Furniture Handcrafted in New York State

     Okay, so I am stating what seems to be the obvious. Our furniture is made right here in New York State. So, why am I bringing this up? In truth, because our business is part of the current economic and industrial saga  in our nation.
     I have recently been studying this issue. I think we need to be re-familiarized with some of the benefits in actively supporting businesses first locally and then nationally.  There are many great articles online that give the reasons behind supporting local businesses. I have also visited some sites that  exclusively promote buying things made in the USA. Doing so in today's marketplace requires a committed and conscientious consumer.
     Years ago, we relied exclusively on local sales. Of course there was no internet. Word of mouth was our very best advertising tool. Even the home shows that we exhibited at were mostly by locals for the locals. We had wonderful relationships with our customers. Mom was so good at remembering names, and dad just had this way of giving personal attention to every possible customer. My husband and his brother learned that as they literally grew up watching it. Being a keen observer, dad was the leading proponent of having a website. Our website was first created in the early 1990's. At that time, we could hardly imagine selling piece of furniture to someone that lived outside our local area! As the story goes, dad never saw the fruit of the impact of our website. Now we cannot imagine how companies can be in existence without a website! We try to keep things personal by sending photo email updates on the furniture being made.
     In this ever complicated world, our business is still not. We are a family business building a great product in the United States. Our lumber is a product of the US as well. It's just worth mentioning.
    This Black Friday or Cyber Monday or whenever, please consider supporting at least one locally owned business, or look for items made in USA.  I'm pretty sure local businesses will be eager to serve you,  and there are many, capacious benefits.
     If you are around the Cooperstown, NY area, we will be bringing a few items to the Otesaga Hotel on Saturday, November 28th for a Chamber membership exhibition and sale. Then, on December 6th, we will be at the Van Alstyne Holiday Craft Fair in Canajoharie.

25 Wood Selections

Our new pages are up!
They have some great pictures of the 25 different types of wood that we use
along with some furniture pieces that were created from them.
Check it out...

http://www.delnero.com/custom-made/wood-furniture.html

The Wealth of Wood - Part Two

One thing that we have noticed over the years displaying at shows is that people generally love to touch and feel wood. We'll see browsers come and run their hands along our furniture. Many have no idea that they're doing it, others are very keenly aware. The beauty of the wood just speaks to us.

Michael has often been inspired by the words of Michelangelo...

"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."

For us here at Delnero Furniture, the wood is the medium, and the sculptor is the craftsman.

In this article, see the progression of table legs being handturned. The legs are made of heirloom grade quilted maple, and the finished project is a computer table.

Mike has often told me that it is very rewarding to be able to do for a living what he loves, and he surely is an artist. We have customers that have told us that we are building the antiques of tomorrow.

In our opinion, the wealth is already in the wood, it is our job to continue to reveal that beauty.

Watch for our new wood pages on our website, showing characteristics and completed projects for each.

The Wealth of Wood - Part One

Left: a line of maple trees that we planted in Southampton, before we moved. Top: a sampling of our reclaimed Chestnut

The Wealth of Wood as a title comes from a linen wall hanging that is in our showroom. This was something that my mother in law had hanging on one of her hall doors back in Southampton. Michael and I have always loved wood and trees, and at one point she gave it to us. The wallhanging shows samplings of different trees and wood with practical applications.
Our desire as a furniture company extends this appreciation of trees, capturing the natural beauty of the tree into an heirloom piece of furniture that is destined to then live on into the next generations.

There is almost nothing as naturally inspirational as a tree. It has sparked many a poem, deep thought and parallel. I'm sure you can remember a few yourselves...


I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
~Joyce Kilmer, "Trees," 1914

We can learn a lot from trees: they're always grounded but never stop reaching heavenward. ~Everett Mámor

and this one that I just found...
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
Abraham Lincoln

My husband and I love studying trees. One such time was when we went to Gettysburg last summer and were awed by the trees displayed at the National Cemetery. We found out that some were what is called Witness Trees, that is they were there during the battle. Others were given by different states through the years. They are clearly marked, and we heartily recommend an outing there.

Carrying on with this sentiment in our business is the reclaimed wood furniture line that we introduced not so long ago. Some of the wood is from barns that were built during the Civil War. That gives me a great sense of appreciation followed by duty. It is our goal to "treat it well."

That in itself is wealth...something of real value, a treasure.

Two Events - One Weekend

Delnero Furniture will be displaying at two separate events September 12 and 13.

The Harvest Festival in Cooperstown
We will be under a tent on the Farmer's Museum Grounds displaying our furniture.
www.farmersmuseum.org/programs/fall/harvest_festival_2

Fort Klock Craft Fair
Bobby will be demonstrating his woodturning abilities. We will be bringing some small items.
http://fortklock.org/2009.html

We hope to meet you there!

Figured Woods

We were talking this past Sunday about the Shaker's use of figured woods. The beauty of the furniture is in part due to the beauty of the wood. The Shakers believed that because God ultimately made the wood, building a piece of furniture with that wood would give credit to Him. This, along with an attitude of "putting our hands to work and hearts to God" created masterpieces that are highly sought.

I thought I would take a minute to write about our introduction to figured hardwoods. There was a dresser made using tiger maple furniture in a Shaker book that we received as a gift from my sister, Sheila for Christmas. This piece just spoke to us. Back then, we had been building Shaker furniture, before it was as popular as it is today, but were limiting ourselves to hardwoods and pine.
I can remember the excitement that we all felt when Mike and John were making that first dresser using details from that picture...the wood itself, the staining and of course the craftsmanship involved in working with figured hardwoods all presented their own list of questions. I know I took many trips out to the woodshop to watch the progress. The above picture is that dresser.

That was the early nineties. Today we offer a full line of furniture using figured woods...Tiger Maple, Birdseye Maple, Curly or Flaming Cherry to name a few. We grade our woods destined for furniture in this way...low figure, heavy figure, heirloom quality and artistic, which has imperfections along with figure. We invite you to browse through our website and imagine the possibilities!

Reconstruction

My kitchen on Fiery Hill Road - completed!

My lovely kitchen during reconstruction!

From http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761556642/Reconstruction_(U_S_history).html
"Reconstruction (U.S. history), the process of rebuilding that followed the American Civil War (1861-1865). Since the United States had never before experienced civil war, the end of hostilities left Americans to grapple with a set of pressing questions over what to do with the South after the defeat of the Confederacy and the overthrow of slavery."

It is commonly noted that remodeling and reconstruction is difficult. Our architect friend, Chris Broda, told us that she was often reminded that her "reconstruction" project was easier because it was voluntary. When we compare our projects to our nation's history, both past and present, this reminder is especially true. As for the results, well, let's just say that this is what makes it all worth the effort. I guess we need to look at more things that way....

Spring Greening Festival

This Saturday we will be exhibiting at the Spring Greening Festival at the Gelston Castle Estate in nearby Jordanville. The Chateau Safflyn is "The ultimate Green facility & resort for truly special occasions." The festival is an annual event to raise awareness towards the environment. Our new line of green furniture, being built of reclaimed wood, fits right in with this theme.

Up to a few days ago, I didn't know anything about the estate,
even though it is only less than 15 miles away.

When we lived in Massachusetts, we were privileged to once attend a musical program in nearby Chesterfield. It was a first class operation, and one thing that remained with me was the introduction given about how someone traveled around the world to find a certain gem, and long story short discovered something in his own back yard. This was the inspiration for that music facility, that being, to create or find something of special value
in your own hometown.

Since we moved here in 2002 we have found many special places.
It is wonderful to find such treasures in the
Mohawk Valley region of New York State.

The link for the Gelston Castle Estate:
http://www.chateausafflyn.com/index.html

Check out our website and the green line gallery!
http://www.delnerofurniture.com/reclaimed-wood-furniture/

What Makes An Heirloom?

According to Webster, an heirloom is " something of special value handed on from one generation to another." We see this often in our business, and also our families.

The obvious heirloom around here is our furniture, not only those pieces made for our customers, but also our family pieces. Our daughter has the first pieces of furniture made by her grandfather. They are special to her because he is no longer with us, yet his workmanship is.

Through time, we receive emails from customers who got their furniture from dad, they still have and love it. Most plan on handing it down.

The pieces made today are all hand signed by the maker and who it was commissioned for, and we fully expect they will be handed down as well.

We also have some antiques and memorobilia that were handed down from our families. We have spoon collections, needlework along with china and lamps. These, too, we are planning on handing down.

But probably the most overlooked heirloom that we were given is our education and business philosophy. The skills my husband learned growing up in the family business is part of our success today. Does it have special value? Absolutely!

Welcome!

Here, you'll find out a bit more about all of us here and the happenings that surround our lives and business.

And so, I offer a very cordial welcome to this blog.

Our family business is so different than most furniture
companies.

I am so often reminded of Mike's mom, Nonny and her way of welcoming customers into their home which was the showroom for our furniture in their Agawam and Southampton homes. She always had a pot of coffee and some kind a cake ready.

In the same regard, Dad always built each piece as though he was building it for himself. Everything was familiar and comfortable.

It is no surprise that many customers soon became personal friends.

In this busy world, I have often thought that shopping or browsing online is comfortable as well. We can easily get our own coffee mug, get some slippers on, and browse to our leisure. No pressure to buy.

I like that.

We try to carry on this philosophy of no pressure sales whether we are speaking in person or through correspondence online. So, browse away...and if you have any questions, you can feel comfortable to know that while we will work hard to answer your questions, we'll treat you right.