Corbin Clay, a Denver-based woodworker and owner of
Azure Furniture, won a $100,000 business competition sponsored by
GQ and
Ketel One Vodka for his sustainable company.
Excerpt:
Clay, who was also featured in the
Wall St. Journal for popularizing the blue cast wood, says the publicity and exposure have had an impact on his business.
"It was a great opportunity to shine a positive light on woodworking, beetle kill and American small business," says Clay. "It has helped our business. The Wall Street Journal piece certainly did as well. We've got a lot of interviews scheduled, our growth strategy ready to go."
Clay founded Azure Furniture, Inc. in 2009, with a mission to introduce beetle kill pine into the modern furniture market, making use of lumber from some of the millions of acres of pine beetle killed trees while breathing life into furniture production and design.
Clay was one of five finalists in the Gentleman's Call competition. Another woodworking finalist was New York City-based Withers & Grain, which builds furniture from reclaimed wood found in aging Manhattan office buildings and warehouses.
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