BUILDING BETTER FURNITURE
OUR STORY
FURNITURE, MILLWORK & METALWORK THAT LOOKS GOOD & DOES GOOD. At the heart of Wood Shop you will find people who want to make a difference by creating good furniture. We focus on using reclaimed, locally sourced materials and only environmentally-approved finishes, while providing meaningful employment to people with barriers to employment. When you choose Wood Shop you are choosing to support local community partnerships which prevent waste, create meaningful and inclusive employment, and host training opportunities for folx living with barriers. What's not to love?
OUR FOUNDATION
"COULD THE QUALITY WOOD MATERIALS FROM DECONSTRUCTION BE RECOVERED, RECLAIMED & REMADE into something new and provide meaningful employment to people in Vancouver?" In 2014, Co-Founder Chris Nichols asked this question. With pallets of wood, a community of practice, and a hunger for cooperativism, Wood Shop was born in a garage in the heart of the DTES. Over the years, Wood Shop has grown into a premium, Vancouver-based provider of custom millwork, furniture and metalwork for residential and commercial customers. Our ethical sourcing practices set us apart from most, and our worker-owned cooperative status puts us in the realm of social engineering for a better world. We now operate as a social purpose business providing meaningful and sustainable employment to our workers, while feeding into the larger cooperative movement.
OUR IMPACT
UPHOLD YOUR VALUES WHEN IT COMES TO FURNITURE, MILLWORK & METALWORK FOR YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. Interior furnishings are a core consideration throughout our lives; furniture is the foundation of the spaces in which we rest, nourish, play, love, and create. At Wood Shop, we provide an alternative to mainstream furnishing supply that makes a difference you can feel good about — and which looks good too.
AN ALIGNMENT OF VALUES
HANDCRAFTED & LOCALLY MADE
Handcrafted, every time. Each unique piece is handmade in Vancouver, B.C. by a Wood Shop Team Member.
EMPLOYMENT THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Wood Shop employees have the oppurtunity to become a worker/owner though our Worker Co-op business model + Workers are paid a livable wage so that they can thrive, not just survive. Workers contribute to the democratic decision making process that guides the everyday operations & strategic business development of Wood Shop.
ETHICAL SOURCING
Wood Shop partners with Unbuilders and other local recycling partners to obtain our materials. These materials include our Fairwood, salvaged from old box springs. All material claimed from Unbuilders has been salvaged from a home in the Lower Mainland, guaranteed to come with a story! At Wood Shop we make every effort to sustainably source our materials.
CRUELTY FREE FINISHING PRODUCTS
Osmo finishing products are the #1 choice when it comes to finishing our handcrafted furniture and interiors. Osmo is plant based, not tested on animals nor does it contain products that are tested on animals. Osmo is low VOC, so it's good for the Wood Shop Build Team, good for you, your family and your pets.