John Buchanan Custom Tables and Demi-Lune

[Kevin]

This is a link to another thread on the forum that gives you an idea of why some highly figured maple is called "tiger maple".

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...=tiger%20maple

[Lloyd]

Ok, I'm a visual person. So I needed to see this drawn out to understand & according to Wiki(LOL, I know...,) it sounds like the board is continuously turned over while it's being passed thru the saw, & thus yielding these quarters? This is the diagram they included:

Well, they certainly made that complicated, didn't they? Cut a log into quarters and then process each separate piece so the growth rings run perpendicular to the face of the board. It requires a lot more work and that is reflected in the price. A sawyer charges more to quartersaw and I've know some that refused to make the effort.

This is what it would look like if the log were reassembled.

[karlos]

love that demi lune piece.how much was it in walnut.

[Kevin]

Based upon previous threads, it appears the forum's convention is to directly ask Duane questions concerning the price of custom furniture. Of course, the exception to this rule is when Duane provides the price of a piece of furniture.

[drcollie]

There is no price list for custom items, so it's not something I can just look up. When John builds one he makes a pattern for it, and saves that pattern. So, if you want the exact same spec as the prior custom (other than wood and hardware choice) it will be a little less than from scratch as he has the pattern. Otherwise, it all has to be figured up so its not something we do lightly to make quotes. Ballpark on Kevin's Demi-lune is $ 7K to $8K to re-create from existing pattern.

[Kevin]

About three weeks ago, Asomer asked what made me decide to go down the custom route and commission a piece of furniture.

This week while I was sitting in a waiting room flipping through the magazines waiting for my appointment, I ran across one of those “upscale decorating magazines”. I got quite the chuckle when I ran across this “imported from Italy”, “hand crafted” blue lacquered production demi-lune in one of the magazine's featured professionally designed rooms.

If a picture can be worth a thousand words, I hope this picture answers Asomer’s question.



Curiosity got the best of me and I had to look up the price on the internet. The average price for what appears to be a poorly constructed piece of furniture with a bright trendy paint job COSTS 40% MORE than a piece of bench made furniture that will be timeless due to the skill and artistic talent of a master craftsman.

[drcollie]

Here's something most people don't think about in the furniture chain, and that's how many people are taking a piece of the pie. And this is why you can get a piece from a guy like John Buchanan for what seems like an incredible value when compared to that import in blue paint.

There are two people in the distribution chain for a Buchanan piece. John and I. That's it. John is a talented craftsman, but sales is not his strong suit. He has no website, no fax machine, doesn't own a digital camera or even a modern smart phone. If he had to sell, he might starve! He lives by himself and has no one other than himself to support. Like most high-end woodworkers, they prefer the solitude of their workshop to dealing with the general public. The Keeping Room has no employees, no marketing department, no advertising, no high prime retail rents, no print catalog, not even much of a website. John brings each piece to my store in his van, we don't even ship and box it. All that costs money. So margins are lower and profit is fair on each piece, for both John and I. We don't get rich, but we make a living like most of middle America.

When you get that import, the layers and overhead are tremendous, and that's why it comes up costing as much or more for less build. If you want to go to China or Vietnam or Malaysia to get a piece made for cheap, first you have to speak that language, and few American businessman do. First thing you have to do is hire a broker, who can communicate with you to the factories. Then as the owner, you have to fly over there and meet your broker to cut the deals and tell them what you want. Every time you have to communicate, you have to get the services of that broker. Usually several trips are required, as there are faults to be sorted out. These pieces are not being made by skilled craftsmen, but uneducated workers. Every nuance has to be communicated to them. Once you have that figured out, then you have to buy enough product to fill a container, so lets say 100 units. Because it going on a ship, each has to have substantial packing and that is not inexpensive. Then the shipping costs to bring it over, unload it on the docks in California, and put it on a railcar. Since you can't put 100 pieces in your store, you have to have a warehouse and people staffing it, more cost, more expense. Of that 100, probably 3 or 4 were destroyed or unsalable as first quality in transit, and try to recover that cost from people that don't speak English. Good luck. Now that you have warehoused it, you have to get them sold, i.e., marketing costs. That means advertising, a sales force, or a glossy catalog and or slick website. Most those stores that sell this product are in high-rent, prime locations that have 5x the cost of overhead that I do. Then they have a customer service staff, middle management, health care, 401K plans....it all adds up and is packed into the price of that piece.

That's why you see the price variance. If you think it through, it makes perfect sense. Every cost involved into moving and selling a piece has to be rolled into the retail price to the consumer, and that really applies to any consumer goods. Were these same companies building a John Buchanan style piece that you can customize, it would be four times the price that The Keeping Room charges, simply because of all the layers they have.

[Kevin]

A picture to update the progress of the area surrounding the Demi-Lune. Wainscotting will be installed next month on several walls including the wall behind the Demi-Lune. It should provide some architectural texture and hopefully help tie the room and pictures together.

[drcollie]

great rug choice, adds a lot of pop with a good tie-in.

[gr321]

That rug is to die for gorgeous! What a beautiful room!