The Company
Oliver Furniture creates wooden furniture for the modern family. Born from a proud Scandinavian tradition of wood making, our products are time-tested and thoroughly contemporary – designed to last for generations. Based on a simple aesthetic, high quality craftsmanship, and function specific design – the Nordic tradition is our attitude. Our Seaside Collection is inspired by easy beach-house living, and the Wood Collection highlights the natural layers of beauty hiding in wood as a material. The brand was founded in 2003 by cabinetmaker and designer Søren Rørbæk. The company is based just north of Copenhagen.
The Design
Simplicity is our aesthetic. Clean lines, and clear purpose. Rounded shapes, and delicate details. Our product portfolio is kept deliberately simple and functionally compatible. With a traditional yet contemporary design vocabulary, our furniture aims to evoke the sensory memories of a simpler time. Our brand is rooted in carefree summer days,high blue skies, waves splashing on the shore, echoes in the cool green forest, and the comfort of time spent with friends and family. Today, we are inspired by the everyday lives of contemporary families and how they evolve over time. Our products should not distract from life in its variety, but rather complement a life lived slowly. Slow living tries to remove the choices imposed by a modern throwaway culture, and generates a freedom from doubt – and a confidence in having made the right product choice.
The Responsibility
We are driven by a strong belief in a transparent and sustainable supply chain. All wood used for our furniture is supplied from European forests. Our products are made in Europe at local workshops operating under fair and sustainable conditions. We invest in long-lasting collaborations. Our dialogue with business partners is based on honesty and loyalty and undertaken personally with a common professional understanding of furniture making – an uncompromisingly ethical approach to manufacturing. We use the best possible materials, which must pass strict FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) demands for certification – ensuring that our wood comes from well-managed forests that in turn provide local environmental, social, and economic benefits. Finished products are treated with only non toxic interior lacquer and paint. Our packaging is made by an ISO-certified European company from FSC-certified, recyclable cardboard.
The Philosophie
Our furniture is sustainable by design. We are not distracted by trends nor do we work around seasonal themes. We constantly rarify our existing product portfolio, refining the classics and adding new members to our family of beds, shelving units, benches, wardrobes, tables and chairs. By taking into consideration the furniture needs of the modern family in its evolution, and subtracting away the trendy and the transient, we are left with a long-lasting product portfolio which can be easily adapted as change happens. It is this possibility to add and subtract elements to an existing item and extend its lifetime that makes our furniture truly sustainable. A few modifications to a bunk bed, and it becomes two single beds; and a junior bed easily transforms into a day bed. With this built-in ability to re-purpose, our products generate less waste by nature.
The Safety
Safety and health lies at the heart of Oliver Furniture – after all, we are parents ourselves. Our furniture is designed to meet the strict EU norms for safety and health and must pass various tests at a regular basis. We test, amongst others, for evaporation of toxics on painted and lacquered surfaces and from the wood and MDF we use in the production of our furniture. All of our furniture complies with the European standard for safety on toys for children. All our furniture complies with the most important European safety standards such as EN standards and norms, REACH, TüV, FSC and Oeko-Tex.
For more information of health and safety issues please see oliverfurniture.com