Furniture Created, Never Destroyed: 57st. design Launches First Fully Circular Furniture Program

/PRNewswire/ — 57st. design, a Chicago-based, direct-to-consumer furniture brand, announced today the launch of their Design Circulation program. Design Circulation allows customers to return their 57st. design furniture–at any time, and regardless of wear–for store credit. This furniture is then restored to original condition and sold (circulated) to another customer, thereby creating a closed-loop cycle in which a single piece of furniture is moved from home to home in perpetuity.

CHICAGO, May 30, 2018 The Design Circulation program will add a second buying option to 57st. design’s current collection of customizable home furnishings. In addition to the standard buying option, customers will be able to purchase “circulated” pieces, which are less expensive than their standard counterparts, and can be returned in exchange for store credit. Every 57st. design piece is made from solid American hardwood and finished by hand. This allows the furniture to be restored to a condition indistinguishable from the day it was first built.

“Our hope is to economically incentivize a more sustainable approach to furniture consumption. The long term goal is to one day have so much furniture in circulation that the amount of furniture we’re actually manufacturing declines as our company continues to grow. We’d shift from furniture makers to stewards of a circulating furniture collection, expertly restoring and updating pieces for continued use,” notes Sam Devenport, co-founder and CEO of 57st. design.

In a survey conducted by 57st. design of over 500 customers, 93% said they would be interested in selling their furniture back to the company from which they bought it in exchange for store credit. This research was an early indicator of market demand for Design Circulation.

“This program is unique to our company because, unlike furniture that’s industrially spray-finished or built from MDF or particle board, we can easily restore our solid wood furniture to its original condition. Dents, nicks scratches and stains can be removed,” said Pia Narula, co-founder and COO of 57st. design. Narula explained that 57st. design’s furniture collection will grow rapidly in the next year, introducing new materials and styles, but always with an emphasis on permanence and restorability.

Claire Feinberg, Design Director for 57st. design, said that Design Circulation aims to encourage thoughtful consumption: “We believe giving our customers the option to exchange their pieces for store credit will make owning heirloom-quality furniture more accessible. In truth, this is a partnership with our customers and we couldn’t be more excited to develop this with them.”

ABOUT 57st. design
57st. design is a direct-to-consumer furniture brand based out of Chicago. With a focus on contemporary-modern, hardwood furniture, 57st. design designs, manufactures, and retails (via its e-commerce site) all of its work in-house, and all from its workshop on the Southside. www.57stdesign.com