Enchanted Forest Canopy Bed from Stone County Ironworks is Greenspiration Home American Made "Pick-of-the-Week!"

By Trish Holder

I have a new item to add to my bucket list--visit Stone County Ironworks (SCI) in Stone County, Arkansas and watch their artisans at work.  I want to know what their day must be like, creating works of art like this Enchanted Forest Canopy bed.  I think I’m jealous.   Stone County Ironworks is the perfect company to kick off Greenspiration Home’s Made in America décor campaign because they have managed to keep sacred what so many furniture manufacturers have not.  The artisans that hammer out the beds, the benches, the lamps, etc. are sometimes second or third generation employees who make every item from start to finish using age-old forging methods.   The Enchanted Forest Canopy bed you see here, the Greenspiration Home feature décor item for the week, is not just a piece of furniture that’s going to breakdown and have to be replaced in few years.  It is a work of functional art that has meaning to the person that builds it. I can only imagine that sleeping in a bed like this is quite different than sleeping in a mass-produced bed made in China and shipped here in a box.  Furniture like SCI makes is kept and treasured for generations.  It doesn’t end up in a landfill.   Green?  They Hate That Word… The folks at SCI are embarrassed to market themselves as green because to them it would sound too much like they were jumping in with the latest hype.  What they do is what they do and it has always been smart, practical, and frugal.  They have always recycled their iron.  They use non-toxic, non-VOC coatings that are baked hard with natural gas, which happens to be an abundant resource in the hills of Arkansas.   The furniture company has also made the conscious decision to stay true to their American made heritage.   “We haven’t cried uncle by going overseas,” said Andy Baker, Product Development Manager.  “We could probably save a lot of money by doing so, but we’ve chosen to keep everything strictly made in the USA and keep American workers employed.”   Although it might spell profit for some companies, Baker believes that the choice to go overseas has been the “failing point” of many in the furniture industry because it almost always equates to an inferior product.  On the other hand, SCI has weathered a tough economy by developing over 1000 unique pieces that justify their price in beauty and craftsmanship alone.  This keeps their clientele coming back.   Greenspiration Home LLC is an online resource dedicated to helping homeowners build, renovate, and decorate green.  The Greenspiration Home American Made “Pick-of-the-Week” campaign is part of the publication’s initiative to educate consumers about domestically made home décor options.    GHOM16477