Overseas rush for granny's wardrobe

By Jo Perry
BBC Scotland news website Central reporter

Unwanted furniture in Grangemouth waits to be shipped

There can be few in society unfamiliar with the flat pack furniture revolution which saw Swedish retail giant Ikea corner the market in affordable self-assembly goods.

But it would seem neighbouring Scandinavians the Finns are opting for furniture with a bit more history.

A Scottish charity shop has become the first in Scotland to begin shipping pre- and post-war furniture, unwanted by consumers in this country, to Finland to try to meet the demand for pieces that are essentially like granny's old sideboard.

Grangemouth Enterprises, who sell household goods to generate funds for job training in the local community, discovered the lucrative overseas market in unwanted furniture about two years ago.

At first it was the Americans who clamoured for 60 and 70-year-old walnut wardrobes and 50-year-old oak dressing tables.

When the organisation shipped their first container to the States, it was met by enthusiastic locals and an interested media.

The complete contrast between that response and that of customers in the UK is stark.

'Big and Bulky'

Since 1982 the organisation has been receiving old beds, wardrobes and sideboards from the public which are no longer wanted.

For years the items stood unpurchased on the shop floor as customers sought out the latest flat pack and laminate designs to furnish their homes.

Pauline Hinchion, who has managed the store for about five years, said that much of the furniture was sent to be recycled or shredded.

When we first sent the stuff to America the city had all the newspapers there and there was a really big thing made about the stuff coming from Scotland. They loved it and it sold out really, really quickly Pauline Hinchion

She said: "We receive a lot of what we term utility furniture. This is the stuff that was in your granny's house and was around in the war.

"It's big brown furniture, like old walnut, but not antique. It's stuff that most people would be used to seeing in their houses.

"People are throwing it out as it gets older and older but the problem for us is that it's actually big and bulky so our customers don't really want it.

"They want modern stuff. They want the Ikea-type stuff.

"They don't really want the big three-piece walnut wardrobe that their grannies had because, apart from anything else, the houses are a lot smaller and there are issues about fitting them in the front door."

As some unwanted pieces gathered dust in the shop's store room, some others were sent to be recycled and shredded.

Ms Hinchion said: "It felt quite shameful because this is, at the end of the day, furniture made from wood - it's not MDF, it's not chipboard, it's not laminates, it's actually wood.

"We started trying to see if there was something else we could do with it. As a result we got an inquiry from America.

"They wanted to take the old furniture because they see it differently to us.

'Ironic Turn'

"They see old stuff that they can sell."

"But things have taken an ironic turn because about six months ago we had inquiries from Finland because people over there were getting fed up with the Ikea stuff and they quite liked the older stuff that we had.

"In the last couple of months we sent a shipment to them and it sold very well.

Pauline Hinchion helps load the next container to be shipped

"We're due to send a second shipment to them and I imagine it'll become a fairly regular option for the old furniture, which is good because it's not going to landfill, we're realising a value for the charity and people are getting re-use.

"When we first sent the stuff to America the people had all the newspapers there.

"A really big thing made about the stuff coming from Scotland. They loved it and it sold out really, really quickly.

"As a result of this feedback most of the charities in Scotland now send stuff to America.

"We're the only one that's sending it to Finland too.

"The feedback we've had is that it literally didn't even go on to the floor because people that were working in the shop and their mothers and sisters, they all bought it.

"They really loved it, which is one of the reasons they're looking for another container so soon after we sent the first.

"We hadn't expected for things to go that quickly but luckily enough we get so much stuff coming in that we have another container ready."