Hardwood & Design: Sharing The Stories That Build Demand
The latest issue of Hardwood & Design, Issue 2, is now available! In this second issue, the Real American Hardwood® initiative highlights hardwood’s ability to sustain a legacy, and the people finding new ways to carry that legacy forward.
For hardwood producers, distributors, and manufacturers, communicating the value of our products is an essential part of building demand. Architects, designers, and consumers need to see what hardwood makes possible: furniture worth passing down, buildings worth restoring, and materials that develop character through years of use. Hardwood & Design brings those possibilities to life, connecting the work of our industry with the people making material decisions.
This issue features an interview with HGTV’s Home Town stars Ben and Erin Napier about their Maple collection with Vaughn-Bassett. Their work offers an opportunity to introduce a broad audience to hardwood furniture and the craftsmanship behind it.
For our industry, stories like these help communicate why material selection matters and why hardwood deserves consideration when purchasing pieces intended to last.
That emphasis on lasting value continues in a feature on Los Angeles-based Angel City Lumber, which upcycles street trees into materials for innovative designs. Its work invites readers to consider the potential in a resource that might otherwise be overlooked. Meanwhile, architecture firm ZPD+ shares recent hardwood projects, including a century-old warehouse in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood and a restored historic icebreaker on Lake Michigan that now serves as a yacht club. These projects demonstrate hardwood’s place in preserving existing spaces while adapting them for continued use.
Our second issue also includes an interview with neurodesign expert Linda Kafka, who discusses how hardwood creates a sense of home through its longevity and ability to develop character over time. Her perspective gives readers another way to understand hardwood’s appeal beyond its initial appearance. The qualities our industry knows well- its individuality, durability, and capacity to age beautifully-can also become the qualities people value most in the spaces they inhabit.
Looking toward the future, we spotlight emerging furniture designers from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Appalachian State University, and Purdue University. Their work illustrates how younger generations are using hardwood to rethink furniture design. Introducing these voices is an important part of the magazine’s purpose: encouraging an ongoing relationship with hardwood among the designers whose choices will help shape future markets.
Innovation also takes center stage in a discussion with structural engineers at Fast + Epp about how hybrid-species glulam can strengthen mass timber. Elsewhere, Candra Burns recounts her visit to Zena Forest Products in Salem, Oregon, exploring the company’s work to bring a sustainable forest product to market. Together, these stories connect design possibilities with the forestry, processing, and technical knowledge that make them possible.
The hardwood community has no shortage of stories worth sharing. Our opportunity is to bring them to audiences who may not yet understand the full value of this resource. By showing hardwood in finished furniture, restored buildings, and new applications, we can give architects and designers practical examples to inform their next project, and help our industry’s expertise reach further.
We invite you to explore Volume 2, share it with customers and design contacts, and support this outreach through an annual subscription to Hardwood & Design. Each paid subscription enables us to distribute the magazine to 10 architects and designers, increasing awareness and encouraging the use of Real American Hardwood in future projects.
Scan the QR code to subscribe and help build demand for American hardwood.
Interested in putting your company’s products and expertise in front of this audience? Email John Hester at j.hester@nhla.com to learn about advertising opportunities in future issues.
