Furniture Designer Offers New Path To Those In Addiction Recovery

By Karen Morfitt

DENVER (CBS4)- A local furniture designer is giving those in the recovery community a path to success.

Morris Turner is one of those benefiting from the opportunity.

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"I was a drug addict mainly opiates," Turner said.

For years, the only thing he thought about was getting his next fix.

(credit: CBS)

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"You're really only thinking in the short term there's no long term goes, all of that goes out the window to be honest," he said.

(credit: CBS)

Six months ago, all of that changed when he met John Moinzad.

Moinzad an interior designer who combined his work and his own experience with alcohol to help others suffering from addiction.

(credit: CBS)

"Quite frankly my career before gave me the ability to change people's lifestyle, this gives me the opportunity to change their lives," he said.

He launched Forged Modern, a high-end furniture line, giving those in the recovery community, work, without judgment.

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Every piece of the collection is built by or connected to someone in recovery.

"There's some emotion behind their work and there is passion behind their work because they have been discouraged for a long time," he said.

(credit: CBS)

Turner is just one example and says without this connection is not sure where he'd be today.

"It's drastically different, these days I think a year in advance… well we'll say six months," he laughed, "I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but I try and look forward," Turner said.

(credit: CBS)

Moinzad also runs a sober living home and all the material he uses is reclaimed or up-cycled.

Together they celebrated the opening of their new showroom on North Broadway.

Karen Morfitt joined the CBS4 team as a reporter in 2013. She covers a variety of stories in and around the Denver metro area. Connect with her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @karenmorfitt or email her tips.

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