I think more people are making choices based on those values now, which is great, it’s opening up the door for more smaller businesses.
And I think more people are making choices based on those values now, which is great, it’s opening up the door for more smaller businesses.
In a sense, we’re recapturing this idea of a village because you can go to a marketplace like Bowerbird and furnish your entire home, buy clothes, cosmetics or food.
You can buy everything - it’s not just people making trinkets and soaps anymore.
You can buy everything - it’s not just people making trinkets and soaps anymore.
The more we operate based on these values, the more it forces the big companies - supermarkets and furniture chains and the like - to look into the local market.
For example, today my wife texted me a picture showing Adelaide Hills Cider in Foodland.
The only reason that’s happening is because Foodland has worked out that people want Adelaide Hills Cider - either because it tastes great or because it’s local.
It shows that because consumer demand says this is good, they want it on their shelves.
The only reason that’s happening is because Foodland has worked out that people want Adelaide Hills Cider - either because it tastes great or because it’s local.
It shows that because consumer demand says this is good, they want it on their shelves.
So we’ve all got a part to play, we can’t say ‘Coles arent listening’ because actually, Coles is listening to you.
Similarly, the only reason Harvey Norman is buying tables from Indonesia is because that’s what people want. If they are aware that more people want tables made locally or made from local timbers they will source that - its supply and demand.
Similarly, the only reason Harvey Norman is buying tables from Indonesia is because that’s what people want. If they are aware that more people want tables made locally or made from local timbers they will source that - its supply and demand.
These companies aren’t inherently evil, they aren’t going we want to buy things from offshore that exploits kids and arrives on a great big boat, they are just giving people what they want.
People don’t realise how much power they have as consumers.
People don’t realise how much power they have as consumers.
If I can be another voice, another option, or if my social media feed can show people what local beautiful products are then that’s good and I know if I’m doing that and other local businesses are doing that, we’re supporting one another in supporting our communities to become more sustainable.
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