This week our episode is about furniture repair. We interviewed the inspiring Roger and Dave from Hoffmans Barn, two of Cynthia’s personal heroes. If last week’s conversation on appliance repair was on Laura’s bucket list, this week’s on furniture is on Cynthia’s!
Fun Q+A
Roger:
1. What’s your favorite example of a product to repair? Roger really likes repairing primitive cupboards. They have a lot of presence.
2. Name something that you own and love and has been in use for more than 5 years. Roger's favorite old thing is his "Handy Night Light". It's a little kerosene lamp with a glass fount about the size of an inkwell, and a little reflector in a pin. He uses the lamp every night on his desk once the days start getting short.
David:
1. What’s your favorite example of a product to repair? Hard question, as I repair so many things. I enjoy repairing furniture that was made with care by hand. Factory made pieces are kind of boring in their construction techniques. Hand made pieces often have interesting solutions hiding underneath the veneer.
2. Name something that you own and love and has been in use for more than 5 years. I have some early tools that I use on a regular basis. New tools are so often "built to a price", and old tools were built to last. There was a lot of thought put into their form as well as their functionality.
3. What is something you want to learn to repair yourself? Learning upholstery work from a master would be a repair skill I could definitely use. Even if just the basics.
4. What is a product in your daily life that cannot be repaired that frustrates you?There are so many products being produced these days not meant to be repaired, it is hard to narrow that down. Consumer electronics are certainly a big one.
Sponsor Thank You!
Thanks to our sponsor Trove, the market leader in branded resale and trade-in for world-class brands and retailers such as Canada Goose, lululemon, Patagonia, REI, Levi’s, Arc’teryx, Allbirds, and more. Through its proprietary Recommerce Operating System, Trove is accelerating the shift toward more sustainable business models, foundational for circularity. Over the last decade, Trove has equipped leading brands with technology and operations to create and scale branded resale programs by enabling customer trade-in of items, single-SKU identification and condition grading, site build and maintenance, and customer data collection, analytics and reporting. Visit trove.com if you're interested in learning more.
See you next week,
Cynthia + Laura