Sandpoint, Idaho – Chris Park and John Edwards started their company, Misty Mountain Furniture, in 1991 with the goal of building a business that would support the quality of life they enjoyed in beautiful North Idaho and also be environmentally conscientious. “From the beginning” says Park, “we were committed to using local, renewable resources and labor.” Edwards goes on to say that, “the products we build and sell, the materials we use, our manufacturing facility and it’s design, even the way we live and our homes have been decisions we’ve made with the planet in mind.” Both Park and Edwards built energy efficient, off-the-grid homes near Sandpoint that are powered using wind, solar and micro-hydropower and both, along with many of their employees, commute via bicycle when weather permits.
Misty Mountain handcrafts its “Rustic Elegant” furniture and cabinets using regionally reclaimed lumber, domestic wood species, domestically milled birch plywood and small diameter lumber often consider “forest by-products.” Local mills are used whenever possible. Low VOC coatings and adhesives minimize toxic emissions. The company remodeled the “old, worn out” building that was purchased in 1999, giving new life to a Sandpoint landmark. Both the manufacturing facility and showroom are located under one roof on which solar panels may grace in the near future. Materials from the demo of the old building were used in the remodel. The facility utilizes passive solar design, energy efficient heating and lighting, locally produced straw board paneling, low water flush toilets and electric hand dryers. Everything that can be is recycled, even the sawdust and wood scraps. The company uses energy wind credits available through Avista and brightens their work and showroom spaces using compact fluorescent lighting. Park positively sums it up by saying that “every environmentally sound decision we’ve made has, in turn, been a sound business decision.” |
