‘December’s To Remember’ Giveaway!

Manchester Wood’s #GiftGiving2012

We’ve called it the ‘December’s To Remember’ Giveaway as we take a moment to reflect this holiday month on our most cherished memories!

So we ask, “What’s your favorite holiday memory? Were you surrounded by family and friends? An exotic trip somewhere? Carolers outside your front door? A surprise you never expected!?” Let us know and enter for this month’s raffle drawing for a FREE Manchester Wood handcrafted furniture piece by emailing (service@manchesterwood.com), tweeting (@ManchesterWood), or writing on our Facebook wall (/ManchesterWood).

This month’s winner will receive the Chairside Drawer Table (a $199.95 value!) absolutely FREE! It’s an incredible offer, which we provide each month, to an incredibly customer base that supports quality solid wood furniture handcrafted by Manchester Wood.

Enjoy the memories! Then enjoy this December as yet another to remember with us!

 

Happy Holidays, God bless,

Manchester Wood: American Made Furniture

“American Made” and “Solid Wood”: What Do They Mean?

When describing our furniture, there are two terms that we are particularly fond of: “American Made” and “Solid Wood”. These phrases don’t just sound good; they actually have specific definitions that we adhere to rigorously when making our furniture. What does it really mean to produce solid wood furniture that is made in the USA?

Because of the enduring stellar reputation surrounding American craftsmanship, the phrases “American Made” and “Made in the USA” have come to symbolize that a product exhibits quality workmanship and materials. Unfortunately, some disingenuous businesses try to mislead their customers about the origins of their products. Accordingly, the Federal Trade Commission issues guidelines as to which products can be called American Made and which cannot. If a company flaunts these rules, the FTC has the authority to prosecute. Consumers should be careful to differentiate between the labels “Made in the USA” and “Assembled in the USA”, which is a lesser distinction that means that the components of the product in question are from foreign countries and they were merely put together in this one.

When we say our furniture is solid wood, we mean that it is made out of plain lumber, not plywood or particle board. These types of processed building materials are known as engineered wood. Solid wood is the much more durable of the two, to say nothing of its aesthetic superiority. These advantages make solid wood the clear choice for quality furniture.

Although it may be cheaper to produce furniture overseas using engineered wood, we know that no such product can hope to compete with our American made solid wood furniture. We endeavor to make the best product possible, and this means using the best materials and the best workers we can find, both of which are right here in America, as our satisfied customers can attest to. We hope everyone will continue to buy American, thereby supporting our domestic economy and American manufacturing.

Manchester Wood’s Thanksgiving Giveaway!

Tthe month of November at Manchester Wood is a good time to reflect on the close of another year and the gratitude we’ve had for it. We find it fitting that Thanksgiving is a time of celebration and families coming together.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Manchester Wood is offering a FREE Chairside Bookshelf to the winner of this month’s giveaway.  To enter the raffle email, or tweet, or write on our Facebook wall with an answer to: what you are grateful for this year?

Let us know what you are grateful for this year and enter the drawing to receive a handcrafted American made Chairside Bookshelf, a $199.95 value, absolutely free –
including free shipping!

Celebrate Thanksgiving with us and be reminded of another year in gratitude.

Blessings to you this holiday season,
Manchester Wood: American Made Furniture

To view the Chairside Bookshelf, click here.

To visit our online store, click here.

Why Buy American Made Furniture?

“Once upon a time, here in the great land known as America, everything was made by hand, everything was made from scratch, from simple foods to complicated machines that would change the world and the way we lived, communicated and developed,” began business tycoon Martha Stewart in her recent USA Today article ‘American Made’ salutes innovation.

At Manchester Wood we constantly champion the importance found in quality locally made goods, and are happy to see that Martha Stewart is helping to reach out to a wider audience in need of deeper awareness. As we consume products with no ethical standard more and more, we mark the extinction of well-crafted items with heartfelt practices as they are swept under by the epidemic of our country’s over-consumption.

Stewart continued, “As commerce grew, people started to do less and less of the handmade and the homemade, and manufacturing consolidated the making of things. “American Made” started to become “Made in China” and other foreign lands where labor is cheaper and more plentiful…

…I am not alone in thinking that we are in the midst of a shift in the culture, a moment when a generation of creative entrepreneurs are defining a New American Economy.”

We couldn’t agree with you more Ms. Stewart, and we believe that Manchester Wood, our family-run, handcrafted solid wood furniture business, is part of this unfolding definition that is becoming our “New American Economy.”

Be a part of the resurgence in conscious American consumerism and support American made furniture by visiting and shopping at ManchesterWood.com.

To read the whole article Martha Stewart: ‘American Made’ salutes innovation, published by USA Today, please click here.

Solid Wood Furniture Care Do’s and Don’ts

First and foremost, always remember that the three seemingly harmless occurrences below are hardwood’s worst enemies:

• Water left to puddle or stand can dull or mark the finish and, if the exposure is extreme, even warp hardwood.
• Dirt, dust and grit can dull and scratch.
• Sunlight’s ultraviolet rays, over time, can cause discoloration.

By making the following hardwood Do’s part of your routine you will find that hardwood care need not be difficult or time consuming.

• Do

Wipe up any spills immediately, using a soft, dry cloth starting at the edges of the spill and working toward the center. For hardwood furniture, use coasters, pads, cloths or runners to protect against spills and water rings.

• Do

Dust frequently, using a soft, lint-free cloth. For hardwood floors, regularly sweep with either a dust mop or broom that features exploded tips. Placing protective mats or rugs in entrances is also a helpful preventative measure to trap dirt.

• Do

Limit sunlight exposure with sheer drapes, curtains or blinds. And occasionally move area carpets to maintain a uniform appearance in a hardwood floor’s finish.

• Do

Avoid radical swings in temperature and humidity. Use a humidifier in winter and an air conditioner in summer to maintain room temperatures near 70 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity at 50 to 55 percent. Keep hardwood furniture away from heat sources if possible. If you must put furniture near an air duct, use a shield or guard plate to direct heat away.

• Do

Read and save the manufacturer’s care and maintenance instructions. And be sure to keep the company’s contact information for future reference.

• Don’t

Use cloths or mops dripping with water. Wood should not get wet or soaked. If it does, dry immediately.

• Don’t

Use a feather duster that could scratch the hardwood surface, or an upright vacuum with beater bars that can dent a hardwood floor’s finish. Instead vacuum frequently using a vacuum with special hardwood floor attachments.

• Don’t

Mop sealed-and-waxed hardwood floors, not even with a slightly damp mop, and never apply wax to a floor with a urethane finish.

• Don’t

Use area rugs with rubber or vinyl backing. Some materials in the backing can react with certain floor finishes, discoloring or causing the finish to become dull.

• Don’t

Expose hardwood to plastics, oils or solvents. Over time, plastic can stick to the finish and its colors can leach into the wood. Oils and alcohols, in things like nail polish remover, perfume and liquor, can dull and stain.

• And the most important Don’t of all

Don’t hesitate to incorporate hardwood into most every room. Today’s finishes make hardwood products an attractive choice that’s easy to maintain and extraordinarily beautiful.

Sections of the above tips are adapted from information on hardwoodinfo.com.

For more information on hardwood care, read Charles Sutton’s book, “How to Care for Your Old and New Wood Furniture,” sold by The Furniture Library, a research center in High Point, N.C.

American Made Accent Furniture

At Manchester Wood we are proud to produce the best quality solid wood construction furniture accents.  Accent furniture is a staple at Manchester Wood and every piece that we make is completely American made, eco-friendly, and of heirloom quality.

One of our most popular selling accent tables, the Chairside Storage Table, offers more than first meets the eye. The Chairside Storage Table has a hidden storage drawer space for conveniently holding all those necessary but cluttering items. As it  is narrower than normal side tables, this feature is a great space saver.

Novel applications and uses as well as convenient design features are what truly make home accents come alive.  For instance, consider our new Tray Top Coffee Table. As a featured item from our yet-to-be named and released collection, the Tray Top Coffee Table is a uniquely and beautifully designed coffee table with a slatted tray top that can be easily carried off, and placed back, with a large shelving space at the base for magazines, books, or collectibles. The Tray Top Coffee Table adds diversity and style in your home or vacation cabin.  No longer do you have to use a separate tray to bring snacks or drinks to your coffee table.  Now you can simply lift off the top, take it to the kitchen, and then bring it back to put right back on the base.

We know furniture accents the ‘feeling’ of a room in a whole new way, and at times can work well to change the ambiance of an environment. With our Periodical End Table with Drawer, we find just that. The Periodical End Table with Drawer was created when we added a drawer with more shelving to our popular Periodical End Table & Magazine Rack to increase the table’s storage capacity and versatility. As they say, ‘this too shall pass,’ and while great furniture pieces are always great furniture pieces, we sometimes need to freshen up and find a new vibrant feeling to bring a room. Perhaps the Periodical End Table with Drawer will do just that.

At Manchester Wood, we offer a wide range of quality wooden accent tables in many different styles and with several design options to choose from. We know accent furniture and we understand how furniture accents rooms much in the way that art hangs on the wall. Be sure to shop all our solid wood furniture collections at ManchesterWood.com.  All furniture made in the USA!

Photo Shoot Day!

We spent today on a photo shoot in Lake George, which is in the Adirondacks near our mill. It was a truly blessed time. Here’s a sneak peek at one of the new outdoor furniture items we photographed!

www.manchesterwood.com

Many Submissions to Manchester Wood’s Gratitude Furniture Giveaway

For our solid wood furniture giveaway at Manchester Wood this past March asked customers to submit things that they were grateful for to receive a FREE solid wood Serving Tray. Many took the time to share things things for which they are grateful with us, especially the winner who was kind enough to share her gratitude for the giveaway with us on Facebook:

“Oh my God, I was so surprised when UPS a delivery showed up to my house. I know I didn’t order anything, but to my surprise it was the table! I cannot thank you enough! The smell and structure is beautiful! Thank you again!

Below are a select few more of the amazingly soulful, heart-warming, sincere, and supportive responses we received:

I have recently discovered your website and am fascinated by all of the good quality wood furniture. I am grateful for the gift of eyesight so that I can see the love in my husband’s eyes, and all the wonderful things my children and grandchildren are doing in their careers and play.

I am grateful for every day, living in a beautiful valley with Mount Equinox rising above in the early morning light, good health, my daughter, my community, family and friends, my work, and the love of a smart, talented, beautiful woman. Thanks for asking.

I am grateful for a very loving family.  We might not have a lot, but we sure make up for it with love.  It’s not just my immediate family, husband and foster daughter that I say this about.  It’s always been that way, ever since we (my many siblings and I) were growing up. If you have love, you indeed have many many riches.

I am grateful my mother still knows who I am. She is in a nursing home with short-term dementia. I see her as much as I can. She can still beat me at dominoes.

We discovered many folks grateful for their family, friends,  community, life, and  solid wood furniture. There was lots of thankfulness around having a job too; or unfortunately being jobless in this tough economy, yet still finding gratitude in having a place to live with the ability to  pay the bills.

Although unemployed , I’m grateful that I have a roof over my head when others do not. I can look around and realize that although I’m not in an ideal situation, I at least have shelter and can cover my bills. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway.

I am grateful that I finally found a job with a stable company.

At Manchester Wood, we support job creation in the USA. Many American jobs have been lost do to overseas competition and outsourcing.  We are proud to have remained an American manufacturer that provides jobs for American workers and applaud those who take care to purchase American-made products.  We, and the employees you support, thank you. That is one of the things that we are grateful for.

Manchester Wood offers regular monthly giveaways like this one. Stay up to date on our quality American made furniture giveaways, as well as specials by signing up for our mailing mailing list. Please note that some submissions may have been edited for grammar and spelling.

Celebrate Independence with $64 Gifts for U.S. Jobs July Giveaway

As July begins, summer festivities tend to heat up, which hopefully means many days and nights spent exploring the great outdoors with friends and family, sharing treasured time together. The celebration of our country’s independence kicks off of this month of summertime gathering.  The 4^th of July typically offers smiles and laughs, fireworks and cheers, and a glorious welcome to summer, not to mention a day of reflection for all that we have been gifted with.

At Manchester Wood, we understand the importance of independence, freedom, a dedication to service for each customer, and quality that ensures the best in solid wood furniture. Our monthly giveaway this July is part of our furniture collection that is aimed toward the growth of American jobs. The $64 Gifts of U.S. Jobs category, an inexpensive, quality furniture collection offers an affordable option in supporting made in the USA products, while also supporting the statistic that if each American spent $64 on made in USA products over 200,000 new jobs would be created (source).

In spotlighting this incredible new collection, which is currently comprised of five American made furniture pieces, Manchester Wood is offering this month’s giveaway with the FREE $64 Lap Desk to the raffle winner.

To enter the drawing email your name and shipping address to service@manchesterwood.com

The Lap Desk is ideal for working while sitting in a chair or on the couch, perhaps upright in bed. It allows mobility, comfort, and style using a laptop computer, while keeping harmful radiation and unwanted heat away from your body. This is a unique, stylish, Americana-flavored solid wood furniture item.

Happy Flag Day from all of us at Manchester Wood!

The best in Made in the USA solid wood furniture!
http://www.manchesterwood.com/