Yes, flipping furniture falls in the basic principle of the 3Rs of Sustainability : Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Beaurity had the chance to meet Wood Work Studio, an amazing furniture shop with a special taste who specializes in restoring and repurpose furniture. 

How it started…

On our journey to learn more about flipping furniture, we visited the workshop and met Candela (Store Manager). She told us the story behind Wood Work Studio… As soon as Covid-19 hit, I wanted to buy a house, so I started to sell my own furniture on Offer up and Facebook marketplace. I took some nice pictures with my decor. Eventually, I ended up selling all of my pieces that had been used for only 1 1/2 years for a little profit. It was right then, when I realized this was an opportunity. I bought my first pair of nightstands and repainted it with a brush in my 700 sqft apartment; as soon as I sold that one, I never stoped… 

How flipping furniture helps the environment:

• Less wasteful, recent data demonstrates just Americans waste 12,5 millions of tons a year as per latest recorded by an EPA report in 2018. 80% of the waste ends in landfills and just 0,3% gets recycled.
• Help prevent deforestation, giving a second chance to that piece of solid wood furniture which can easily last years more; means you are also giving a chance to another tree to continue standing.
• Reduce Carbon emissions, United States is leader importer of furniture. By buying local or repurposing furniture you are already lowering, will lower your carbon footprint.

Candela continues… Old furniture is very charming, each piece has a story…from secret compartments to things I have found while restoring (you can’t imagine). The task of giving it a new life, the colors and the fact we at Wood Work studio only use water base paint for all restorations, it is a process that I enjoy completely.

Think about a piece of furniture that have been standing for 40 years, those solid wood pieces will last so many years more, totally opposite of furniture that you can buy in stores today.

Candela – Wood Work Studio

Wood Work Studio Purpose

If you go for a ride you will realize that people throw away furniture in the streets everyday. In addition to this, most of this pieces are from long time ago (sometimes antiques) from when furnishings was carefully put together with solid materials and even handmade touches.

Candela added: Think about a piece of furniture that been standing for 40 years, those pieces will last so many years more (totally opposite of furniture that you can buy in stores today). I believe that restoration is a subject to start considering seriously as a community. The purpose of taking something old and bring it back to life, just the fact of giving one more chance to that old tree for example. 

Moreover, my vision for this flipping furniture business is to be able to bring design to medium class. I absolutely love design myself and I could never afford to buy a “Restoration Hardware” piece. That’s why I wanted to bring an affordable price point, pieces that are unique, high design, antiques, and high quality to the medium class. Our clients are from interior designers to people that just find us from everywhere on instagram.

The Challenges

For a flipping furniture business, the cost of the packing/shipping materials is extremely high and not sustainable. Candela says: As a small business, I am still looking for alternatives to reduce the use of plastic derivate shipping materials. For instance, we are trying to figure out how to incorporate used moving boxes, which are 100% recyclable material for the shipping. Recently, I started wrapping vintage decor with sustainable options like old book covers and paper tape. 

You can visit Wood Work Studio at 2600 NW 21 terrace, unit # 2621 Miami FL 33142, or you can find them on the web on instagram @woodworkstudio . You can pick from their selected inventory or create a custom order. Also, if you have furniture that you are interested in restore or revamp Wood Work Studio can help you. It is all about rethinking your choices and have some empathy for our home (Our planet) .