David Allard has always had vision; he always knew he wanted to make a life for himself. Starting just out of high school, Dave began his career as a cabinet and furniture maker. He built his first workshop on a parcel of farmland deeded to him by his parents. 35 years later his furniture company has three manufacturing plants in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont producing high-end, sustainable, solid wood furniture.

Through the years, Dave has inspired his employees with his ideals and matter-of-fact can-do attitude. He has helped shape us into who we are today. Working with him is more than just a job; it’s a way of life.

Last fall we were contacted by one of the local high schools to help get students thinking about their futures. We made a short video as Dave lead them through the process from selecting a tree in the forest to crafting a piece of furniture. Inspiring young minds is a vital part to sustaining the wealth and strength of our communities and Country.

Watch this short video and see why Dave is so incredible to work for.

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Posted by Sean Breen

People function on a really basic level. There is only one thing that makes us human. It is the connection behind all that we are and do.

Connection is the most powerful element in human system. Why do you think social media has become as important in everyday life?  It’s about connection, those who have it and those who want it? Even more fundamentally, why do we actively pursue social interaction? Because we want to feel connected.

Everything you do, everyday, everywhere is part of a bigger whole, which is constructed by all the smaller, personal, and just as important connections along the way.

For instance, when you buy something, the act of purchasing adds to a long path of connections that the product is part of. The product is connected to a company, which is connected by its employees, who are connected by a job, which supports their family, which sustains their lives. The number of connections is exponentially greater than this example, but you get the idea.

                       To connect is to be human.

Here at Lyndon, when you buy a piece of furniture you are intrinsically connected to keeping manufacturing jobs in America, ensuring the health and vitality of the forests and the inhabitants, and communicating that you know what it means to be human.

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We love the story of how David Allard started the company right after graduating high school in 1976. If you haven’t heard the story, you can read it here. The story tells you what he did and how he got there, but why did he do it?

Dave’s reasoning is as relevant today as it was in 1976; he wanted to build a life for himself. He could have pursued any number of industries, but it was Nature that gave him direction when he realized that the forest on the Allard family farm could provide him with the means.

Dave’s simple vision is deeply ingrained in his company. It drives everything from our design process to handcrafting each piece to inspiring today’s generation.

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The R&D office stands bare. The shipping company just pulled away, hauling off this year’s one-off prototypes to new homes. As the 2012 design period comes to an end, the new products are added to the catalog and website.

Help us welcome in 2013 by celebrating our latest and greatest pieces.

Brand new to Lyndon this year is the Newfane Collection. If you’ve been following this blog you’ll know that we began this style as a tribute to how mid-century modern design shaped today’s contemporary furniture. Click here to read more. The Newfane stands upon splayed, round taper legs, which connect seamlessly but yield great strength and stability.

Click on the images to view each piece on the website

Stay tuned for intros to all 2013 new products.

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As we round the corner to a new beginning we often reflect on the happenings of the year past.  Specifically what worked and what didn’t. In the last couple of days we have found ourselves trying to quantify and understand why the things that did work, worked.  Being part of the design process here at Lyndon, here are our thoughts on how some changes we made early this year may have impacted us in 2012.

Creation

In our minds there is only one way of going about creating anything:

You must absorb as much as you can all the way through the spectrum from beginning to end and gather what you like to define your creation.

Being in the communication age we find copious amounts of inspiration at our fingertips daily.  You still have to want to get it though, this has remained true.  We find ourselves looking at and reading dozens of historical interviews, write ups and new web pages weekly, sometimes daily in an effort to get a complete overview of the design landscape.

Feedback

At Lyndon we are fortunate to have an out spoken client base of retail store owners. There two ways we can leverage this to help the creation process along.

We include their value, experience and information gathering expertise of their sales force in the creation of ideas.  It’s critical to gather real time insights as to what is happening and what customers like, dislike, want or not.

The Feedback loop (as we refer to it) has proven its value on several occasions this year.  In one case it enabled us to adjust a certain design before investing further valuable resources and experiencing failure.  There is still more infrastructures that need be put in place to allow this process to work more efficiently, but identification is 10% of problem solving.

Thank you to all who helped us to implement change this year and we hope to share in an even greater success in 2013.

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Thank you for the clean air, that allows us to breathe deep,

Thank you for my bed, where I lay me down to sleep,

Thank you for the life you gave, to help me build my house,

Thank you quite sincerely from my children and my spouse,

Thank you for the warmth you bring as summer turns to snow,

Thank you for the light you give when the sun decides to go,

Thank you for the table that our family circles sitting,

Thank you for all you’ve done to help us make a living,

Thank you for being the corner stone of the lives we lead,

Thank you for helping us, to see the Forest through the Trees.

-Shawn Straffin-

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Posted by Sean Breen

Back in January we proposed the idea of a YouTube series on the story of Lyndon Furniture. After many long months of planning, we’ve finally set the gears in motion to start filming.

The story begins in the forests of Lyndon, Vermont, where owner David Allard worked on his family’s farm. Follow us as we explore David’s path from the forest to the field and how he built this company from the ground up.

Lyndon Furniture started with two hands and vision. From a small workshop to full scale manufacturing plants, the success of David’s company has increased the wealth of the community and local economy. In order for this wealth to transcend into the hands of our future generation, inspiring young minds is vital.

Some of the footage you’ll see features students from one of our local high schools who are interested in the future of forestry and the furniture industry. David’s story and experience enlightens and educates people on the values of sustainability in forest management, economy, and the furniture industry.

Stay tuned for more info on the making of this video.

For an introduction to the history of Lyndon, check out our photo timeline on Flickr or Pinterest.

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Extension dining tables have been around a long time. In the simplest sense, an extension table allows you additional place settings and brings more people around one table by opening the two halves and adding a section. They are quite popular during holidays and nights when friends come over for dinner.

Live Edge wood increases in popularity every day. We’ve been working with it for a couple years now. We make a variety of pieces ranging from beds to tables. Recently we experimented with expanding our designs to preserve more of Mother Nature’s beauty, like the Live Edge Buffet.

Ever since we began working in Live Edge, a design that has always been in the back of our minds is an extension table. Each time we revisited the idea, we were unable to devise a plan to make it a reality. This year we have an answer.

A sideways extension

Ok, so what exactly does that mean? It means that the table top expands widthwise. Most extension tables extend lengthwise. We opted for the sideways separation because it allows us the flexibility of an extension, while not breaking the organic edge. And as far as we can tell, this table is the first of its kind.

Check out this photo strip of the table in action.

Click to view larger

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Posted by Sean Breen

A new prototype arrived in the design office today. We are working on expanding the Brattleboro bedroom collection. After completing the Brattleboro bed, it is only natural that we experiment with a dresser.

Just like any collection, certain visual details carry into each piece; the base is an obvious choice. This process of taking a box and incorporating elements of the defined style is a well known tactic. But how do you make it “pop”?

“Think outside the box,” a phrase too often used to remind people to be creative. Honestly, with all the people looking around outside the box these days, it is getting pretty crowded. The question becomes, what great ideas do people leave inside? We are experimenting with details to turn an ordinary piece of furniture into an amazing one.

Here, take a look at the first concept of a 6-drawer dresser.

It embodies a sort of Scandinavian minimalism, otherwise known as the ambiguous “contemporary” to Americans, a style that is seen more in Europe and the States. It is made by European manufacturers out of plywood veneer, often found in chain stores… like that big blue and yellow Swedish one, the name escapes me. At Lyndon, we could never bring ourselves to do such a thing. We choose to celebrate the tree and craft our furniture in sustainable American hardwoods.

We are using a technique known as a locking miter to create a visually and structurally strong joint that highlights the skills of our crafts people.

So, getting back to the prototype in the office today…

Originally we planned to have some sort of hardware to pull open the drawers. There are so many options available and we have had no luck choosing the right one. Looking back inside the box, we found it.

A pull as part of the drawer front itself.

See? Not a new idea, not out in that crowded space. It is, however, an idea that has not seen great execution. Check this out… a rounded groove cut into both the top and bottom edge of each drawer front. Now there is a greater definition of the drawers and the grooves allow you to pull open each drawer with ease.

This is minimalism in its natural habitat.

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Posted by Sean Breen

Back in February, we introduced you to the first offering in the Newfane collection. The root of these designs is reminiscent of the movement now known as Mid-Century Modern. Focusing on splayed round tapered legs, we’ve adapted elements of this historical movement into the beginnings of a dining set.

It is one thing to draw a table with four legs and it is another to construct it. The legs have to attach to the bottom of the table top somehow. My favorite line, “We’ll figure it out when we get there.” I’ve found that small undefined details can have a lot of effect on how a design develops.

When building a four leg dining table in wood, it is common practice to tie all four legs together with boards running from one to the other. These boards are called skirts. This solution not only makes the table sturdy and rigid, it is also the method of attaching the legs to the top.

These completely round and angled turned legs are unique to all of our leg types because there is no good way to attach skirts. We had to figure it out once we got there.

So we designed an all-in-one plate that acts as an attachment point for the legs to the top and also keeps the table sturdy and rigid.

Check out these new concepts in the Newfane collection. Click on the images for a larger view.

Dining Table

Buffet

Here’s a free ticket for a sneak peek at the dining set in a room setting.

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