Buy Australian: Williamstown furniture business gives new life to recycled timber

A Williamstown furniture business is doing its bit to revitalise Victoria’s local industry, creating custom timber designs with recycled materials sourced from across the country.

Hoping to revitalise the furniture industry, Footprint Furniture is making bespoke designs with recycled materials sourced from across Australia.

“Repurposed timber has exploded in recent years, but at the time we launched there weren’t a lot of options,” says Jason Somerville.

“We’re one of the few furniture businesses that still does everything, from fit-outs to upholstery and custom, one-of-a-kind pieces.”

The Williamstown business allows customers to design furniture of all kinds, from dining tables and cabinets to seating and hammocks.

“It began pretty unintentionally,” says Mr Somerville, who founded the business in 2011 with wife Kerryann.

Jason Somerville creates environmentally friendly custom furniture pieces using local woods. Picture: Wayne Taylor.

“I decided to make a table in our garage using recycled timber, which I collected as leftovers from jobs.

“Repurposed timber has exploded in recent years, but at the time we launched there weren’t a lot of options.

“We’re one of the few furniture businesses that still does everything, from fit-outs to upholstery and custom, one-of-a-kind pieces.”

The pair sold the finished product on e-commerce site Etsy and were overwhelmed by the response.

“Before we knew it, we had sold 10 tables and people began to come to our property to see the design for themselves.”

From there, the pair established their business online. A store in Williamstown and factory in North Melbourne, where their furniture is crafted, quickly followed.

Jason Somerville overlooks recycled timbers at his furniture store in Williamstown. Picture by Wayne Taylor.

Despite a surge in home renovation projects during lockdown, many trade businesses, including Footprint Furniture, felt the financial brunt of the pandemic.

As restrictions ease, the couple are increasingly optimistic about the future of their business. “We’re finding ourselves as busy as we were pre-COVID,” Mr Somerville said.

“We’re building lots of recycled timber slabs, we’re designing different stools and it’s nice to focus on that side of the business again since it’s how we got our start.”

Like many trade businesses, Footprint Furniture connects with customers from across the country thanks to its online store.

Find more local businesses to support at Click for Vic.

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