If the recent drop in temperature has got you thinking about hibernating then a cosy and stylish new sofa might be top of your shopping list. One of our most-loved pieces of living room furniture is the Woodstock Sofa, £599 (top) and just like its famous festival namesake, it has an interesting and original provenance.
The Vietnam-based furniture maker that produces our sofas and armchairs makes furniture for retailers all around the world and as a result uses a whole range of different fabric types, colours and designs. Every year they have huge amounts of off-cuts - small pieces of ‘waste’ fabric - that are traditionally thrown away, ending up in landfill.
With our commitment to sustainable design and production we wanted to find a way to utilise these ‘leftover’ pieces - that others see as waste but that we see as a valuable resource - into something highly desirable. We created a design which features a carefully selected range of off-cuts that are then machine-stitched by hand into a contemporary patchwork which becomes the cover for our modern, mid-century inspired sofa.
Although it may appear that the off-cuts are free, it does take a tremendous amount of manpower to arrange, cut and sew them together. As well as this process turning what was essentially waste into a luxury product (and saving it from landfill), it also has a positive impact for the local community: creating a product that requires more time to produce means more work for them.
The Woodstock sofa has a frame of FSC certified pine and plywood and the upcycled cover is polyester meaning it is easy to clean and care for. Even more exciting is that, because the sofa cover is made from off-cuts, each one is totally unique.
O&OO founder Daniel Fairburn works closely with all of our producers and the family-run sofa and armchair makers are no exception. The Danish owner in fact hired Daniel to move to Vietnam many years ago to help to manage marketing and they have maintained a great relationship ever since. They have a long history of furniture in the family having produced in Denmark, Eastern Europe and finally Asia over the years.
This season we have launched a new collection of contemporary sofas, including the Olivia Two Seater Sofa in Blue, £549 (above), inspired by a Scandinavian and mid-century modern aesthetic. We are offering 15% off all of our sofas with the coupon code GYDJ15. Valid until 30th November 2014. Please note: the offer includes pre-orders but does not include items already on sale.