Sydney building company Living Timber Co shut their doors after 10 years of business due to the cost of living crunch, as demands from customers for cheaper quotes made it “hard to keep going”.
The Penrith-based company specialised in making custom bespoke coffee tables, dining tables and bathroom vanities, with residential clients making up 95 per cent of its customer base.
Dean Boyd and his wife Frances made the decision to end their business at the end of November due to not enough work coming through over the past year.
“Residential work ended up being about 4 per cent of our sales because we had to shift to the more commercial side of things,” Mr Boyd told news.com.au.
“We just weren’t getting work in the door. When we did, people were trying to talk down on price, which we just couldn’t do, or just flat-out say it’s too expensive, they could get a $500 table from Ikea.”
On top of the changing demands of customers and having to cut his staff from seven to two, Mr Boyd felt no support from the Morrison and now Albanese government.
“When Scott Morrison was (PM), we had a round table with Australian manufacturers that went nowhere, once the new government took over, it got worse,” he said.
“There’s no support there or help from anybody. It’s hard to keep going.”
Just this year the couple celebrated what was their 10-year anniversary of being in business.
“Thank you for being part of our story, for choosing locally made, sustainably crafted, and beautifully personal furniture. Here’s to the next chapter, and many more years of creating pieces that feel like home,” the post from June read.
The closure of Living Timber Co comes as peak policy and advocacy body Business NSW released its Business Conditions Survey (BCS) this week.
The study, conducted from November 2 to 17, revealed customers are spending less, looking for discounts, and delaying invoice payments compared to 2024.
The timing isn’t ideal for Australians who are faced with a tough financial outlook for the festive season.
This week the Reserve Bank of Australia kept rates on hold due to a surge in inflation.
The country’s national inflation rate rose from 3.6 per cent to 3.8 per cent in the 12 months to October.
ANZ’s head of Australian economics Adam Boyton said the latest inflation spike has effectively killed its previous forecast of rate relief in February.
“We no longer see one final rate cut from the RBA in the first half of 2026, given recent inflation pressures,” Mr Boyton said.