WakeTheTree

A B O U T
Wake the Tree Furniture Co. is a small studio in South Central Pennsylvania founded in 2014 by designer and second-generation woodworker Anthony Becker. A minimalist at heart, Anthony is passionate about simple, thoughtful design that will fit seamlessly into your lifestyle. All of our products are solid well-crafted pieces that are meant to be used and enjoyed everyday with confidence.

F O R E S T - F R I E N D L Y
We are currently transitioning to using “Forest-Friendly" wood for all of our products. We call it this because it's sourced from trees that are already dead or have already been cut down for purposes other than wood products, such as lumber from tree service companies or clean-up after storms.

The logging industry, overpopulation, and overconsumption of products have devastated vital forests that help protect our planet, wildlife and humans. Ninety percent of the virgin forests that covered the lower forty-eight states have been cleared away (The University of Michigan).

According to The Old-Growth Forest Network, Trees accumulate carbon as long as they live, which can help slow climate change. Older trees store the most carbon, mitigate pollution, purify water, release oxygen and provide habitat for wildlife. Growing forests pull carbon in, but their loss releases it again. The replacement of older forests with younger forests while harvesting lumber for wood products results in a release of carbon to the atmosphere—five times the amount released from fire, insects, wind storms, development and drought combined. All of this compounds the risk of gigantic uncontrollable fires which cause toxic air pollution, insect and pathogen attacks, loss of homes, and death of humans.

Selective logging is often promoted instead of clear-cutting for environmental reasons, but even selective logging damages surrounding trees. Everything is connected in a forest. Ecologist Suzanne Simard has written that trees communicate their needs and send each other nutrients via a network of soil fungi. Trees can even send a stress signal to each other when they are in danger. Damaging a single tree disrupts the whole system. Furthermore, when forests are logged, animal species lose their habitat, food sources and shelter. Loss of habitat drives extinction.

The reality is that our planet is in danger and its only hope is humanity. The possibility for change is going to take each individual’s effort to become more conscious about their consumption and exploitation of the same planet that gives us life—and will continue to give our children and grandchildren life, if we allow it. Our choices today will literally create the landscape for future generations.

We don’t want to be a part of the problem; we want to be a part of the solution. We cannot ignore that our products are made from a life-form that we deeply love and respect: trees. And we want to leave as many standing as we can. We think wood is a beautiful medium to construct furniture with. It’s warm, nice to touch and beautiful to look at. We don’t think the answer is to stop using wood, but to become more conscious about consumption. This is why we are committed to using recycled lumber—no forests are disturbed. We are creating simple, high-quality products that last a lifetime but instead of supporting the forest industry we are supporting the forest.

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