by Jahna Peloquin
One year ago this month, Twin Cities design director Jeanne Stoddard founded Perch Furniture, a direct-to-consumer wholesale furniture brand that blends a sustainable mission and affordable prices with an industrial-modern design aesthetic.
Prior to founding Perch, Stoddard owned a home staging business and worked as a furniture sales rep for large distribution companies. Her St. Louis Park–based company offers a wide range of customizable furniture featuring timeless designs rooted in mid-century, minimalist, and Scandinavian design. Its Bergman Collection of wood desks and tables combines clean lines and a contemporary-meets-Bauhaus style, while its sturdy Sedona Collection is built with solid wood and steel and combines an industrial-chic style with organic lines.
Sustainability is a key element of Perch. The brand contributes to the Trees4Trees Foundation in support of its mission of providing education, training, and material support to tree farmers in Central Java, helping both to reduce the carbon footprint and support small-scale farming. In addition, Perch’s manufacturers source many of their materials from sustainably sourced wood, including Acacia wood, and reclaimed wood as well as other recycled materials, such as recycled bicycle tire tubes and recycled iron. Acadia wood characteristically grows rapidly, making it both sustainable, sturdy, and beautiful, thanks to its distinctive grain pattern.
Stoddard also loves reclaimed wood for its aesthetic properties. “Reclaimed wood has beautiful details that are unique to each piece and it ties in many wood tones with the distinct variation of weathering in each piece,” she says. “The complexity of the pieces make reclaimed wood a focal point of any space and is amazing to photograph.”
One of Perch’s favorite manufacturers is d-Bodhi, an innovative eco-furniture company based in Singapore. The award-winning company creates stylish furniture from reclaimed teak wood, galvanized iron, old boat wood, and even rubber from old tires, recycled paper, denim jeans, and old license plates.
Because the company is direct-to-consumer, it’s able to cut out the middleman and pass on the savings to the consumer. With sofas priced under $2,000 and dining tables under $1,000, its high-quality pieces are a fraction of the price that at B&B Italia and Vitra. In addition, the brand also offers home staging services and furniture rental for interior design professionals.
While the brand has operated out of a temporary showroom for the past year, it plans to open a permanent space in St. Louis Park in mid-June. In the meantime, you can shop this weekend’s half-off sale on all current merchandise at its temporary space at 7204 W. 27th St. in St. Louis Park from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 20 and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 22. perch.furniture
Image courtesy Perch Furniture from the 2017 Parade of Homes