STONINGTON, Maine (Thursday, February 23, 2012) — Geoffrey Warner’s furniture design- build business, Geoffrey Warner Studio, has been very busy the last several months. Not only does Warner design and build beautiful custom furniture creations sought after by his clients, but he also recently launched a new line of affordable designer furniture.
“We can design and build anything our clients want,” Warner said. “We specialize in smart design, use beautiful woods to solve problems, and place a strong emphasis on traditional craftsmanship and its importance.
“As we grow, the one thing I don’t want to lose track of is being a master craftsman and using the wood as a basis for my designs. With that in mind, I look at a piece of wood and try to answer: ‘How can this beautiful slab of wood best be represented?’ To us, our products are the second life of a tree. We work a lot with big live edge slabs of wood and try to showcase the natural beauty with what we do.”
Warner’s line of furniture is sold under the Owl brand name and it has been extremely popular. “Our Owl line started with one simple stool and the entire branding effort grew from there”, he said.
“In a nutshell, about four years ago we launched our line of furniture with inspiration from our first piece, the Owl Stool,” says Warner. “This is what I’m most excited about. I set out on a mission to come up with a design that would be more affordable for my friends and neighbors. Since most studio makers’ projects are very expensive, I wanted to fill a well- needed niche.
“The philosophy behind our Owl line is that everything honors local community, economy and the environment. We strive to continue being smart with our designs to keep them affordable.”
Since introducing the stool, Warner has debuted stools with backs on them, stools on wheels (the ‘Rolling Owl’); as well as a desk (the ‘Peanut’) and an iPad holder attachment (the ‘Feather’).
A large part of Warner’s Owl furniture brand is the importance of designing pieces that highlight the wood and bring out its natural beauty. To do this, Warner depends on Waterlox and its Original Tung oil finishes.
“Waterlox is a very natural looking finish that makes every project we make look great,” Warner said. “It’s a finish that’s in the wood rather than on the wood and that’s exactly what we’re looking for here.
“I’ve been using Waterlox for probably about 10 years now. I discovered some left-over Waterlox on a construction site while installing some custom cabinetry. When I used Waterlox on a piece of furniture for the first time, I realized that its durability was far superior to all of the finishes I had used previously. In researching the product, I also learned that Tung oil is known for its water-resistance; which is why it’s used on working surfaces such as hardwood floors and wood counter tops.”
Waterlox resin-modified Tung oil-based finishes are different from other types of wood finishes on the market and offer a “best of both worlds” alternative. For example, raw oils penetrate into the wood but will not provide any real protection to the substrate and will need to be recoated often due to oxidation.
Surface finishes such as urethanes (either water or oil-based) will lie on top of the surface, look more like plastic, can be brittle and once breached will fail. The reason we are the best of both worlds is because Waterlox’s resin-modified Tung oil formation penetrates like raw oil, but protects and nurtures the wood without being brittle and having the plastic look of surface finishes.
About Waterlox
Founded in 1910, Waterlox Coatings Corporation, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is the nation’s leading manufacturer of premium wood finishes, handmade from resin-modified Tung oil. A fourth-generation, family-owned company, now run by Chief Executive Officer Jay Hawkins and Vice President Kellie Hawkins Schaffner, Waterlox continues to manufacture products using the finest ingredients, combining Tung oil, resins, mineral spirits and other ingredients to produce a complete wood finish that gives the look and feel of naturally oiled wood.
Waterlox products represent the flooring industry’s highest level of quality protection for both interior and exterior wood finishing projects and also supply tools for application.
For more information about Waterlox, please visit www.waterlox.com or call (800) 321.0377. To visit Waterlox on Facebook, or you can follow Waterlox on Twitter.
