The quest for quality

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I thought there would be no more Benjamin January books and was so sad when I fisehnid #8. When Barnes and Noble sent me an e-mail that #9 was available I was estatic and bought it seconds after reading the e-mail. I called my friend who has also read all the other 8. You should have heard her scream for joy. I will be a nervous wreck until it arrives in the mail. Thank you, thank you, you made my day. Don't give up on Benjamin January, keep them coming.Thanks for the nice comment, David! I hope you love the new book. :) Deb

It is also a possibility to try looking at some of the more locally made design furniture, like hose created by someone like Ask Emil of Copenhagen. It's expensive, but everything is handcrafted and made by himself. Here is an example and video of his work: cphmade.org/webshop/ask-emil/glass-table-1

Quality furniture can be found whether it's made in America or overseas. Some of the furniture coming out of China that are manufactured for American companies overseeing this production can actually by quite good. Sure, we all wish that these American companies kept their production here, but tough decisions had to be made in order for them to stay in business. Who knows, if you or I were running the company and had to choose between moving or folding, we may have made the same tough decision. Fortunately, there are more great American furniture companies around that offer quality furniture in a wide range of prices that still manufacture all, or some, of their furniture right here in the US by hard working Americans. Companies like Hickory White, Century, Linwood, Thayer Coggin, Habersham, American Drew, Comfort Designs, Uwharrie Chair, Kincaid, Wesley Allen, Bob Timberlake, Charleston Forge, Bernhardt, Lexington, Johnston casuals, Kalco, Stone County Ironworks, and more are still here manufacturing quality furniture. If you'd like to see what some of these products look like and cost, check out an online retailer like Carolina Rustica (www.carolinarustica.com).

Glad to be a store that offers a wide selection of well priced quality furniture. It is always difficult to know if you should be competing with the stores that offer throw away furniture or not, I think this helps me to know I will let the "big" store keep that product, contiune on my path and see those customers that were taken in by the hype for there next purchase. I think that in these ecconomic times it is of the upmost importance to focus as much on American Made as possible. We truely enjoy working with manufactuers like Flexsteel. They make an awsome selection of beatiful furniture with competitive pricing and best yet if something does go wrong they do not hestitate to help there dealers out. And that is what helps a store to offer the best customer service. Well that and an Uncle George!

Quality is in the eye of the beholder. With the economic downturn, consumers have stopped thinking what's the cheapest or most expensive item I can get it to, what is the best bang for our buck. Consumers today need their dollar to go a long way. It's in their best interest to shop around, and really inspect their furniture of interest and do their homework before making any big purchase, especially furniture. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter where the furniture come from, if the consumer gets a reliable and long lasting product, I doubt they will care where the furniture came from. It's the furniture retailers responsibility to set proper expectations for the customer, and set the competitive prices for their furniture.

best quality of teak wood, old logging
its trees are over 50 years, then dry with killindry,. Carpenter best from Jepara Indonesia, .. where the connection with the best quality glue,. and who understands the construction workforce, .. so the product lasted until 100tahun,. (japQQ@live.com)

Where does one advertise for selling quality furniture without having to pay for shipping?
We have a Heritage Drexel cherry dining room
set (table & 6 shield back chairs,buffet, and hutch); circa 1940/1950s.
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.
davidsonrw@comcast.net

I know in tough economic times folks have to consider the price factor more than usual but I personally can't rest comfortably in Chinese manufactured furniture knowing we have unemployment rates over 10% all across this nation. We went to a high quality local furniture and decided we really liked the look and construction of the Lattiudes collection by Flexsteel. After looking on the internet and making some phone calls I learned that this was Flexsteel's imported from China line and I immediately lost all interest even if they were giving it away. I don't think I could lean back and enjoy anything on TV knowing I had deliberately made that decision knowing that American made options were available with a little effort and asome extra bucks. Also found that a lot furniture stores make quite an effort to keep manufacturing locations secret. One even told me "You have to realize that we're in a global market now and "American made" doesn't really mean what it use to." I'll never step foot in their store again.

That`s exactly how we feel, Reality is that the market is being flooded by Manufacturers that believe in quantity not quality, we been in business for the past 15yrs. We manufacture exterior furniture in MEXICO and we have had clients from all over the world comming here to buy our pruducts. We feel that it doesnt matter where really the furniture is being made, what counts is the quality that they invest into an item, for instance we can make you an item that can last you for more then 10 yrs but some clients dont like to have furniture for that long of a period of time, they remodel and new items are bought so many manufactures know this thats why they make furniture which we like to call disposable. This furniture can last you from 6 months to 2 yrs max. we recomend that before you buy any piece you ask how is it made, what materials are being used and of course does it come with warranty, thats very important. It is really sad when a sales person cant explain what they are selling makes a client get upset and walk away...www.planteaktion.com.. Good Luck everybody

I say that if the consumer shops around and compare, talk to the consultants, they will determine how the pricing is for the quality they are looking for. You pay for what you get. Its less expensive for a reason. Craftmanship and being made in the U.s will cost more. Oversees merchandise is less expensive to make.I have seen Ashley furniture and it is cheaply made. Easy to damage with little effort. But the consumer needs to be aware of this. Quality costs more but it will last longer.

Ashley imports their wood products. Not made in the United States. They assemble some, not all upholstery here from components and cut and sew fabrics from overseas so don't try to make this company sound like product is made here when in fact most of its not. I think the point the consumer was making is that it's CRAP!

Ashley is the largest manufacturer of furniture in the United States. There are thousands of blue-collar Americans working for Ashley.

There are still a few manufacturer's in this country that are making solid wood (no veneers) furniture that will stand the test of time. I/we recently purchased (7 years ago) an 8 pc. bedroom suit from Crawford Furniture; Heavier than a dead elephant, well constructed, beautifully made in the US and will be something that I will be able to pass on to either my children or grand children. Also from Crawford, I own a Dining room suit and a pedistal kitchen table & chairs. Both are at least 20 yrs. old and still in perfect condition. Before I became weise to product labeling, we had purchased our coffee, end and sofa tables from Ashley furniture. To my kknowledge, the were one of the "best" out there. Not even a year after our purchase, our cat knocked over a vase of flowers spilling water on my coffee table. I immediately got a towel to soak it up. A few days later, I noticed the top of my coffee table had lifted and split where the water had been. All this time I thought (from the price) I had purchased solid wood tables....they were solid something with veneer tops! My 20+ year old solid wood Crawford table has been spilled on a million times and you'd never know it! My thoughts are, spend a "little more" just one time, rather than having to replace it 5-10 years from now. Support the American blue collar worker, don't buy imports, buy American Made!

I'd like to know about quality more.

Ahem... And now, as they say, we get to where the rubber meets the road. What price is the the consumer willing to pay for "quality"? The current market would suggest the answer is "not much".

the word " quality" is so subjective and depends on the customer. Most say they want quality but are unwilling to pay for it hence the rise of rooms to go and ashley. The decline of the middle-high and high end store has made way for the Ashley's and such. What she should have asked is how much they are willing to pay for the quality they desire. That's what will give a true picture of the viability of meeting their needs.

I have to wonder if part of trend has to do with people wanting to make more environmentally-conscious decisions. It is much more 'green' to purchase a quality, well-made piece of furniture that will last, rather than a shoddy one that is practically disposable.

The survey is trying to tell us that quality is much more of an issue now and consumers are learning and understanding quality when they hear, see or experience it. We in the business should be the first to understand the different levels of quality verses costs, because if we dont then our customers will be educating us.

Let me explain some of the Furniture Quality as I am Furniture Quality Control Consultant.
The good quality is build for last, in order to achieve this, that is not simply as visual quality consumer can see.
During QC inspection, a lot of testing tool that can check moisture on wood, strength of wood, finishing chemical content testing tool and lab chemical test.
As in Vietnam, this is not merely what brand product what quality, the true fact is many brand produce at same factory.
So, the Quality will depend on material use and the construction and quality factory of each raw material & workmanship.And the type of Quality Inspection control work in.
For example, some furniture joint cracking after few month of use, but this not happen to Thomasville furniture why? This depend on high quality control on wood moisture, wood surface treatment, type of glue use , type of wood pressure use when assembly the furniture, and for the joint, type of construction more than 50 type, that include dovetail, french dove tail for drawer, japanese Joint system, etc...each cathering different strength for bonding 2 piece of wood for decad.
Then the surface quality, why some furniture look new after use but some paint can peel off after some time, the finishing can be up to 17 step, or basically 7 layer on less than 0.3mm coating, Other may be one premier and top coat simple formula, Each layer function differently, some good finishing company selling 50% more expensive than other for quality.
It seem impossible , but experience QC need to ensure this during production and not let it happen by trial and error of time wear out.
You see some color turn after time, some gloss remain after time, some easily scratch, some last for years.
Some panel furniture, when met water, change shape and damage, some piece can even dip into water for hours and no affect at all.
This is amazing of quality different.
Enjoy your Quality Furniture :)

These answers mean nothing until broken down further. One answer is-buying quality one piece at a time, that could mean a $400 sofa to a $4,000 sofa depending on the person. It is suprising to hear people that actually think Ashley is quality. LOL

Do these folks have a common definition of quality? I doubt it. With care a piece of snap-together product will meet the 50 year criteria of one person who was quoted. This has been an issue forever discussed and never resolved because the consumer simply doesn't know quality unless told, related to price, or a brand name. Ever meet a retailer or manufacturer who sold/produced anything other than "quality"? I contend that quality exists at whatever price point...think about it.

Everything is relative.Do we decide what is and what is not quality or does the price and/or the consumer? You hear how Wal-Mart is doing so well and how (higher) branded stores are closing.???

These comments are why Crate & Barrel has done so well year after year for a few decades now.

Nice sentiment. Where oh where will these consumers find "quality" furniture? At the Kroger store? Ashley? Ikea?
Where will this "quality" furniture be manufactured? The usual sources of "excellence" and "quality" like China, Vietman, Cambodia, Indonesia and Mexico?