Why do our pieces cost what they do?

One of the things that we get asked about the most often is why we price our pieces the way that we do. We always try to be transparent when quoting a piece, because we think it is important that our clients understand what goes into creating a custom piece of furniture. We are focused on making quality pieces with quality products and we strive to keep our pieces in a price range that we feel is attainable for the average family. That said, we understand that getting a quote for a custom piece can be a bit shocking, when you are coming from a world where bargain furniture is everywhere. So we thought it would be fun to do a head-to-head with some of the more popular retailers out there and explain the differences between their products and ours.

First up, is everyone’s favourite blue and yellow box – Ikea! I’m absolutely positive that whoever you are, you can look around your home and find at least one piece of Ikea furniture. Ikea is the king of cheap, build it yourself furniture. Many of us started out with those simple, particle board coffee tables, and bookshelves. We won’t deny that Ikea is a great place to go if you need to fill a space on a budget. But have you ever wondered why Ikea furniture is so cheap? It isn’t just because they make you put it together yourself. We looked at their website for a table that was similar in size to one of our recent pieces, for comparison:

Ikea Mockelby – $699.00 CAD

7.5 feet long

Made from particle board with thin layer of oak veneer. Finish is wax only

Ikea furniture is manufactured almost exclusively in factories in China and other Asian countries, Only 3% of Ikea products are made in North America, and none of it is manufactured in Canada.

Where does Ikea get its wood from? The majority of Ikea’s products are made with wood sourced from Sweden, Poland, Russia, Lithuania and Germany.

Ikea advertises “more for less” which means that it uses particle board – not solid wood. So what is particle board? Particle board is cheaper, denser and more uniform than conventional wood and plywood and is substituted for them when cost is more important than strength and appearance.

Particleboard can be made more appealing by painting or the use of wood veneers on visible surfaces. Though it is denser than conventional wood, it is the lightest and weakest type of fiberboard.

Most of the time, particle board is made from sawdust, which can be collected for minimal cost to Ikea from larger fabrication shops – it is literally scraps!

So, while Ikea pieces are affordable, I think we can all agree that they aren’t high in quality or built to last.

While we love the price, we knew out of the gate that the materials and production method of Ikea products wasn’t going to wow us. We decided to be fair, we would consider a mid-level furniture store, and we went to The Brick’s website. We actually don’t mind The Brick and have seen some comfortable, stylish furniture in there! We felt like we’d for sure find something that compares to one of our pieces, but were surprised to find that much of their products are also veneered. We did find one piece that looked a bit like our table:

The Brick – Zane Dining table – $1,499.97 CAD

7 feet long by 30” wide

Made from rubberwood frame with thin layer of hickory veneer.

The Brick does not publicly disclose where its products are made except to highlight the few products that are made in Canada. I reached out to the Brick who confirmed that this table is factory made in Vietnam.

What is rubberwood? Rubberwood is a hardwood that is sourced from Asia and used primarily to produce latex. Companies like The Brick can acquire the wood for a bargain after the latex industry has processed the trees for sap and the tree dies (scraps, again!) It must be chemically treated with Boron before it can be used for furniture.

¼”  thick metal used for the legs. The Brick website does not indicate what kind of metal, and Headquarters said the product is new to their lineup and they do not know what kind of metal is used.

Over all, this table looks pretty nice and is made with veneered hardwood, which is a step up from its cheaper competitor, but we still don’t love that the product is made in a factory in Asia from scraps, and sold to Canadians at a massive markup. We decided to look for something even closer to our table and found ourselves looking at this table:

Premium Suar table from Artemano

6.5 feet long with 1.5 * 3” thick tube metal legs

Price = $2,297

Made from suar wood sourced from Indonesia

Artemano is very careful not to say that their products are made in Canada-  they simply state that the products are designed here and “tested” in foreign markets. It is unclear what that means, so I reached out to their customer service to ask them point blank. Unfortunately, I never received an answer, but given the language of their website, I am assuming that the wood is finished overseas and shipped to Canada finished.

Suar grows big very fast, which makes it a very economic option for furniture production. The labour costs of manufacturing furniture in Indonesia are also much less than other markets in Asia – they do it the cheapest way possible!

Suar wood is beautiful, so what is the problem? Well, as with most exotic wood, there is a major climate difference. Indonesia is a warm tropical climate with a ton of humidity, which means that the wood will have an extremely high moisture content when it is cut. The thicker the slab, the harder it is to properly dry. For efficiency’s sake, many factories in Indonesia only air-dry their wood. Even those that do kiln dry, as Artemano claims it does, would have a difficult time reducing the moisture content in the thick slabs of wood.

So, the unfortunate reality is that, while beautiful, all of the products for sale at Artemano are made with exotic woods from tropical climates and are more susceptible to cracking and warping, once they enter our drier climate. In fact, Artemano itself states that even after drying, “the wood will still open and crack just a little as it ages.”[1]

So let’s look at one of our products, now:

Custom dining table from Prior’s Edge

7’ x 32” x 2” thick with welded steel legs

Price = $2,995

Made from solid North American black walnut sourced in Eastern Ontario, with a premium tempered glass feature from Arnprior Glass.

Prior’s Edge deals exclusively with domestic (Canadian) hardwood sourced from the Ottawa Valley. All the wood we use has been air and kiln dried to ensure that the wood will not warp, and limit cracking over time.

Kent Is professionally trained as a furniture technician and is backed by 12 years of cabinetmaking experience. All our products are made and finished here in Arnprior, Ontario, and we deal with local vendors whenever possible. We do not use particle board or veneer (unless specifically requested by our client)  – our tables are 100% solid Canadian wood. The welded steel legs are created in-house by Kent, which allows us to keep the costs a bit lower.

The takeaway, is that there are many different options in many different price ranges, on the market. While some of the popular brands out there certainly offer simple, budget friendly pieces to furnish your home, these pieces are not built to withstand the test of time. In many cases, they are also factory-made, which means that they are mass-produced. When this is the case, the company can spread the miniscule manufacturing costs across thousands of pieces, which enables them to keep their costs relatively low -plus, the make you put it together yourself! As the saying goes….”you get what you pay for.”

At Prior’s Edge, we take pride in knowing that we are creating legacy pieces which will be enjoyed for generations. Like all products, our pieces will wear with time. They will pick up scratches and dings. We love these marks of life in a piece, but if you don’t, because our pieces are solid wood, they can be refreshed. Refinished, stained, repurposed…and continue to grow with your family. We strive to keep the prices of our custom pieces as low as we can, and we believe that the quality of the pieces we make, and the depth of experience and passion that goes into each piece, is invaluable.