October 2010

Read our recent publication in the Puget Sound Business Journal here

Read about the Meyer Wells Carver dining table in this Seattle Homes & Lifestyles article.

Meyer Wells' work for the Hedges Family Estate has been featured in a recent issue of Kitchen Trends Magazine. To view a PDF of the article, click here: Trends Volume 24 No 11

Meyer Wells is so excited and honored to be included in Seattle Homes + Lifestyles Magazine's Design 100+ for 2009. View the complete article here.

When we talk about buying locally -- usually the word "local" indicates that the product was grown or built within a reasonable distance of your home. The problem is, we tend to waver on the definition of "reasonable." Is reasonable 25 miles? 50? 100?

What if you could buy a table that was made out of a tree that used to shade your neighbor's house? Could you get much more local than that?



We've got our eyes on Meyer Wells, a Seattle-based furniture company that builds beautiful dining tables, feature walls, and coffee and bedside tables from salvaged urban trees. They operate on a super local level: 99% of their materials come from within a 10-mile radius.

John Wells and Seth Meyer, the brains behind the operation, are committed to running a sustainable business. They use super low-VOC glues and finishes, pay their employees a decent salary, and provide health benefits.

Meyer Wells have a number of pieces available in their current collection, while also producing commissioned pieces for businesses and individuals.

Currently, we're making our way through the photo gallery of their custom commercial pieces.


This article was written by Stephanie for Apartment Therapy Re-Nest.

Meyer Wells Furniture, based in Seattle, Washington, is an impressive model of sustainable business practices. Owners John Wells, a furniture designer, and Seth Meyer, a master craftsman, teamed up to start this company which produces beautiful furniture from reclaimed local wood. This reclaimed wood has a unique story -- it comes from "urban trees".

At the end of their lives gracing the neighborhoods of Seattle, these trees which often go to waste, have the opportunity to become beautiful pieces of furniture thanks to Meyer Wells. As a matter of course, Meyer Wells uses HAP fee and low-VOC finishes, but they also offer other finishes that range from water based non-ozone depleting to 100% botanical tung oil.

One fact really caught my attention: 99% of their materials come from within 10 miles of their shop. Wow! Now,that's impressive. They also pride themselves on providing fair pay and insurance for their employees while providing a healthy (chemical-free) work environment. Their simple, contemporary designs highlight the natural beauty of their unique wood, and of course, each piece created is one-of-a-kind because of the nature of the reclaimed materials.

Custom work is available; some clients have even had special pieces made from their own trees that need to be cut down. There are a wide variety of pieces available on Meyer Wells' website along with more information about this impressive green company.

This article was written by Sarah Roe and has been reprinted from Jetson Green - Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Below is a portion of the article "Connect To Craft" found in Seattle Homes & Lifestyles Magazine, September 2008 Issue.

"The design-craft duo at Meyer Wells builds elemental modern furniture from local reclaimed urban trees. Designer John Wells describes the firm’s work as a great offset to more mass-produced design. “I don’t like interior environments where everything is handmade by an individual artisan. There are too many voices yelling and screaming. Our work, intentionally, does not scream ‘artistic expression,’” he says.

Wells emphasizes simplicity: “If you just look at the material [reclaimed wood], it’s so overpowering. But we have a vision of something that’s not just material-based.”

Seth Meyer, master craftsman and the other half of the design partnership, describes their work as a weaving together of modern principles with a deep respect for nature. “The material, our aesthetic and [our] processes are balanced to solve a problem,” Meyer says. “To me, that’s what design is all about: art that solves a problem.”

An eye to the proportions and harmony of a piece start with a drawing or model that resolves some of the issues of structure and form; then the craft comes in and makes the natural material actually work with the form, Meyer explains. “It also begins with the milling,” Wells says. “Seth does all the milling for every log … he understands how the grain works inside the tree.”

Meyer and Wells cite critical touchstones for their work: earth, water, fire, air. “It’s important to remember that we are humans living on the planet in the middle of a universe,” Wells says. What are our priorities? “Let’s get back to what is really important: the elemental.” For the design-build duo, part of that expression comes from making beautiful things from fallen trees that aren’t far from home."

BY: Virginia Bunker
PHOTOGRAPHY: Hank Drew