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| The Bride is wearing Birkenstocks |
In fact, I wore a pair to my own wedding. I never professed to be a traditionalist and since Shane refused to wear a tuxedo, we had a "theme" wedding in the backyard of our home. Granted, Birkenstocks were not around in the 16th century, but they sure were comfortable, and that corset sure wasn't.
Shane will be the first person to tell you that I am frugal - very frugal. I find purchasing clothing at full price very difficult! Now, you have to keep in mind that I was a sporting goods buyer before I was a custom furniture consultant. I know what the markup is on clothing! Plus, clothing is seasonal and trendy, you only get a year or two of wear out anything, anymore. It makes sense to wait to purchase a blouse or pair of pants after it goes on sale.
However, I do not skimp on shoes. With the exception of athletic shoes, I only purchase well-made, classic shoe styles. Athletic shoes only last 6 months, at best. So, why waste good money on them? A good pair of shoes will last for years. In fact, the blue clogs in the photo below are 15 years old. They go great with jeans, and they get plenty of wear during the winter months. I paid $150 for those clogs. That works out to $10/year. The thing is, I intend to hang on to those shoes because they are still in great shape!
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| Birkenstock Family |
Shane wears his Birks at the shop, as evidenced by the layer of sawdust. The arch support helps his knees from aching which means less visits to the chiropractor.
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| Shane's Sawdust Covered Sandals |
Wearing well-made shoes saves us money in the long run. Since we replace them less often, it also means less waste goes into our local landfill.
At this point, you are probably wondering what any of this has to do with handmade custom furniture.
A few weeks ago I received an email from a woman who said she was considering purchasing a Waverly Low Post Bed but was having trouble justifying spending "that much money" on a bed for her 13 year old son.
Let's do the math:
The Imported Solution: I found a four-poster bed on a popular danish import store's website for $299. I then went to yahoo answers to find out how long I could expect furniture from said store to last. The answers ranged from 4 months to 5 years. I'm an optimist. Let's use 5 years.
$299 divided by 5 years is just under $60 per year. Reasonable, right?
After 5 years, when the bed is falling apart, where will that bed end up? Your local landfill.
According to wikipedia, the average US male lives for 75 years. So, the 13 year old son will probably live another 62 years. Ignoring inflation, a bed that lasts 5 years will need to be replaced TWELVE times in his lifetime for a total of $3588. And each of those beds will end up where? Your local landfill.
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| Shaka Studios Waverly Low Post Bed |
$2500 divided by 62 years comes out to a little more than $40 per year for a well-made bed with classic, timeless lines that will never go out of style. That doesn't sound like "that much money" to me and I'm frugal!
Do your pocket book, and your local landfill a favor, invest in a well-made bed. Handmade furniture costs less in the long run, plus it is better for the environment.
Keep it real. Keep it simple. Keep it honest.
Kandas
Also female who <3 Birkies (since teens), frugal w/ 2 like-minded parents who were a "Jack & Jill of all trades", taught me a thing or two. It must irk you to have that big SWEDISH store (Blue/yellow...National flag?) down the road. From their 1st store in Sweden (80's) to TX now, my furniture's still good. They sell MDF but the bed you refer to is solid pine @ a ninth of your prices. And tastes change! Also, not possible to afford you for all pc.'s... Only those with a REAL screw loose would throw everything in the landfill when wood putty & glue repair so much. P.S. Get some "Shoe Goo"(soles); our sneakers last years ;)
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