Gavin Munro of Derbyshire just did. The Dailymail, UK, tells us that he and his wife Alice have been growing chairs, lampshades on a field in Wirksworth, 15 miles north of Derby!
The couple uses strong, fast-growing willow for their designs and they are expecting to harvest their first crop in 2016. Labeled as Full Grown, this one-of-a-kind furniture brand, has already harvested chairs, a table, and lampshades and is currently working on more complex designs including a bookshelf and a chest of drawers. The Guardian, UK reports that they will be ready for sale by 2017.
Munro is a keen environmentalist who uses the age-old technique of grafting and pruning to make joins in the original branches. He avoids nails, fixing, and machinery.
Alice explains, ”Just like a broken bone will be a lot stronger where it heals, the points where the wood is grafted are extremely strong.’ Munro also believes growing furniture is faster than typical mass production methods, where a tree is grown for more than 60 years before it is ready to be felled, cut up and re-assembled. Munro claims that Full Grown will take 4-8 years to produce a single chair.
Will the modern day consumer, who is used to instant delivery, wait for the next harvest? Only time will tell. But, we surely congratulate Gavin Munro for taking a new step in creating a sustainable future for furniture.
Maximum Value. Achieved.