Is there a Canadian furniture industry? One might think so based on what is to be found in big box furniture retailers and wholesalers. In such places it is difficult to find product that was not built outside the country. This is true not just in Canadian Furniture Store. It is true throughout the First World. Globalization means that large scale manufacturing in labor intensive industries is best done in countries where labor is cheap.

Labor in Canada is not cheap. The Canadian minimum wage is the highest in the western hemisphere. Nevertheless, there is some furniture manufacturing occurring in Canada.

Canadian furniture manufacturers are not able to compete on the basis of price. A trip to any of the mass-market furniture retailers in the country reveals row upon row of low-price furnishings manufactured in other countries. The sole basis for stocking product in these environments is cost to the consumer.

Because of these facts, the Canadian furniture manufacturing industry today consists entirely of small scale operations. The focus is on quality. Retail outlets for Canadian product are either high-end retailers, regional chain stores or manufacturers own wholesale outlets.

The country’s furniture makers work primarily in wood. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is that Canada is second only to Russia in native wood supplies. The second is that upholstery is labor intensive. As has been explained, Canada cannot compete on labor costs. The result is that the furniture makers have embraced the classic minimalist styles of the colonial, Dutch, Mennonite, Amish, Shaker and Scandinavian schools. The intricate, heavy style of traditional French furniture is seldom seen anymore, even in the Province of Quebec.

By Canadian furniture stores, we are referring to furniture stores that sell made-in-Canada furniture. These stores deal primarily in dining room and bedroom sets or pine, maple and oak. Desks, dressers and occasional tables are also featured.

Canadian designers and craftsmen are expert in inlay and veneer. All in one operations are common. These are primarily family run or are part of a cooperative between loggers, millers and makers. The final product is then sold through regional retail chains. Often an on-site wholesale outlet is also maintained. In a very real sense, the industry has gone back to the future. The local focus is a return to the way things used to be, before globalization allowed countries with little or no protection for workers to sell in Canada without tariffs.

Scrap wood furniture is, as the name implies, furniture made from wood that has been scrapped. In the past, farmers might tear down a shed and recycle the wood as a simple washstand or table. Canadian furniture store that sell Canadian made furniture are starting to stock scrap wood pieces. The beauty of these pieces lies in the use of many different types of wood in a single piece. A scrapwood dresser might use wood from several different sources. The craftsman cuts and planes the wood to uniform sizes and then stains the pieces. Using one stain on, say, pine, butternut, oak and maple produces four slightly different shades of the same color. The resulting product is the only one of its kind. This is the way to compete when one can not compete on labor.

Author Bio: When trying to find that last piece of furniture to complete your room, consider looking for furniture stores in Canada. Boasting fine craftmanship and durability, Furniture stores Canada such as furniture stores Barrie are growing in reputation.

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