Q&A with Daniel Marks, Founder of Omba
Daniel Marks is the founder of the North Vancouver-based woodworking studio, Omba. In this Q&A he talks about his approach to building furniture that lasts and offers some advice for people shopping around for sustainable furniture.
1. Can you tell us about your company and the products you offer?
Omba is a woodworking studio that builds furniture out of solid wood and allows customers to specify custom dimensions for their pieces. We currently offer a collection of minimalist bookcases and tables, ranging from small nightstand bookcases to large custom dining tables.
2. What inspired you to get into woodworking?
I took a local woodworking course about 6 years ago and immediately loved it. It was so different from my day job in tech. It was satisfying to build something tangible after spending so many years on Zoom calls. I then took a few more design and woodworking courses, started building furniture for our own home and slowly started offering some pieces for sale. Over time, the idea for a set of customizable collections made of solid wood started to take shape and I decided to take the leap and launch Omba.
3. What does sustainability mean to you?
When it comes to furniture, there are all sorts of important considerations such as the finish you use, how you package your pieces, where you source your lumber and so on. But ultimately, I think building something that will last and that can be passed down across generations is the key pillar of building sustainable furniture. That is certainly our goal with all of the furniture we build.
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4. In what ways are you incorporating sustainable practices in your business and what impact does that have on the environment?
We use a GreenGuard Gold Certified finish, manufacture everything locally from North American hardwoods, use recyclable packaging materials and aim to build pieces that will last a lifetime.
5. What type of wood do you use for your products, and why?
We focus on three North American hardwoods: walnut, white oak and red oak. We wanted to source local woods and these three woods offer three very distinct aesthetics for customers to choose from.
6. Do you have any advice for people shopping around for sustainable furniture?
Look under the hood a little. Are they shipping furniture from overseas? There’s a hefty carbon cost that comes with that. Are they using veneered furniture? It’s possible that the furniture won’t last as long and will be difficult to repair, leading to unnecessary waste. Are they using a certain type of varnish? It’s possible the varnish required some harmful chemicals in the curing process. And so on.
Visit Omba’s website at ombahome.com
Images from Depositphotos
