Cause Index

The Milkshed Foundation

It all starts with the wood. Traditionally, one would begin with the product itself and match the material to the product but we work the other way around – the wood directs what product it will ultimately become. Working with reclaimed wood is a bit like receiving one of those lucky packets we used to get back in the day – perhaps giving away our age here – but, the wood arrives and while we know very well the characteristics of a beam of Oregon Pine or piece of Meranti, its only after we’ve ‘opened the packet’ by tending to the wood that we can say how it will be used. From there the baton is passed to our amazing carpenter who transforms the wood into our Milkshed range. Our humble little factory is based in East London in a beautifully refurbished milk shed – hence the name – and it is here that all the magic happens.

The profits from the sale of our items we channel into our projects, which fall under the umbrella of the name ‘Something Good.’ Our projects are varied and we have specific concerns that are particularly close to our hearts like ensuring that children have the necessities for their bright young minds to grow or bringing hope and ‘a bit of sunshine’ to the lives of the elderly, but with that said, many of our projects actually find us through friends and family who have come across an organization or person who could do with a hand. From there we will get in touch with the organization or person, chat to them, and see if and how we can assist – we’re quite strict about making sure we’re assisting people in a positive way and not contributing to or creating learned helplessness. While the profits are helpful in fueling our projects, they are actually not the focus of what we’re trying to do, which is to show people that making a difference is not about donating a wad of money or having to sacrifice all your time – its about doing what you can, where you are, with what you’ve got. It’s about actually ‘doing’ something good and about showing people that a collection of small efforts can really have a big impact.

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