S. Timberlake's Original Mail Order Brochure from 1975

The Cover. The Cover photo is of the Timberlake's "family room" in their house on Church Street in Bethel, Maine. The boots and hat belonged to brother and son, Seth, who died in a car accident in 1973. More than any other single event, it was this accident that brought Sam and Natalie Timberlake and their other son, Samuel Ross, to found the S. Timberlake Company in the fall of 1974.

The Philosophy. Some things never change. The opening page of this brochure are still the guiding words that are the heart of what we do....build quality furniture for the people who use it at a reasonable price. The furniture is still handmade, one piece at a time, despite the trend by many of our competitors to incoperate mass production as a way of cutting costs.

Design & Construction. Our early chairs incorporated many elements of Shaker chairs we had studied, measured, and, in some cases, disassembled. To say there was a "learning curve" in the process of starting a chairmaking business is an understatement. Our prototypes were a disaster, much to the disappointment of their owner who bought them for his log cabin which he heated with wood! One can only imagine the effect such a dry environment would have on solid wood furniture. Needless to say, the joints of the chairs loosened quickly and father and son began to have second thoughts about their dream of making "furniture that will last a lifetime." It was only through extensive trial and error and the opportunity to disassemble an original piece that the construction method of interlocking joints came to be the method of construction we utilize to this day.

A Mail Order Company is Born. At the time we started our business, only a few mail order companies offered Shaker chairs. Thos.Moser, Shaker Workshop, and Cohasset Colonials were offering chairs that ranged in both price and presentation. Our chairs have always been shipped to our customers assembled and finished (with the exception of our rocker which we ship with the runners removed to cut down on freight costs and damage) and our furniture has always been "moderately" price, reflecting our desire to sell handmade furniture that many people can afford. In 1993, as economic conditions worsened, we sought new avenues for advertising and promoting our products. Ross discovered the World Wide Web, saw its potential and began to learn as much as he could about the new world of the internet. S. Timberlake Company was the first furnituremaker in Maine selling direct to customers on the web in 1994. Fourteen years later, the internet accounts for the lion's share of S. Timberlake's worldwide sales.

For More Information on Our Company, Please Email Ross Timberlake