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

Come celebrate with us! On Friday, September 26 beginning at 5 PM we will toast our clients, friends, and neighbors who have brought us encouragement, support, and business these past two years. You are our roots! Join us for an evening of music, drinks, food, and conversation at the shop. Please extend our invitation to your family and friends and anyone interested in learning more about our work.


A note about the shop environment...if you haven't been here before you'll want to know that it's a bit rough so don't wear anything too fussy. You'll have more fun in the log yard if you're wearing sturdy shoes. Kids are very welcome and we'll be bringing ours -- but parents should be aware there are sharp objects around and they'll want to keep a close eye on the small ones.

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

We build our homes of wooden bones
from trees that grew among the stones
cups and ladles, chairs and tables
windows, doorways, rooftop gables

We are the people of the trees
we eat their fruits and nuts and leaves
we drip their blood upon our grains
to taste the sweetness of the rains
and pen our songs, our thoughts, our dreams
upon their flesh in bundled reams

We are the people of the trees
they cleanse our air and cure disease
Give them honor if you please
so that we
can breathe
with ease.


~John Wells, 2006

Elements are a force of nature, the raw building blocks of life. Meyer Wells draws from this unfettered honesty in both material sourcing and our core approach to business.

Red Elm from Des Moines Memorial Drive. Des Moines Memorial Drive was created in 1922 to memorialize soldiers from the area who were lost during WWI, and also as a living symbol the community’s commitment to work for peace throughout the world. The trees reached the end of their natural lives and were in decline when a plan to renew the memorial came into being with the help of Susan Black Landscape Architects, who informed us of the plan to replace the trees. Many of the original trees have now been removed and were salvaged by Meyer Wells.

The trees are still in log form and will take from 6 months to a year to be turned into useable materials. Some of the trees have distinctive character including burls and crotches. If you are interested in using this material for a future project, please contact john@meyerwells.com. Projects that involve veterans, memorials, or peace-related missions or activities are of particular interest. The material has not yet been milled and is currently in log form. There are approximately 30 logs of various diameters, roughly 90 years old.

When Tutta Bella built out their new neighborhood restaurant at 2200 Westlake, owner Joe Fugare wanted a chef’s table that both complemented the space and their own local story. The 30 foot, live-edge, elm chef’s table is central in the restaurant, overlooking the traditional Neopolitan wood fired oven named for Joe’s grandmother who emigrated from Italy to Seattle in 1911. Joe describes the chef’s table as far more than a counter, but rather a true community table. It is a place where patrons interact with each other and with the “pizzaioli” (certified Napoli Pizza chef) who crafts Napoli Pizza with ingredients and care that reflect the Tutta Bella story of community, quality, mastery and authenticity. The partnership with Meyer Wells was recommended by their general contractor Schuchart Construction, who worked with Meyer Wells on the Hedges Family Estate, just around the corner from Tutta Bella.

Our story of local material sourcing, quality craft and community integration meshed with the Tutta Bella story from the first meeting. Joe describes bringing in their vision for the piece and loving the dogs in the office, down to earth attitude and creative enthusiasm. John began talking ideas that brought out possibilities such as the partial live-edge that gave the bar both structure and a sense of having come from a tree; seam and grain matching to take that vision farther; and before they knew it, they had this extraordinary “pocket of wow” for the restaurant. Joe appreciates that we were there to do whatever it took to bring out the full potential of the piece, for them and their customers. The wood for the bar came from a tree that was originally specified by the Olmstead Brothers for Ross Park Playground in Ballard, a tree under which many a young (and old) Ballardite have played and rested. The windstorm of 2006 split the tree in half, nearly crushing the brand new shelter house designed by Heliotrope Architects. Even for their servers, Joe hires storytellers, so for the tree itself to have this tremendous story coming from a local park after a windstorm was fitting. To capture the story we inlayed a stainless steel plaque in the bar top to further connect patrons with the tables, the community, and heart of Tutta Bella. Joe describes it as showing the circle of life that incorporates their green mission. We created two other tables in the restaurant, a Brower style bar table and our signature Steel Butterfly table in the wine loft. These tables extend the story and confirm that Tutta Bella is more than just a pizza joint, but a rich and unique local eating experience.

We'll be posting information and images here regarding upcoming events and ongoing projects.