My Contribution to Sustainability

The woods I recommend to clients, and generally use, are neither endangered nor threatened with extinction: mostly domestic hardwoods like maple, cherry, walnut, alder and poplar. I am trying to develop more sources of certified wood from tree farms and reclaimed outlets, as well as formaldehyde-free plywood. I use primarily low-VOC finishes, mostly produced by a local business. I have a photovoltaic system installed on my roof to provide a significant part of my electricity, substantially reducing my carbon footprint; in fact, so far I am generating a surplus which I sell back to the local utility, PNM. I also have a solar thermal system which generates most of the hot water used for washing and for the radiant heating system throughout my house and shop, reducing the need for propane and the generation of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. Since my studio and showroom are attached to my home, I do not use a vehicle to commute to and from work, significantly reducing auto-related emissions as well as the consumption of gasoline.

I recycle all wood scraps either through a local kindergarten which provides them to students for craftwork or through a local artisan who either uses them for his projects or in his woodstove. I recycle all permissible paper, metals, glass, plastics and cardboard at a neighboring recycling facility. My family composts all possible food and other products, to which I add much of my sawdust (the rest I donate to a local chicken farmer for his use).

As water is a particularly precious resource in this geographic area, we use cisterns and rain barrels to capture as much rain as possible from the roof and a gray-water system for plant irrigation. We also use almost exclusively drip irrigation to minimize evaporation and waste. The surrounding gardens are almost exclusively developed through permaculture principles, using mostly native plants and those from similar ecological zones, to minimize the use of water and additional soil amendments.