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This spring and summer show your clients that there is hope for outdoor living spaces! Outdoor living is getting all the attention these days, forcing vendors to consistently provide new and exciting pieces for their clients’ backyards, lake houses, beach homes, and mountain retreats. Here at AdenWorks we are trying to provide you with rustic teak furniture that has new looks, new pieces and new ideas for you to provide for your clients.

People across the world are becoming more and more attracted to the great outdoors and its preservation. Mother Nature is getting a lot of attention right now, and it is well deserved. Due to all of the attention nature is receiving, people are beginning to take time to observe the true beauty and wonderful our world possesses. And now that it is springtime people want to spend all of their time outside enjoying the weather.

I have spoken about this in the past few blogs. I feel that it is such a critical point I wanted to spend some time today discussing it further. Most people want the inside of their home to be absolutely beautiful. The home speaks loudly about the person or family living there. It is a blank canvas where people can fully express themselves.

I was working recently with a photographer on a home shoot. We walked in and were overwhelmed by the beauty, style and sophistication of this home. We felt like we were at some luxury resort. Each room had been given acute detail in every element. We went around creating stunning pictures of this exquisite home.

However, then it came to the backyard shoot. We left the stunning home and entered their backyard complete with pool, fountains, fire pit lounge and two grilling stations. You would assume that with a house as beautiful as it was, the backyard would be equally stunning. Unfortunately, the backyard lacked the style, sophistication and uniqueness of the home. Instead the backyard was covered with tables, chairs and benches lacking character and flair. The inside of the home was filled with the personality of the family, but the outdoors looked like something you would see in an everyday garden magazine.

This morning I was thinking about the home and I realized why the backyard was so disappointing. The designer had put all the effort into the inside of the home and no effort on the outside of the home. So we went from exquisite to average. It was as if the outdoor furniture was an afterthought and unimportant. It was obvious that the homeowners had a lot of style and personality but their reflection was lost once you entered the backyard.

I believe that the home, in its entirety, should reflect the person, couple, or family, and I am sure that you as retailers and designers hold the same philosophy. If we didn’t we wouldn’t be offering furniture for both indoor and outdoor living spaces. So hopefully you will focus this spring and summer time on providing your clients with outdoor furniture that truly speaks to their character. You want to create an atmosphere where people are connected to particular pieces and styles. You want to offer unique, one-of-a-kind pieces. You want to present them with a new outlook on outdoor living and show them that their indoor spaces and backyard can intertwine through creative design.

As a designer, my goal is to create pieces that will appeal to your customers. Here at AdenWorks our hope is to reach your needs when it comes to rustic furniture. We want to consistently provide sturdy, eco-friendly, handmade, indoor and outdoor furniture that you can rely on.

Spring is here and if you have been keeping up with the latest trends, you know that Outdoor Living is getting all of the attention. You will also know that rustic furniture growing in popularity across the US. People are adding rustic furniture to their western barns, western farms, western retreats, rustic lodges, rustic cabins, rustic lake houses, rustic beach houses and rustic homes. Rustic furniture is one of the most popular styles.

As a designer of wholesale furniture, my goal is to consistently provide you with furniture that your clients have been dreaming of. I want to help make your job easier by providing you with designs that are sure to reach your market. If you visit AdenWorks right now, you will see that we are fully focused on the outdoors. All of the images revolve around nature and our monthly specials revolve around outdoor living whether that is garden furniture, poolside furniture, rustic tables, rustic bars and barstools, or benches and swings. We want to be your provider of rustic teak furniture.

People are transforming their first, second and third homes to incorporate rustic. People may add one stunning piece of rustic furniture to stand out in their home, or they may recreate their entire living spaces with rustic furniture. Any way you look at; the attention that rustic furniture is receiving is a great thing for you!

The last two posts I have been talking about spring cleaning and the mindset of your clients. Each of these issues are beneficial because people are on the lookout for a new look to their home. As the designer or retailer you know that it is important to think like your clients would. This is a simple concept, but sometimes we all forget the obvious. Stop for a moment and step into your clients shoes. Look at life from their perspective. What are they looking for? What can they afford? And, what do they need? If you can take time to evaluate these questions you will be more productive.

With spring in the air, everyone is focused on the beauty of the outdoors. With this in mind, take a moment to look around your store. How much of your showroom floor is dedicated to outdoor living? Have you incorporated a lot of greenery and floral arrangements to create a spring atmosphere? Are you offering what your clients are looking for?

Take some time today to think through some of these questions and look through your showroom floor. Make them most of this Spring by staying on top of the latest trends and desires.

Happy Spring and Good Luck!

So, off you go, with a beverage of your choice, to your favorite spot in the great outdoors, perhaps your garden, back porch, pool side or backyard. Flowers surround you with a beautiful scent while bumble bees hum. You prop your feet up, close your eyes and soak in the setting sun.  

So are you relaxed now? At this point I am trying to figure out a way to escape to a peaceful afternoon myself.

Now think of your clients and the potential ones right around the corner. They too are looking for the same type of relaxation. Even better, they are looking for rustic, western, lodge and rustic contemporary furniture to create their personal oasis which you just so happen to sell.

AdenWorks goal is to provide you with furniture that you can move quickly. We hope to always offer you a variety of choices, styles, sizes and designs so that you can consistently offer your clients what they want. This month we are obviously focusing on Outdoor Living Furniture since the weather is perfect right now.

Be sure to visit www.AdenWorks.com to view all of our outdoor living furniture from tables, benches, swings, bars, barstools, and more. All of our pieces, with exception the the Aynsley Collection, are for indoor and outdoor use. So help your clients see the potential in their Outdoor Living Spaces.

I hope this information helps you out as you push Outdoor Living. Please feel free to contact me anytime with questions, suggestions or opinions. 
 

These days environmental friendliness is on many peoples’ minds. People are devising ways to create environmentally friendly everything including eco-friendly furniture. From the very beginning we here at AdenWorks have been very conscious of our carbon footprint. Although the focus on green has developed more recently, we have been creating eco-friendly rustic furniture since AdenWorks began.
Obviously this is an extremely important aspect of our company. We strive to preserve the earth as best we can by not using new teak tress to build our furniture. Instead we design our furniture to be composed of old wagon wheels, old plow handles, old feeding troughs, parts of barns, and many more antique materials. Its fun to see how create you can be when designing a piece of furniture from a trough.

I wanted to fill you in on why our furniture is eco-friendly by telling you a little bit about the history of Thailand and teak forests. Yesterday’s blog appeared quite encouraging when it came to the lush forests, but by the end of the post we realized something was amiss. Let’s continue the story today:
Sadly, by 1993 the forest area for growing teak had been reduced to only 1,880,700. What happened in such a short few years? The causes include:
       • Hill tribe slash-and-burn activities
       • Illegal land clearing and encroachment for agriculture
       • Mining and construction of hydropower dams and reservoirs

Actually the real timber exploitation began in the mid 19th Century by foreign companies such as Borneo Company, Anglo-Thai Company and Bombay Burma Company. There were no regulations to control timber harvesting and control was left to local jurisdictions. A forest department was established in 1896 yet further exploitation was carried out using selective cutting based on the growth rates of each tree species and its marketable size limits.

In 1988 Thailand experienced a devastating flood whose impact was cataclysmic. The Thai people surmised that the cause was deforestation. As a result the government imposed an immediate band on logging in 1989. Log and lumber exports were banned in 1991. To give you an idea of its impact, wood production has declined from 1,820,000 m³ in 1983 to 65,000 m³ in 1993. In fact, Thailand imported 630,000 m³ in 1983, rising to 3,211,000 m³ in 1993. As you can see, Thailand has gone from being a net exporter to a net importer of wood due in large measure of exploitation practices begun in the mid 19th century up until 1991. This also coincided with a substantial population increase. In 1909 the population was just over 8 million people and as of 2000, the population expanded to just over 60 million people

It is clear to see that the teak forests of Thailand have sadly been reduced to a shadow of what they once were. So where does Thailand go from here. We will explore tomorrow the current status of Thailand’s teak forests. 

 For the next few posts I want to focus on the Eco-Friendly aspect of AdenWorks. The green movement is rapidly spreading which is extremely encouraging. Our company strives to preserve the environment by building furniture from recycled teak wood. Recently, I added an Eco-Friendly logo to our website. You can click on this logo and learn more on our beliefs about keeping our furniture environmentally friendly. So, for the next few blogs, I want to focus on teak woods past and future. 

Teak is considered to be one of the premier species of wood in the world. It has so many unique qualities such as its natural resistance to rotting and bug infestations. What you may not know is that teak is indigenous to only four countries: India, Burma (Myanmar), Lao PDR, and Thailand. Since our rustic, western and lodge furniture is constructed in Thailand, we thought we would take some time to address the condition of the teak forests of Thailand.

Before we get started, we want to remind you that our rustic, lodge, and western teak furniture is made predominately from recycled teakwood that was formerly used to construct everything from farm houses to farm implements. Another great thing about our rustic, western, lodge teak furniture is that it is constructed using teakwood that was harvested many years ago from natural aged teak forests rather than the lesser quality plantation grown teak. This makes our furniture dense and heirloom quality.
Since we are a conscientious eco-friendly manufacturer we thought you, whether a dealer, designer or commercial account, would like to get a brief historical overview of Thailand’s teak forests, their current condition and prospects for their future.

Thailand was once a country with lush teak forests found extensively in the north and stretches along the western border. For those of you who are more scientific, the entire range of forests extend from 14ºN to 20º31”N and west to east longitude 97º30É to 104º30”E at altitudes between 100-900 m above mean sea level. It was estimated that in 1954 teak along with other species in the mixed deciduous forest covered 9,297,300 ha of Thailand. It was estimated that approximately one-fourth of the forest land was teak bearing, representing roughly 2,324,300 ha. What determines the viability of growing teak and the speed of the growth are based on the following factors: rainfall/soil moisture, temperature, light, geographical formation and soil condition.

Environmentally speaking, everything was going quite well with such healthy forests winding through large portions of Thailand. Teak trees were flourishing to say the least. Unfortuantely though, the life of the forest took a turn for the worse. Tomorrow we will talk about what took place 15 years ago that greatly impacted the teak tree forests.

For all of you store owners out there I am sure you have been gearing up for this holiday season for quite some time now. You have probably been putting up the little twinkling lights in your store windows, hanging some wreaths, and maybe have even tackled a Christmas tree. Anyway you look at it I am sure you have put a lot of effort into your store and now you are anxiously awaiting a profitable month.

As we all know, in order for success this season it is critical to offer what the buyers want. I have found that during this November/December season, people order a lot of dining tables. Some are smaller while others are ordered to accommodate the huge number of family members for the special meal. People are always in need of tables, chairs, and benches for dining settings when the family comes to town.

Whenever the holidays roll around people become very aware of their furniture needs. Whether that be more seating around the dinner table, a dining table, more seating in the family room, more storage space in the bedrooms, benches for the porch, etc. Whatever their needs, you want to be able to fulfill them.

If you haven’t had a chance to glance over our website, definitely check it out at AdenWorks We have many different styles of tables which are sure to catch your client’s eye. We have small circular tables which are a great place for the children or a more intimate dinner for four. For large families we offer tables up to 118” long. We have all different shapes and sizes. We have extender, drop leaf, glass, and solid wood tops. Each of our tables is made from recycled teakwood so they are eco-friendly and very durable. In fact some of our tables are constructed from genuine wagon wheels for all of you Western lovers. Our tables truly make the perfect centerpiece for family gatherings.

Our goal here at AdenWorks is to help you offer your clients the best products possible. We are committed to supplying you with the most durable and stunning rustic teak furniture. So whether you carry lodge, rustic, western or rustic contemporary furniture we would love to be Your Provider For All Things Rustic.

I know that for the last several blogs I have been going through what buyers desire from their rustic furniture vendors. Today I will review that last request that buyers have. To have all the qualities that I have discussed in your vendor would be awesome for sure. But, last and certainly not least, an important factor is your relationship with the vendor.

Having a good relationship with your clients and with your vendors is what makes the rustic furniture business so enjoyable. Life is all about making friends along the way, so why not make that a policy at work as well.

I am sure that each one of you wants to create a warm environment in your store. You want potential and current clients to enjoy their shopping experience. You also hope that they feel comfortable to ask you questions or get advice on different pieces. You want your clients to continue coming to your store for their rustic, lodge, and western furniture needs, so you will strive to build a relationship with them.

At AdenWorks we all think the same way you do. We like to know our clients beyond what they typically order. I have had the opportunity to get to know clients very well. I have been privileged to meet their kids and have been invited over for dinner. We truly do care about your needs and desires and the only way we can understand those is to better understand you.

We focus on customer service here and we want your purchasing experience to be enjoyable. Basically we want you to have fun while you are shopping for rustic furniture.

It’s true, freight can be quite intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be the enemy. Understanding freight as a whole, and then understanding freight as it relates to your vendors can be extremely benefitial to you.

How should the products be shipped?
AdenWorks always wants to get you the lowest price when it comes to shipping. We will receive quotes from several companies in order to find you the best price. The size of the order typically determines if it should be shipped Common Carrier or Blanket Wrap. We have great relationships with the companies we use, and we also receive discounts on our Common Carrier shipments.

Do you charge extra for freight?
AdenWorks does not make any money off of freight. We give you the exact price we are quoted. Beware of this though. Many companies make a lot of money off of freight. Their furniture prices may be low, but they make their money when it comes to shipping. This is not our policy.

Are you in a good location for shipping?
Our warehouse is located in Dallas, TX so we are located in the middle of the country. Our location is especially good for catalog companies whose clients are spread out throughout the US.

What if my shipment is damaged during transit?
Each shipment is thoroughly inspected before it leaves our warehouse so if there is damage, it has occurred during transit. If your order is damaged a claim needs to be filed. AdenWorks is committed to helping you file claims. We work very hard with claims to ensure that you are refunded.

We also are committed to following up with our clients. Once your order has been shipped we will contact you in the following week or so to make sure that everything has arrived and you are satisfied. (Of course, this does not apply to catalog companies.)

So, as a follow up, AdenWorks

- Finds you the cheapest quote
- Does not make money off of freight
- Is ideally located in the middle of the country
- Helps with filing claims
- Committed to quality customer service

The next issue that I heard about consistently was the dreaded issue of FREIGHT. Everybody wants to know about the freight, and when it comes down to it, freight can make or break the sale. Obviously when it comes to rustic furniture sales, freight plays a very important role.

When it comes to shipping your rustic furniture it is important to be well informed about freight procedures. Hopefully today I can help you better understand the shipping industry.

To begin there are two ways to ship freight:

BLANKET WRAP:
This type is used for larger orders because it is typically cheaper. Blanket wrap is just like it sounds. The furniture is literally wrapped in blankets and delivered.

COMMON CARRIER:
When items are shipped common carrier they are skidded and then shipped.

Shipping rates are determined by weight, dimensions, distance and class. There are minimum fees for each shipment, so, for example, sometimes ordering two chairs instead of one is a better deal.

Another issue is class. Many companies try to fudge a little bit when it comes to class to save money but this can be a dangerous gamble. If something happens to your furniture during shipment and a claim is needed you must be registered in the correct class in order for a claim to be processed. 

These are just a few points to keep in mind concerning freight. It is important to understand freight so that you can have a better idea of how much it really will cost you to receive your furniture. The more you know, the better you can serve your clients.

In the next post I will discuss how AdenWorks handles their furniture and freight.

If you are anything like me, when I heard the phrase “teak wood” I figured that is was just another type of wood to make furniture with. Well, it wasn’t until I began working with AdenWorks that I understood why teak wood is an absolute favorite among buyers.

Teak is one of the most versatile types of wood in the furniture business. Not only can it handle the ware and tear of everyday living, but it is also kid proof. Basically, teak wood can take a beating and come out on the winning side. Rustic teak already has a rugged look which makes it hard to mess up.

Not only is teak wood great for dressing up the indoors, but it is always a perfect way to create outdoor living spaces. The cool thing about teak wood is that it can easily handle weather of all kinds. From rain, sleet, snow or shine, teak wood can withstand the elements.

You can place teak furniture in your backyard and not worry about it as the seasons change. Instead you can have an outdoor living space that always looks inviting.

(Later on I will talk about the reasons why teak wood can handle various weather conditions.)

In the end, teak wood is one of the strongest woods in the world. Teak furniture is wonderful to live with because it is not delicate. Not only does teak furniture look inviting and unique, it also is meant to be used. Teak wood furniture is something that your clients will be able to pass down to their kids.

It is easy to see that when it comes to furniture, teak wood is by far the best choice. With teak wood you can easily promise your clients durability, ultimate quality, and unique beauty.