Hot on the heels of my recent post - What a load of rubbish - comes another sustainable option, this time for furniture. It's a company, Made to Last, which sets out to do things differently; not only are its products sustainable, they're also crafted here in Britain.
And what's more the products really do look great, and as the company name suggests, made to last. Each product has clear guarantees displayed on the site, so you really can judge the true cost and value of a product.
No doubt like me you'll know that often items only last a short time and discover that no one seems to fix anything these days, so often the most economic solution is to buy more. But that leaves items to get rid of more often, and more for landfill contributing to our throwaway society.
My top picks
1. Sofas by Wesley-Barrell
As you know we've recently been on the hunt for new sofas. We saw many and managed to choose two grey sofas (which arrived last week, more on those another day), but we quickly discovered that it's never just as easy as choosing a new sofa. There are many shapes and sizes, prices and quality, but I do believe there's a sofa out there for everyone.
We saw many velvet sofas in our quest to replace ours, and we were very nearly tempted, but in truth the velvet sofas we saw weren't quite right. As soon as I visited the Made to Last site the sofa below, by Oxfordshire-based Wesley-Barrell called out to me, and I wished the email inviting me to collaborate had arrived a few weeks earlier.
ONE OF THE WESLEY-BARRELL SOFAS ON THE MADE TO LAST SITE
Photo Credit: Made to Last
Each sofa is hand-built to order, which means as well as choosing the leg style and colour you can make alterations to the seat depth, so if you've little legs like MOH or I or longer legs then you can purchase a sofa that works for you. While out sofa shopping we sat on quite a few we liked, but would have liked more if we could have reached the floor.
It struck me that they don't just claim to be eco-friendly but give clear examples of what they do everyday to demonstrate this in a practical way, such as using FSC accredited timber, using natural materials including a polymer fibre made from recycled plastic bottles. It doesn't sound overly comfortable, but I'm sure it's much better than it sounds.
2. Black iron loaf tins by the Netherton Foundry
CAST IRON LOAF TINS ON THE MADE TO LAST SITE
Photo Credit: Made to Last
Yes, quite a change from my first item I know, but one that could make it into my bakeware cupboard. Last year we tinkered with cooking bread in our pizza oven without a huge amount of success as the oven was still too hot. However I'm a try-er so we're not giving up just yet.
These iron loaf tins are made of durable 99.1% pure iron with a sturdy brass rivet and are suitable for high temperatures and all ovens, including wood fired. So with these I'd really have no excuse would I?
They're guaranteed for two years and it's recommended that you re-season it with a coating of flax oil, but full instructions are included.
If we didn't already have a long handled pizza peel, I might be tempted by one to match. If loaf tins and pizza peels aren't for you, there's plenty more Netherton Foundry items to tempt you.
3. Royal Sussex traditional garden trugs
Despite my modern tendencies, I also like some traditional items and the Royal Sussex trugs are very much in that category. I've seen them at shows and spoken to the craftsmen that make them, completely by hand. It's an item that can't be rushed and one that comes in several sizes, and even though we no longer have the allotment, actually especially now we don't have the plot I can see one in the garden to save me juggling the produce I pick in the months to come as I had back towards the house. Although I'll admit that can be quite entertaining...
ROYAL SUSSEX TRADITIONAL GARDEN TRUG
Photo Credit: Made to Last
My top three is quite eclectic, but I'm sure you're not surprised by that by now - what would you choose?
* This is a collaborative post but all views are my own.