We love it when visitors tour our place and shake their heads. “No one is making home accessories in the US anymore. Get with the times, will you?” Common wisdom is that you can start a company out of your garage, but the minute you’re doing more than touring craft fairs in your hippie van, you’ve got to move production overseas where the labor force will work for pennies an hour.

We don’t go for that at all.

Yes, we know we could make it cheaper over there. Yes, we know everyone in our industry is doing it. But it’s a point of pride for us. We’re persuaded that we can consistently provide you a better designed, better crafted product than any overseas manufacturer. Not only that, but we can offer more consistent quality and stronger support by designing here, crafting here and shipping from (did we mention this?) right here.

And call us crazy, but we think that somehow you might even feel just a little better knowing you’ve helped provide secure, rewarding jobs for one small town in rural America. That’s why we continue to do what we do from right here in Trinidad, Colorado, USA.

We finish everything we make using water-based paints. Always have. Most companies use oils and other stinky solvents because, frankly, they’re easier to work with. Why do we do it? For us, it’s about the people -- our team, more specifically. They spend their days up to their elbows in the stuff. We want to feel that we’re doing all we can to ensure their hard work year after year leaves them with no adverse health effects. As a happy side-effect, the planet fares better as well.

We also use 100% recycled wood for all our signs and frames. We don’t want to spoil your lunch, but look at the solid wood frames next time you’re in a department store or big box. Did you know that China’s biggest supplier of lumber is Russia, where 50% of the wood is harvested illegally, predominately by the mafia? In Indonesia, another big home accessory supplier, 75% of lumber is illegally cut, often from their national parks? Illegal cutting hurts indigenous peoples, spawns mudslides, and fosters government corruption. It’s an ugly scene. We love the fact that no trees were cut at all in the creation of our product.

We’re not yet the company we want to be. But we’re devoted to continually improving our operations, sources, and systems in the quest for better, friendlier solutions for nurturing both planet and people.

It’s about much more than helping decorate beautiful homes, though we do love that. For us, it’s about building a community. Fifteen years ago, in a small red barn, we started Danielson Designs with a vision to provide employment for our economically depressed town. That’s the Call we’re answering. It’s still what stirs us, drives us, gets us up in the morning. And it continues to astound us with a life far beyond what we could envision then.

We like to call it The Power of the Pebble. We tossed our pebble in the water and it sent ripples outward. We became one of the largest employers in town and saw lives changed as, for many, unemployment gave way to new skills and career paths. As the company grew, we were empowered to help build our community in other ways -- supporting non-profits, inspiring downtown growth, building a theatre company.

And the ripples extended outward. Our retailers around the country enjoyed new growth, enabling them to build their communities. Then beyond: we partner with a team to help dig wells in remote villages in Africa. To date we’ve dug 20 wells. Satisfying!

We’re so grateful that you’ve joined us in the adventure. We’re eager to help build your business, your community, your world. And we can’t wait to hear the story of your pebble. Together, our collective pebbles can ripple a massive body of water. Can you say Tidal Wave?