Meet Jonathan and Sarah Bucklew of Seventeen20 and The Joinery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan and Sarah Bucklew.

Jonathan and Sarah, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Jon and I started a furniture company eight years ago, Seventeen20, which specializes in handcrafted, minimalist, modern home furnishings. As our aesthetic became more mainstream, we dreamed about opening a studio/showroom space in our city of Lakeland. That dream grew into a larger vision: one of opening a mixed-use market that would include room for multiple artisan-maker studio/showroom spaces, retail shops, and food concepts.

In our previous lives, before we became furniture-designers/makers, we’d spent years on the road: me as a software consultant who traveled Monday-Friday every week for almost 11 years, and Jon as a professional musician, the drummer of an indie-rock band (Copeland) who spent weeks/months at a time on tour. Spending so much time traveling turned us into serious foodies–we ate out nearly every meal, every day–so once our lives changed and we no longer traveled, we missed our favorite foodie haunts and wished we could bring them to our hometown.

We worked with our city’s redevelopment agency, for just under two years, to find a location that would be large enough to bring the new concept to life. We ultimately settled on a 12,000 square foot building that was not quite large enough to include artisan/maker spaces, but is perfect as an artisanal food hall. The Joinery will open for business in early September 2019 and will house seven artisanal food vendors, a craft brewery and bar, and 1 boutique flower/gift shop. Seventeen20 will design and build most of the furniture (tables, benches, stools, bars, banquettes) and all of the vendor facades, three of which will be designed in recycled 20′ shipping containers.

Our dream of having a showroom is being fulfilled in a way that’s more exciting than our initial dream: in a living, working space that really showcases our company’s design/build capabilities, but also gives our community a really beautiful and delicious experience at the same time!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Nope! It sure hasn’t been easy! With Seventeen20 we really learned everything by trial and error–from construction methods to finishing processes, to shipping large, heavy items cross-country–every mistake/struggle really was an excellent learning experience that ultimately made us more determined to succeed.

With our new venture, The Joinery, we’ve faced all sorts of obstacles, from not really finding the right physical space to ever-increasing financial burdens, to really sticky/strict city regulations, etc. Honestly, that’s where my husband Jon really shines, though, because he takes on each obstacle as a puzzle that he is bound and determined to solve! He will not allow himself to be defeated, and he figures, if others have been able to do what we’re attempting to do, well then, so can we!

As we move towards our grand opening, we still constantly encounter one obstacle after another. Fortunately, we are surrounded by a community that is really excited about our vision and cheering us on, encouraging us to overcome those obstacles.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Seventeen20 and The Joinery – what should we know?
Seventeen20 specializes in handcrafted, minimalist modern home furnishings. We make everything by hand–our own hands!–and are really proud of the quality of our pieces. They’re solid wood and steel, so they’re very sturdy, but we really aim to keep the actual structure of each piece, the parts that bear weight and tension, extremely minimal and non-invasive/interruptive. We love clean lines married to warm, natural materials.

The Joinery brand is new, but we hope we’ll stand out as a food hall that really considers our guests–we want to provide a truly enjoyable, comfortable, inspiring, delightful, and of course, delicious experience! Our location is really special: we’re located on the banks of Lake Mirror, right in our city’s downtown district, which makes an evening out on the town, totally do-able. You can grab a coffee and breakfast before/after your morning run/walk around the lake, or swing by for dinner and a drink and then head out to one of our city’s many downtown events.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Our biggest supporters have been the property owners, headed up by Wesley Beck, Steve Scruggs at the Lakeland Economic Development Council and Catapult, and our city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, led by Alis Drumgo.

Wesley has been our biggest cheerleader, challenging us to dream bigger, reach higher, and work harder and he’s not only been there to encourage but has also commiserated with us as we’ve faced each hurdle.

Steve has helped to highlight our new project by inviting us to speak/present at multiple events, in addition to lending his time to listen to us, advise us, and advocate on our behalf.

The CRA board, with Alis’ advocacy, has supported our project financially, through a grant, as well as with practical advice and recommendations.

And of course our friends and family have done everything from helping us paint to bringing us supper! We are eternally grateful for our entire community’s support. We certainly couldn’t do this without them.

Pricing:

• Seventeen20 stools starting at $345
• Seventeen20 benches starting at $695
• Seventeen20 dining tables starting at $1895
• Seventeen20 occasional tables starting at $1645

Contact Info:

• Address: 640 E Main Street
  Lakeland, FL 33801
• Website: seventeen20.com, thejoinerylkld.com
• Phone: (863) 838-2588
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @seventeen20, @thejoinerylkld
• Facebook: @seventeen20, @thejoinerylkld

Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.