FURNITURE
been devastated by the mountain pine beetle. The insect infects the tree with a fungus that turns the wood blue — or other colors. The Dublin company, by the way, was named in part after a Canadian national park that is host to the pine beetle.
“A lot of woodworkers are afraid to use this lumber,” Holbrook said. “They think they’re going to breathe in the fungus and get sick. But it’s simply a stain. Another prejudice is that lumber with any blue stain in it will automatically be Grade 3, the lowest level. But every piece is unique. It’s beautiful.”
Prices range from $1,650 for the Helena Farmhouse Dining Table to $419 for the Slat Style Coffee Table.
Ghost River’s mostrecent creation — a Lewis & Clark console table that sells for $1,199 — is unique, and not just because of the wood. A 60-inch piece of laser-cut steel forms the stretcher under the tabletop, perfectly mimicking Lewis and Clark’s 1804-1805 route.
Holbrook, 30, grew up in Dayton and was first exposed to furnituremaking in high school. “My parents still have a table I made,” he said. “It’s not the prettiest, but it’s held up.”
After graduating from Ohio University, Holbrook went to Washington, D.C., to work at an education think tank.
“But I missed Ohio and came back and went to work for Manta,” he said. When he was laid off from the online business-listing service, he took the opportunity to pursue his passion.
“About two years ago, I started making custom (furniture) pieces as a hobby and sold them through Grandview Mercantile,” he said. “I loved the process of it, designing and making it. I formed an LLC at the beginning of the year and started taking photos.”
That led to interest from big-name online retailers.
“Wayfair was interested, and that blew me away,” he said. “Then I signed a contract with (apparel and homefurnishings site) Gilt in March — they wanted to expand their furniture offerings.”
As a result, although the Columbus-based startup furniture company isn’t even a year old, it has gained plenty of traction in sales, given those partnerships.
Business has picked up more quickly than Holbrook thought it would. “Wayfair was actually doing too much business for me to handle.”
So Holbrook has partnered with local company Columbus Design & Manufacturing to help produce furniture to his specifications.
Holbrook’s quick success didn’t surprise local retail analyst Chris Boring.
“He’s found a niche,” Boring said. “His products are going to be unique to the market, especially if the source material goes away. He’ll be able to create pieces that increase in value over time.”
One issue for Holbrook is the high cost of shipping the lumber.
“My closest supplier is in Denver, so I’m trying to interest other furniture makers in the wood,” he said. “And I’ve applied for a timberutilization grant from the U.S. Forest Service to assist with shipping and ancillary costs, because I actually pay more for shipping than for the lumber itself.”
“Shipping is a challenge,” Boring said, speaking not just of the raw materials but also of the cost to get the finished product to the customer. “That’s the reason Amazon and others online haven’t been able to make a dent in the furniture market — it’s just too expensive to ship.”
There is an element of urgency to shipping the wood, Holbrook said.
“The beetle comes and leaves the fungus, which kills the tree. But the tree can’t be left standing for years and still be worth using. So there is a shelf life.”
Shipping costs are mitigated somewhat when Holbrook uses wood from trees closer to home — ash — that are being destroyed by the emerald ash borer.
“With ash, I’m getting a lot of interest from municipalities who are getting rid of the trees, and some of the wood is being chipped up,” he said.
“The thing about the ash borer is that it only affects the outer part of the tree, so you de-bark it, and you’re good to go. But the wood is beautiful. Ash is similar to oak, but I like the grain better.”
Like the pine from the West, ash trees from Ohio face a troubling future.
“We’ll have dead trees for a long time,” Holbrook said. “In 20, 30 years, we may not have any ash trees left. So I had the idea to brand it the Emerald Ash Collection and make the pieces something that can be passed on through generations.”