Meet&CoHIGH POINT — At the latest High Point Market, one Canadian case goods manufacturer demonstrated how wood species, finishing techniques and material integrity can shape not just a product’s look, but its entire brand strategy.
Durham Furniture, headquartered in Durham, Ontario, has long built its reputation on solid wood craftsmanship. Vice President of Sales and Business Development Josh Alexander noted that every piece is produced at the company’s Canadian facility, continuing a tradition established in 1899.
Durham structures its offerings around three distinct brands aimed at different price tiers while maintaining the same solid wood commitment. Durham Classics serves as the premium tier, defined by cleaner materials and refined construction. Perfect Balance anchors the mid-range, offering a more accessible interpretation of the company’s craftsmanship.
Vokes, acquired three years ago and now in its second Market showing, fills the opening-price category with straightforward, Amish-style construction techniques such as box joinery and pocket screws. Despite its positioning, Vokes retains the same catalyzed lacquer finish used in the higher-end lines and is crafted entirely from wormy maple.
Source: https://www.furnituretoday.com/
The distinctions among the three tiers become clear in construction details and material selection. Durham Classics features clear maple, four-part dovetail drawers and soft-close hardware—elements that contribute to its mid to upper-mid market positioning. Perfect Balance and Vokes simplify construction, but all maintain solid wood builds and manufacturer-controlled production standards.
Durham’s species-specific approach further reinforces each collection’s identity. The company focuses on clear maple, wormy maple and cherry, with each collection centered on a single species to ensure a unified visual direction. Wormy maple, for instance, supports more traditional, architectural styles.
Customization remains a key point of differentiation across all lines. Customers can pair any case piece with any finish, and pricing remains simple—particularly within Perfect Balance, where finishes don’t affect the retail price. This allows retailers to offer flexibility to shoppers while maintaining predictable ordering.
The Vokes line stands out for offering eight finishes at an entry-level price point—an unusually broad palette in this category. Many retailers take advantage of this by displaying only a few collections and customizing the finishes and hardware to align with their store’s identity.
Across the portfolio, Durham provides about 30 finishing options, enabling even space-limited retailers to show robust variety through a finish display rather than stocking multiple room sets.
Responding to growing demand for mixed stain-and-paint looks, Durham debuted a 16-color paint program this Market. One highlighted vignette paired a clean maple bed in a deep green finish called Forest with black-stained maple case goods—an example of the blended aesthetic many consumers now prefer.
