My first piece of Councill furniture arrived yesterday:

http://www.councill.com/item/2421

and I eagerly unpacked it, anxious to see if it lives up to the hype......After I uncrated it and set it on display I poked around on it A LOT, and have mixed emotions about the brand.

I have to preface this review with a comment before I continue. In our industry, one is expected to always make glowing reviews about products they carry. You will rarely find anyone in the trade who is frank on opinions because its bad for business to make a negative comment on a brand you carry. Having said I feel a forum such as we have here is worthless if I (or anyone else) reviews a makers product and isn't honest and straight up in their opinions. So here's what i think:

Based on what I've seen on this piece, the 2421 Huntboard, its a premium FACTORY MADE piece that is as good or better then anything on the market. The design is excellent, proportions are well thought out, and the finish is primo.

However, compared to hand-crafted, artisian-made pieces, it falls short. There is extensive use of plywood in the piece, not only for the back, but drawer bottoms and for underlayment for veneers. I don't want to see Plywood in pieces that sell for close to $ 5,000 at retail. The machine-cut dovetails are full of slop that was covered in putty paste hoping that the casual observer would not notice. The hinges on the side doors are wrong, who found those? Should be a butt hinge. Some of these faults cost only a few dollars to remedy, so I have to think its not because they're cheap, its that "we've always done it this way" mentality.

So overall I'd give this a 'C' grade. For the same money, I can get an 'A' grade piece properly done from one of my artisan craftsmen that will not have the plywood, poorly done dovetails and use better hardware on it.

its not all bad news however, as Councill has a nicely done finish and good design, excellent inlays. As production furniture, its right near the top.

I'll post photos at a later date.