I want to talk about why we did what we did.

I want to talk about why we started Bergwood. And I mean that - I want to talk about it. Not an AI-generated heartwarming tale with a classic hook and a neatly wrapped ending with a call to "like & follow", but my actual story.

I want to share why we are so passionate about Montessori style furniture, why we decided to implement a sustainability initiative that actually helps families rather than greenwashing our brand, and why, with a 9-month old baby, we made the wild decision for my husband to leave his comfortable desk job to start a kids furniture business.

Unsurprisingly, when we had our first child, my husband and I wanted to do everything absolutely right for her - boatloads of books, home cooked organic purées, breastfeeding, the crunchy-parent-deluxe package basically. But our colicky little angel had other plans and didn’t care about any of it. She slurped stickers off of plastic toys, ate Oreos given to her by family friends, and had violently bad reactions to a multitude of proteins found in breastmilk. And she screamed her sweet colicky heart out through all of it. So we learned (were forced to learn, really), how to flex. We learned to let go of the little things so that we could prioritize what mattered most to support her and her development. 

We kept books front and center everywhere. They ended up strewn across the floor in her room, our living room, even our home office. We wanted to help her develop strength and be more mobile, as the more she could move, the less she seemed to cry. We wanted to keep her stimulated and occupied as we were worried that months of screaming could negatively impact her cognitive development. As we researched and talked with friends, we were led time and time again back to Montessori inspired solutions to help with each of these challenges.

The challenges we found in shopping for Montessori style children's furniture were probably challenges everyone in this position has experienced. We wanted high quality pieces that would stand the test of time, pieces without haphazardly attached veneer or weird unidentifiable formaldehyde compounds in the glue. There are some Montessori brands out there, but very few made with sustainably sourced wood, built with fair labor here in the USA, and made with kid-first designs (features like tip prevention, ease of access, minimization of pinch points etc). And further, when we finally found a few things we liked, the cost was hard to swallow knowing that each piece would be used for 5 years max. No matter how high quality your toddler furniture is, your kid is going to make it obsolete by growing out of it in just a few years.

So naturally we thought - why don’t we just build exactly what we want ourselves? My husband and I love building things together and have been working jointly on projects for years. Mitch is an expert woodworker and craftsman, so he designed a room full of beautiful pieces for our daughter and brought them to life. As she grew and her colic began to fade, the magic of Montessori became clearer to us. She loved to read because she could see and choose her books. She had agency and began to develop independence by choosing whatever toys she wanted off her shelf. She loved climbing and sliding all over the triangle toy as she grew. Our friends saw the difference and asked if we could make similar designs for their kids. 

Suddenly it started to click into place - our story wasn’t actually as unique as we thought it was. Lots of parent had these problems. Lots of parents wanted similar solutions. And so Bergwood was born.

Making high quality, purposefully designed furniture pieces for kids was part of the answer to some of our parenting problems, but for weeks I continued to fixate on a nagging and often overlooked aspect of this industry: natural obsolescence. 

Like many Americans, I grew up in a household with a basement absolutely teeming with artifacts of family history, old but possibly-still-useful-someday furniture, boxes of mysterious but clearly very important old electronics, kitchen gadgets no one used but no one would throw away, etc. Another word: junk. As I became an adult myself, despite my best efforts, years full of that same junk began to creep up around me. My pleas to family around the holidays that I was deeply committed to becoming a minimalist were largely ignored. I had boxes of old junk already, and I saw a future where the beautiful handcrafted furniture my husband built was just added to the pile taking up space in my basement.

That’s just not what I wanted for my family or for Bergwood. The pieces we design are built with care and intention. We source the highest grade lumber from local suppliers and only use super premium non-toxic natural finishes. These are pieces that will stand the test of time. But no matter how well made they are, kids just won't need them forever.

Solving this problem is actually really simple. Just give it away. Your kid towers over their old Montessori bookshelf? Donate it. Preteen not interested in sliding down the pikler climber anymore? The daycare in your community would love it. Toddler wardrobe starting to add to the clutter it once helped solve? Off to a local shelter.

It’s my dream that this cycle of giving enables Bergwood products to live on and be loved by other families. To have the pieces not end their journeys as clutter in your basement, but rather, to be used and loved by another family. And because this matters so much to us, we want to reward families who take part in this sustainability journey with us.

When you donate a Bergwood product, not only can you bask in the glow of having done something meaningful for your community and impactful for our environment, but we'll send you a gift card to use right away on your next Bergwood product. We want to work together to make a positive impact on our planet.

This is why we built Bergwood.

It’s about the furniture, it’s about the Montessori principles to support children in their development. It’s about solving problems for parents and enriching our communities. It’s about protecting the planet that our children will inherit. It’s about our family, our passion, and our values.

And if you’re reading this and you share these same values, we would absolutely love for you to join us on this journey.

Jenny

Co-founder, Bergwood