Vanderburgh Story
The motivation and passion
I’ve always been drawn to the real. Real wood. Real leather. Real stone. Real metal. Natural materials that tell a story and breathe a rich history. There’s plenty of fake out there. Synthetic woods, synthetic fabrics, knock-off materials, and fake. There’s nothing better than the real thing. A guitar made with solid tonewoods will sound better than a plywood guitar. A real leather bag will outlast any synthetic bag.
There’s far too much fake out there today, and I wanted to create a product that was genuine, real, and would increase in value over time.
There’s a reason why most humidors are made out of synthetic materials. It’s because they’re predictable, and seldom cause problems. Real wood reacts, it changes and sometimes complains. Humidors are boxes that keep high humidity inside, while there is low humidity outside - and it’s not something that solid wood typically likes. It needs to be crafted by skilled hands and techniques in order to serve its purpose without breaking or cracking. It’s not an easy thing to do.
Solid hardwood humidors are rare. Vanderburgh takes pride in being the first company to offer solid hardwood humidors, with a unique granite floating floor offering incredible beauty, true authenticity and superior temperature stability.
Vanderburgh craftsmen require an intimate knowledge of the material they are built from.
We at Vanderburgh & Co. Ltd. are a team of artists, craftsmen, and dreamers. We celebrate art, function and quality not often found today. Craftsmanship found from an age when time moved much slower. Here you will find unique designs made with the most beautiful natural materials. Wood that tells a story. Attention to detail not found in mass-production. Leather that brings you back to the days of explorers, twill jackets and old vintage Land Rovers. Some express art through music. Some through poetry. Some through forging metals or manipulating clay. We express art through the designs we create and the lives we live.
Timeline - Eddie
In 2001, my brother got married to his beautiful wife Lisa. They honeymooned to Cuba just after they were married. I asked my brother to grab me a box of cigars as I have always wanted a small selection of great cigars. I was used to the cheap variety store cigars in my college days, and have always enjoyed the scent of a hand-made cigar’s scent when it wafts through the air.
I was a designer at the time, designing high end outdoor patios. I was a lover of natural wood and authentic materials.
When my brother returned with the box of Cuban Cohibas, I very quickly realized that I needed a home for these or else these expensive creations could rot, dry out and lose their value. After some searching I quickly realized that nearly everything out there was made from cheap MDF board with a thin skin of veneer. I had $300 worth of cigars, and I was going to entrust them in a $100 humidor? Forget it.
I searched everywhere for something that I could be proud of and would one day pass on to my kids.
I decided to have one made for me.
My cousin was a trained wooden sailboat maker, a shipwright. I commissioned him to make my humidor out of a rich red padauk, with ebony accents lined with fragrant Spanish Cedar. I realized that if I had a difficult time finding what I thought was a proper humidor, then surely I wasn’t alone.
Vanderburgh & Company (Or Vanderburgh Humidors) was founded by Eddie DeJong - and named after his late grandfather Karel Vanderburgh whom he was very close to. Karel Vanderburgh had two daughters, my mother and my aunt and could not carry the Vanderburgh name on.