Thoughts on Iron & Oak in NC
Hi Guys, long time lurker first time poster.
My wife is torn between a RH leather sofa (retails for $5700 and is on sale for $2400). I know RH quality isn't so great but for this price its tough to look away.
I recently ran into a company called Iron & Oak based in NC and NJ. They make their furniture in house and even use materials based in the US (except leather which is from Moore and Giles).
From my knowledge they use a true 8 way hand tie system I think. Also I think their wood is a combination of hardwood and plywood? From facts on their website and pictures of the work, what do you guys think? The sofa I want from them is about $3200 and is comparable to size to the RH sofa we are looking at.
I'd like a sofa that would last 15+ years, is this possible? How long are the typical leather RH sofas lasting for?
Iron & Oak's links are below:
https://ofironandoak.com/made-in-america/
Gallery" https://ofironandoak.com/gallery/
https://ofironandoak.com/2016/07/res...oosevelt-post/
Thanks!
Alex
Re: Thoughts on Iron & Oak in NC
Oh and here is the link to the sofa I'm looking into, it has more details https://ofironandoak.com/the-roosevelt/
2 Attachment(s)
Re: Thoughts on Iron & Oak in NC
I don't see any issue with that piece you linked to, however this is a retailer going private label with a manufacturer - they don't have their own facility. Nothing wrong with that, it just means you can't price-shop it when its private label - I have thought about going that direction many times myself as it allows for higher profit margins when you have no competition.
There are NEVER any deals at Restoration Hardware on the leather they sell...never.
On your link, here's a photo they use.
Attachment 10171
What do I see in this photo? Well, see how that inner arm panel is perfectly flat? That should have padding in that area, so it looks like this (a Hancock and Moore sofa). Also the tucks around the arm radius are much tighter on the H&M product, and pulling the leather tight is very difficult and never appreciated by most (it's a fact that most the upholsterers that retire at H&M do so because they no longer have the strength to pull the hides tight). You can see for yourself via the photos.
Attachment 10172
That won't make the piece last any longer, but that's the right way to do it if not taking shortcuts. You can see the difference in the details, at least I can. I would expect their pieces to easily go 15 years if you keep the maintenance up on the hides. Good luck!
Re: Thoughts on Iron & Oak in NC
Quote:
Originally Posted by
drcollie
I don't see any issue with that piece you linked to, however this is a retailer going private label with a manufacturer - they don't have their own facility. Nothing wrong with that, it just means you can't price-shop it when its private label - I have thought about going that direction many times myself as it allows for higher profit margins when you have no competition.
There are NEVER any deals at Restoration Hardware on the leather they sell...never.
On your link, here's a photo they use.
Attachment 10171
What do I see in this photo? Well, see how that inner arm panel is perfectly flat? That should have padding in that area, so it looks like this (a Hancock and Moore sofa). Also the tucks around the arm radius are much tighter on the H&M product, and pulling the leather tight is very difficult and never appreciated by most (it's a fact that most the upholsterers that retire at H&M do so because they no longer have the strength to pull the hides tight). You can see for yourself via the photos.
Attachment 10172
That won't make the piece last any longer, but that's the right way to do it if not taking shortcuts. You can see the difference in the details, at least I can. I would expect their pieces to easily go 15 years if you keep the maintenance up on the hides. Good luck!
Thanks Duane for the reply! Before this post I actually read on of your old threads here which shows flabbiness and untightness of RH leather. http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...ware-Furniture
I tried comparing the references for tightness and tuft quality to Iron & Oak and I suppose they looked pretty good to me...but good eye on the arm rest!
How do you know they are a private labeler and don't fabricate the sofas themselves? Their website (especially this link) really make it seem like they do, but that could just be really good marketing as well.
https://ofironandoak.com/2016/07/res...oosevelt-post/
Re: Thoughts on Iron & Oak in NC
I do not know for a fact, but there are a hundred guys like that using prose on an internet website to say they build it themselves. This guy is one that takes the cake - he runs his whole business from his house in New England and drop ships everything from Jonathan Wesley in NC. But he writes a mean website and people buy into his story all the time. http://www.cascobayfurniture.com/
The amount of volume needed to run a factory is staggering. If you can't ship out 200 pieces or more a week, your factory is failing. There is no way that little Mom and Pop store is doing that, so they are using a factory to produce a private label. It's done all the time. Can I prove it? Probably - if I wanted to spend half a day chasing it down (but I don't). I have even approached Hancock and Moore about private labeling for my store and they have agreed to if I commit to volume per frame style (take a model and tweak it to make it unique) Well, for every frame I need to give them about 10 pieces per week and I don't think I can do that, so we tabled that one for now. Mostly I wanted to private label H&M frames to get around pricing restrictions, not to have higher margins. Restoration Hardware subs their pieces out as well, they don't run their own factory and they're a lot bigger than that little store in New Jersey.
But it really doesn't matter if they own their own production facility or not, as long as you are happy with the product and feel you have value for the buy, you're golden.
Re: Thoughts on Iron & Oak in NC
Quote:
Originally Posted by
drcollie
I do not know for a fact, but there are a hundred guys like that using prose on an internet website to say they build it themselves. This guy is one that takes the cake - he runs his whole business from his house in New England and drop ships everything from Jonathan Wesley in NC. But he writes a mean website and people buy into his story all the time.
http://www.cascobayfurniture.com/
The amount of volume needed to run a factory is staggering. If you can't ship out 200 pieces or more a week, your factory is failing. There is no way that little Mom and Pop store is doing that, so they are using a factory to produce a private label. It's done all the time. Can I prove it? Probably - if I wanted to spend half a day chasing it down (but I don't). I have even approached Hancock and Moore about private labeling for my store and they have agreed to if I commit to volume per frame style (take a model and tweak it to make it unique) Well, for every frame I need to give them about 10 pieces per week and I don't think I can do that, so we tabled that one for now. Mostly I wanted to private label H&M frames to get around pricing restrictions, not to have higher margins. Restoration Hardware subs their pieces out as well, they don't run their own factory and they're a lot bigger than that little store in New Jersey.
But it really doesn't matter if they own their own production facility or not, as long as you are happy with the product and feel you have value for the buy, you're golden.
Thanks Duane for the knowledge! That makes perfect sense. It seems the same goes for the new internet mattress craze.
How would you rate the Iron and Oak quality from gallery pictures alone? Price point is about $2500-$3k per sofa.
Re: Thoughts on Iron & Oak in NC
Well, you know I'm biased. Hancock and Moore will blow it away, but you'll pay more. Still, stay in the JUST IN TIME program and you can get a world class piece when amortized out over the lifespan might cost you $ 40 more a year to own if you look at the Kent sofa in the program. Even-steven if you can do a finished leather on the H&M, rather than a tufted Chesterfield. I have a pretty critical eye and am fairly demanding in looking out for my customers, so it's easier for me to be more critical than that average buyer. Just based on what I see on his web site photos I would say they are average priced for the amount of work put into the piece, though there is only so much I can tell from photos.
