One of the aims of Buy Design is to increase the amount of low to mid grade timber that is processed locally. Another is to bring our creative talent pool of designer / makers into contact with this greatly undervalued and underused resource. Usually only the largest woodland owners of the region sell their hardwoods regularly throughout the year. The norm being small parcels purchased sporadically, generally timed with unmanaged felling.
90% of the hardwood felled in the Borders is exported for conversion to be bought back again as boards or finished goods. This is leading to a huge economic and ecological imbalance . Improved value added return however can only be achieved by allowing the people on the ground to get on with the process of re-establishing a woodland culture. Any new planting could then be done in the context of growing timber for specific end use and get the future balance right.
Home grown timber and home grown talent is a house motto. This is not an idea or concept that has happened overnight. We have three resident designer / makers working in a collective and stimulating environment making wooden product from furniture to flooring. The emphasis is always on quality of work and design. Buy Design's unique Chain of Custody means we can proudly describe our wood supplies as 'sustainable'. All our wood can be traced from the forest to the product and we buy only from sources we know meet our purchasing and ecological criteria.