Our Story




 

our story - video

Watch this short video on our history from where we started to where we are now

History1-14(copy)-582

generations in timber

For three generations the Sorensen family has been creating quality, memorable furniture right here in New Zealand.

We’re a family of builders, creators and makers, from our forebears in Denmark in the 1800s, to our great grandfather’s design and build company in Auckland,  to today, in our thirty thousand square foot factory in Whanganui.

Sorenmobler started as Sorensen Furniture by Cedric Sorensen. His plan? To build a business that he, and his sons, could build and grow to support our family. He was a builder first, in his Dad’s design and build company in Papatoetoe, then an architectural draftsman. Our business was born as his first son left school.

past to present

We’ve certainly grown in both family size and factory size since the days we had to share a small space in a factory with dirt floors and pretty basic equipment!. Today nine of our family members work alongside our team here, to produce high quality, New Zealand designed and made furniture. We are all brought together with a desire to  create each piece to the highest standard possible.

In the early days we worked with pine, and then moved to Rimu. It proved a popular move with people lining up at the door, waiting for the next piece - we just couldn’t make it fast enough!

We moved to Whanganui in 1994, needing a bigger place to grow into. We stepped into the old building of another Kiwi favourite - sauce makers Whitlock and Sons, and knew we’d found our new home.

 

sanding
Polishing Rimu

rimu & beyond

Our love of Rimu has remained through the years. It’s lead us to develop some pretty special relationships with timber merchants in remote parts of New Zealand, harvesting and milling sustainable Rimu on small pockets of land. These are single, one-man bands, who either forest sustainably, or are pulling fallen logs out of the bush as part of their annual cycles of foraging and living off the land - milling wood, collecting moss, and whitebaiting, a different activity for each season.

In recent years we expanded into other woods, both native, and imported woods such as American Oak and Ash. Our overseas wood allows us to create a wide range of colour and finishes.

 

core principles

Regardless of the wood we use,  the principles of trust and relationships matter to us as a business. From the man who lives in a caravan on the banks of the Haast river, finding river Matai for us, to the people who work with us in our workshop, to the retailers who we trust to tell our story, and to you, people who choose Sorenmobler as a celebration of quality, design and New Zealand history

We’re three generations into the business now, and while the designs are constantly evolving, and the wood we use changes with the changing fashion and preferences of the times, our goal to create pieces of exacting quality and craftsmanship remains.

 

Expert Craftmansip - large

RETAILERS

Furniture enhances your living space & helps create your very own sanctuary. We have a wide range of styles and collections available from retailers throughout NZ. Go to your preferred range and click the icon "Find a Retailer" as shown below.

btn find retailer
   

CONTACT US

Freephone: 06 349 0460
Email: support@smgroup.co.nz
Address:
26 London Street
PO Box 5005
Wanganui 4542
New Zealand