Urban Tree Forge is comprised of three main brands - City Wood, The Mill, and The Studio. City Wood salvages wood from urban trees, The Mill creates custom furniture and millwork, and The Studio houses artists. The document identifies opportunities to expand the brand such as a lower price point product line, utilizing waste wood, differentiating custom furniture, and branded promotional items.

1. Urban Tree Forge
Brand Analysis and Opportunities

3. Urban Tree Forge
Brand Analysis and Strategy
part one- Analysis
brands
market
form language
part two- Opportunities
seven opportunities to investigate

4. Urban Tree Forge, LLC is an admirable young
business with a lot of interests. This document is
meant to help clarify each branch of the company
and, in the process, discover opportunities for
growth of the brand.

5. Urban Tree Forge
Analysis > Brands
city wood
by Urban Tree Forge
the mill
by Urban Tree Forge
the studio
at Urban Tree Forge
Urban Tree Forge is comprised of three main parts: the flagship mate-
rial City Wood™, the core business of The Mill, and the artists-in-resi-
dence in The Studio. Clearly defining these three brands will keep the
business on course by making sure each new endeavour fits into the
overall model.

7. Urban Tree Forge
Analysis > Brands > City Wood
city wood by Urban Tree Forge
“By utilizing locally available and sustainable natural resources, we are
removing trees from our landfills, and placing salvaged wood back into a
productive life cycle.”
City Wood™ is the heart of Urban Tree Forge. It is used for all of the
Urban Tree Forge products and is also sold at retail to local crafts-
men. This in-house brand of wood is cut from salvaged trees in Pitts-
burgh after the years finally take their toll and naturally fell a tree.
The trees are scouted out by Urban Tree Forge studio members,
neighbors, and landscapers. The logs are cut into slabs and quarters
for various projects or kept whole for furniture and sculpture pieces.
City Wood is a wood unlike any other. The trees it comes from av-
erage 3 feet or wider in diameter making sustainable, large-scale
lumber at a variety of lengths available at a lower price than other
similarly-sized lumber. Many of these trees have lived in Pittsburgh
for 10 generations or more and carry the history of the city with them
in stunning grain patterns.

9. Urban Tree Forge
Analysis > Brands > The Mill
the mill
by Urban Tree Forge
The Mill by Urban Tree Forge creates sculpture, custom furniture, and
millwork such as flooring, molding, and tree stakes on commission
and for sale in local galleries. The Mill’s body of work is the primary
output of Urban Tree Forge.
The City Wood™ used in the mill is used to its fullest extent. The larg-
est pieces become furniture, sculpture, or large slabs. The quarters
of logs and cut-offs are made into small-scale projects ranging from
shelves to jewelry. Even the sawdust made in The Mill is composted to
become nutrients for the next generations of City Wood™.

11. Urban Tree Forge
Analysis > Brands > The Studio
the studioat Urban Tree Forge
The Studio at Urban Tree Forge is the collection of artists and crafts-
men and women who lease space from Urban Tree Forge. The Studio
provides workspace, use of machinery, gallery space, and office space
for creative individuals.
The Studio is a multi-disciplinary environment with residents working
primarily with City Wood™ as well as metal and stone collaboratively
and individually.

12. Urban Tree Forge
Analysis > Market
Customers
The value proposition of an Urban Tree Forge product is a sustainable
alternative to other lumber and custom furniture or millwork. Owning
a piece also saves “waste” from going into the landfill and supports lo-
cal business and conservation. This is a powerful idea that influences
customers to come to Urban Tree Forge.
The primary market for Urban Tree Forge Products are wealthy, lo-
cal people who are interested in small scale projects and the green
movement. Urban Tree Forge pieces range from $1,200 to $70,000
and average around $5,000-$10,000. Dipping into a lower price range
would expand the target market.
Many craftsmen and students are drawn to Urban Tree Forge
City Wood™ because it is cheaper than similar-sized pieces of farmed
lumber, better for the environment, and is one of a small handful of
lumber providers in the city.
Keeping these customer typologies in order will help to serve each better:
Local, wealthy people looking for custom pieces
Local, average people looking for Urban Tree Forge products
Professional craftsmen looking for City Wood and Millwork
Weekend and Student Craftsmen looking for City Wood

13. Urban Tree Forge
Analysis > Market
Partners
There is a strong movement in Pittsburgh to support local and en-
vironmentally conscious businesses. Urban Tree Forge has had suc-
cessful partnerships with many of these organizations, particularly
Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest and the Pittsburgh Tech Coun-
cil. The list also includes Hack Pittsburgh, Green Sign Experts, McNul-
ty Landscaping, Wilkinsburg Shade Tree Committee, Ritenour Lumber,
as well as a number of local galleries.
These partnerships serve to expand the Urban Tree Forge business by
reaching into the community of environmentally conscious contrac-
tors, craftsmen, and public.

15. Urban Tree Forge
Analysis > Form Language
Form Language
The form language of The Mill at Urban Tree Forge is fundamentally
natural. Pieces are sculpted along the grain of the wood rather than
straight lines. Bowties are often added in places that risk splitting.
Hard lines are eased giving a fluid, wax-like form to the work. The
proportion of pieces changes based on the stock it is carved from,
though, there is a constant thickness to The Mill’s slabs.

16. Urban Tree Forge
Opportunities
Seven opportunities to investigate
lower price point products
profitable offcuts
unique bowties
The JM Series
Urban Tree Forge t-shirt
branded samples
business cards
Lower the Price Point
By offering a lower price product, Urban Tree Forge can bring more people
into the sustainable movement. Many people subscribe to the philosophy
but can’t afford even the cheapest pieces. A product line with a price point of
$20-$30 would sell more volume, accumulating more interest in the brand.
These products could be kitchen utensils, light fixtures, toys, boxes, games,
even educational urban forest kits. Because Urban Tree Forge is unable to
add on any manufacturing stress in-house, the design specifications and City
Wood™ could be sourced to a local manufacturer. Production pieces could
be housed in each of Urban Tree Forge’s partners’ spaces, local vendors like
Quiet Storm, Maggie’s, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Market District, as
well as the Urban Tree Forge Gallery for maximum exposure to the target
market of local, eco-conscious buyers.
Revitalize “Waste”
Not much goes to waste around Urban Tree Forge as it is, however, oppor-
tunities exist to make a profit off wood-working byproducts. Quarter rounds
become shelves, offcuts could be made into limited run products, saw dust
sold as mulch along with seedling kits to locals.

17. Urban Tree Forge
Opportunities
Embrace Your Form Language
Currently, there is a dichotomy between the soft, fluid curves of The Mill’s
pieces and the rigid, straight-lined bowties that prevent cracks from splitting
further. Exploring the form of those butterflies, while still ensuring their ease
of manufacture will add value to Urban Tree Forge pieces.
Avoid Confusion
Another step in defining the brands, creating a JM Signature Series within
The Mill by Urban Tree Forge could help to differentiate molding and flooring
with high-end custom furniture pieces. Currently, two very different custom-
ers are funneled towards the same brand: contractors and private commis-
sions.
Spread the Word
Urban Tree Forge t-shirts, screen printed with soy-based inks on organic
cotton t-shirts are a relatively cheap way to get more advertising in the com-
munity. Giving these out for free with the purchase of a JM Signature Series
piece or a couple of slabs gives the customer a mobile conversation piece.
Lose the Stickers
By having shop resident Jennifer Bechack create a literal Urban Tree Forge
brand, samples of City Wood™ could be entirely sustainable by using heat
generated from a City Wood™ cutoff fire to sear a brand on each sample.
Stand Out
In the spirit of the literal Urban Tree Forge “brand,” actual City Wood busi-
ness cards and other takeaways could help Urban Tree Forge standout and
further educate people about the benefits of using urban trees.