Cliff has wanted me to write the lead article for the newsletter since, well, since I started the newsletter.

"I can't write about your woodworking."

Let me illustrate a pattern. When Cliff asked me to build a website for our business. I said that I design print.

He said "Get a book." 

After several iterations, on-line learning and many questions of my web design/programmer/SEO guru friends, we have a pretty good website.

At the start of the economic "downturn" a few years ago, our office manager moved back to Indiana. Cliff requested that I take over the book keeping, as we couldn't prudently re-hire.

Like I had time for that. "No way."

After 18 months, I actually enjoy it.

About a year ago, overwhelmed with the office part of running a small business, Cliff introduced the idea that I quit my day job (as a graphic designer) at an incredibly big business.

Obviously, I said "No."

Except now, since last month, here I am, running the office. Always a partner in the entrepreneurial vision of the business, many of the tasks I am doing, I always did. I just did them at night or on weekends. Long hours are par for the course. One new task, that I particularly like, is talking to customers. As ubiquitous as the word "eco-friendly" is these days, homeowners do not always know exactly what they are aspiring to.

This is what makes out cabinets eco-friendly:

1. We manufacture here, in Los Angeles, in our shop, as in... in the USA. There are reputable cabinet lines with clear "green" qualities in other countries, but they cross either the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean, adding an awkward extra toe to the carbon footprint.
2. We avoid formaldehyde in our plywoods by sourcing no-added formaldehyde or no-added urea formaldehyde (NAF/NAUF), whenever possible. You may remember the smell of formaldehyde from eighth grade biology class. It doesn't smell quite that strong in wood, and not forever, but it's there in the glue.
   
3. We finish with water-based, low-VOC lacquers and natural oil finishes. Whether you're using a clear coat or stain to enhance the wood grain, or covering a paint-grade wood with say, one of the 50,000 shades of white, the finish can be one of the main sources of toxins in any project. Even after the initial smell is gone, there is off-gassing. Our lacquers have much less. Natural oil finishes, like tung oil and beeswax, have little to none. You could eat some of them, if you really wanted to.
4. We source Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified lumber, whenever possible. FSC means that lumber comes from managed forests, limiting clear-cutting and deforestation.
5. Again, it's the wood. We use reclaimed and salvaged wood for build-in cabinets. Not only do you keep used or cast-off lumber out of landfills, no one will have the same cabinets as you.

Usual question that follows: "Is it more expensive?" That depends. There is always a cheap way to do things, and the cheapness often reveals itself as even more expensive. We know who to call for the green stuff. Our regular resources strive for green-ness, sustainability, eco-friendliness, or whatever your word of choice.

So, here I am, in the office. Call me.