Why I don't make furniture anymore

Making furniture in London without a car is doable, but the alternative just makes more sense! Trading bad news with good news :) Hope you will still enjoy my creative processes, albeit under a different light.
📖 What I referenced:
• "Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad, [...] said in 2006 that he had owned the same one [Poang chair] for 32 years."
www.phaidon.co...
• "12 million tons of furniture are thrownaway every year" newrepublic.co...
• "These trees take around 40 years to grow before they are ready to harvest."
www.forestryen....
#cityDIY #London #thefuture
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👋 Hi I'm Melody. Join me every week to see what crazy things people are giving away, I still make things as and when they happen :)
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[@MrGarethGreen]

Never say never! Remember the furniture you build and craft can be built to last for many years not just 27 (*21)! Its a shame as your woodworking and upcycle videos were good and showed others how to create things with simple tools and no workshop! I wonder how many people across the world you inspired in those videos, + encoraged them enough so that they can do the same. Im an english carpenter living in South Korea, and enjoyed what you were doing and teaching! Having lived in london as a student and young adult (for 24 years) I know the way of life, but, i think there can be a combination of finding great things 2nd hand (online or abandoned) but also upcycling and creating from scratch! And then, maybe, selling on to the online community for some income and to help stop the wasteful habits of other londoners! As i said, neve say never!

[@HomewithMelody]

Aww thank you so much for your very thoughtful and heartfelt comment 😊 I so appreciate you saying this! Definitely it's not never, but probably more rare at this point relying on not new materials. I already have collected a couple of upcycle/repair items, so watch out for those :) , but as you said, it's comparably less easy to get my hands on materials without buying new. It has been great to be able to make my own furniture, but a big part of me is also being creative with anything, that includes using secondhand where suitable, hoping to share more on that front! BTW, that is so cool that you are a carpenter in South Korea and lived in London :D you must have amazing stories to tell!

[@Funibert-Fox]

Really intelligent decision. Happy to see the results.

[@HomewithMelody]

Thank you Thomas ☺️ Took awhile to process but happy to have got here eventually. Maybe I'll do a show-and-tell, as I already have a lot of secondhand things 😃

[@JaySellers]

Thanks for your thoughtfulness

[@HomewithMelody]

Thank you for your support as always Jay.

[@emilystubbs5650]

At first I was thinking nooooo, but I hearing how you truly researched those chairs (not just a simple one time google search.) Then you mentioned the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon and I knew you were really thought this through. I love how you think and how you came to your decision!

[@emilystubbs5650]

I've been looking for almost a yr to find a coffee table to fit the odd shape of my couch and layout of my living room. I just cannot find the sizing I need. So I've come to the conclusion I'm going to HAVE to build one. But the price of wood, and destruction of trees is definitely impacting how I source the wood for the table.

[@HomewithMelody]

It took me a year to get the sofa together haha #slowliving May I suggest pallet or reclaimed wood? Best of luck with your coffee table! Keep me posted :)

[@jayzahone4086]

This is a good view on things! Thank you for making this step. I did watch your diy sofa video and now contemplating if i'll still do it. I'm from a 3rd world country and quality sofas are a bit of a luxury for us. I have an old bed that I can repurpose but opt to keep it as a day bed. Maybe it will work as a slightly higher sofa too lol

[@HomewithMelody]

You can absolutely repurpose your old bed to be a sofa and a day bed! The beauty of making it yourself :) My sofa is honestly a sofa, a day bed/lounger, a guest bed :D

[@HomewithMelody]

Understandaly lost a few of you but more importantly thank you for all the kind words and conversations! I think I wasn't very clear about I will still make things, but more upcycles or from non-new materials, so they'll happen as and when these things pop up. In between, I want to share the upsides of secondhand a n y t h i n g, which is still not as mainstream as it probably could be. x

[@YRTi]

I basically buy or make things I can keep them for long. That actually makes things around me very basic style because I don't want the look/style to be the reason I throw them away. Anyways, the next thing comes to me is leaning proper maintenance of them. That grows my feeling to attach to them and helps them to last long, too. It's cool if you can share decent methods to maintain life goods.

[@HomewithMelody]

That's exactly it! :) Nothing lasts forever without some maintenance. I find choosing the "right thing" from the start helps out a lot. For regular consumer, choosing from secondhand that's effectively weeding out the poor quality things.

[@marvinsulzer8258]

Just to be clear, a lot of the “waste” in wood is not due to diy furniture makers. So I’m not sure that is a solid reason to not build new things. In countries like the Us they are constantly building new homes to meet demand. The framing of a single home uses more wood than you can possibly use in a life time. And they are building millions of these homes. So I wouldn’t worry too much if your a DIYer when it comes to waste. In fact what you build will likely last far longer than anything you recycle.

[@HomewithMelody]

In an imperfect system, and given the option between new and secondhand, I try to choose secondhand. Understanding can't avoid new all the time.

[@peacefulandfree1]

Big fan! ❤

[@HomewithMelody]

❤️ stay tuned, I'll be back for more!

[@rawr2u190]

Oh this is really cool!

[@HomewithMelody]

thank you for watching!

[@rawr2u190]

@@HomewithMelody I've been having somewhat related thoughts for a while now. I started DIYing more because I could guarantee manufacturing ethics for my part of the supply chain. But then I found myself buying tools to make things. So if I'm buying a product to make something, why don't I just buy the thing? Idk, I still find making stuff an important part of my self-care/expression though.

[@HomewithMelody]

@@rawr2u190same, I also really enjoy the process of designing and making. But I can still do that with upcycling and reclaimed materials, less convenient but maybe even more space to be creative and have fun!

[@rawr2u190]

@@HomewithMelody Oh that's true, this has inspired me, I think I'll checkout local second hand stores to see if they have some woodworking tools