Birmingham-based Alabama Sawyer transforms fallen trees and reclaimed materials into modern tables and home accessories.
The company: Alabama Sawyer, founded in Birmingham in 2015, makes furniture, including solid wood tabletops, made to specifications as well as other goods from urban timber.
The owners: Cliff and Leigh Spencer. Cliff, an Alabama native who graduated from Rhodes College in Tennessee, worked as a master craftsman in New York City and on set designs in Los Angeles, where he ran Cliff Spencer Furniture Maker, a custom cabinetry and furniture business, before returning to his hometown. Leigh, a California native and award-winning graphic designer, earned degrees from UC Santa Barbara and Otis College.
Big break: After Cliff spoke at Design Week Birmingham in 2014, the couple decided to launch Alabama Sawyer, before moving their new business (and their two children) to Birmingham 18 months later.
What’s popular: The best-selling Noaway Countertop Comport Bin in walnut and magnolia ($175). Also the Sputnik tables ($300 to $500) and dining tables. Based on wood species and base selection, an 8-foot-by-3.5-foot dining table ranges from $3,800 to $9,500.
Other favorites: Trays in walnut, oak and magnolia ($275 to $350).
Fun (or unusual) request: A 26-foot trapezoidal conference table for a company in Alpharetta. The solid walnut table required 18 slabs of wood. It had to be delivered in six pieces to get it up the elevator.
Claim to fame: Overall winner in Garden & Gun magazine’s 2017 “Made in the South” awards.
Where to buy: Alasaw.com. Smaller products are also sold on Food52.com, goop.com and Kauffmann-mercantile.com.
