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.
After unique designs, and a variety of choices, your next requirement is quality rustic furniture. When you are shopping for the perfect furniture for your store, you first have to find something that catches your eye. Once you stumble upon a line that grabs your attention, you want to be able to search through a variety of choices to pick your favorite pieces.
So, you have been stopped in your tracks by a stunning piece of furniture. You have been able to pick out your favorite pieces from that line of furniture. Now, you have to make sure that the piece of rustic furniture is strong and good quality.
Obviously you want to create a store that offers a
Unique Variety
Lots of Choices Within Lines
Strong, Quality Furniture
These days, quality products are hard to come by and this is especially true for the furniture world. It seems like manufactures are making a product to have a certain life expectancy, which forces the buyer to purchase again in a few years.
One of the amazing facts about teak wood is its strength. Teak is often used on boats due to its durability and it has been found that teak wood doesn’t rot. Teak really is one of the strongest woods in the world. So, obviously when it comes to furniture, teak furniture ranks high in durability, reliability and quality.
The second most important strategy for more sales is: a variety of choices. No matter what kind of furniture you offer, whether it be rustic, western, lodge, or rustic contemporary you must provide many choices for your client.
Whether your store focuses on one particular motif or an eclectic mix variety is essential. If your store is solely western, you can still provide many choices such as different types of wood furniture, upholstered vs. un-upholstered furniture, wagon wheel motifs, etc. Even in such a distinct category you can provide a huge variety.
You may have a more eclectic store in which you can mix many different styles of furniture. Variety of choices is still absolutely essential for success.
In order to cover a wide spectrum of clients’ wishes, sell the pieces of furniture that directly appeal to you and then step outside of your style to capture a wider audience.
AdenWorks desire is to offer a huge variety of rustic furniture. While all of our furniture is rustic, we have 4 distinguished groups:
RUSTIC
Western Furniture
Lodge Furniture
Rustic Contemporary Furniture
& our latest line, The Aynsley Collection. (introduction coming soon)
Within each of these categories we strive to offer different designs so that you can have a variety to choose from.
It is important for both us of to remember that one of the keys to more sales is having lots of choices.
Ask any furniture retailer what their goal is and the answer is simple: More Sales. Obviously this is a very basic concept, but what matters is the way you achieve high volume. Of course there are a variety of ways to move product, but the goal is to develop a strategy that allows your rustic furniture sales to consistently grow.
After listening to you, I have found that offering unique designs is the most important way to improve sales. It is critical for you as a retailer to stay up on the latest trends in rustic furniture and be able to provide your cliental with truly eye-catching designs.
Unique, custom designs is the desire of many retailers, so, as a result, it has become one of my missions here at AdenWorks Ltd. Since I have come on board at AdenWorks, one of my goals has been to rework and expand AdenWorks rustic, western, lodge, and rustic contemporary lines while adding in a few surprises of my own. Your success is very important to me, and I must constantly be discovering ways to make your furniture business grow. I am committed to creating designs that not only appeal to you but to your valued customers as well.
The end result is for your store to be furnished with pieces of rustic furniture that stops people in their tracks. The second they lay eyes on a piece, they must have it. These are the types of reactions you want and this is they way you want your store to be known. You want to be the store that is consistently moving product and updating your look.
As a designer, I hope that I can fulfill your rustic, western, lodge, and rustic contemporary furniture needs, and I am always open to your suggestions.
Furniture has always interested me. You know how it is. You are shopping one day and then, BAM! There it is, the most stunning piece of furniture you have ever seen. It just stops you dead in your tracks, and immediately you are envisioning the furniture in your home or backyard.
This is the type of reaction I strive for when you visit www.AdenWorks.com or view our furniture in person. My goal is to design compelling pieces of rustic furniture that appeals to lodge, western, rustic, and contemporary rustic motifs. I want to design furniture that makes you smile and awakens your creativity. However, while all of this sounds terrific, talk is just talk. I need to discover how to fulfill your needs and exceed your desires when it comes to rustic furniture and then make sure it happens.
Before I was adopted into “Teak City” I had spent a lot of time working at furniture shows. I have spent hours talking to customers about their particular needs, desires, likes, and dislikes about rustic furniture. I gathered all of the information that customers were voicing.
When I joined AdenWorks, I wanted to ease myself into the job. For several months I watched, listened, and took notes about the company. As time rolled on, I started thinking back to what all the customers had said at all the shows about their views on rustic furniture. I began examining how AdenWorks Ltd. was fulfilling your needs, as well as taking note of areas we could improve.
Over the next several posts I will discuss in detail what customers like you have been requesting.
AdenWorks Ltd. takes a more unique look at the furniture world. Instead of producing furniture with the new, AdenWorks constructs their handmade furniture from pieces of the past. They make the eco-friendly rustic furniture from old pieces of wood straight from history. The furniture falls into categories of rustic, western, lodge, and rustic contemporary depending on which pieces were used in construction from wagon wheels to old barns.
Following my graduation, AdenWorks Ltd. scooped me up and made me part of their rustic furniture family. AdenWorks Ltd. was on the prowl for creativity and unique, one-of-a kind designs for their teak furniture line. I guess you could say they decided to give me a whirl.
I have always had an overwhelming passion for design. Even when I was a young girl I would spend many Saturdays rearranging all the furniture in my room over and over again just to see what I could come up with.
As I got older, my passion grew. I began my own decorating business in which I would do design and furniture placement consultations, custom wall finishes, and custom painted furniture. This experience was quite successful for four years and then I decided to focus on earning my degree.
Last December I graduated Cum Laude from the University of North Texas with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Drawing & Painting. Creating art of all kinds has always been a passion of mine, but oil painting stole my heart. For all of you art lovers out there, my paintings were a combination of oil and acrylic done in a nonobjective abstract style. Color, linear qualities, and organic shapes were my defining marks in paintings and now can be seen in my rustic furniture designs. During college, painting was my life, but I knew it would never be my career.
Design has always come naturally to me, but college helped further develop my abilities and understanding. And while designing furniture is not exactly like spending hours in a paint splattered studio the links between the two are obvious.
It was about this time last year that I found myself on the brink of disaster or maybe just a personal melt down. Either way, graduation was coming for me whether I liked it or not. There was nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide.
That was then, this is now. Now I am a designer of rustic furniture. My designs and inspirations come from recycled teak wood resulting in environmentally friendly furniture. My boundaries are limitless as I design rustic, western, lodge, and contemporary rustic furniture for both indoor and outdoor living spaces.
I have been with AdenWorks Ltd., a wholesale teak furniture company, for nine months. I have had the opportunity to design chairs, beds, nightstands, dining tables, coffee tables, hutches, and chests since I have been here. Last week we launched our brand new upholstered furniture line. (more on that later)
The journey to this position as a furniture designer has been in the making for years now, though I didn’t even realize it. Design has always been a passion of mine, though it has been lived out in many different areas.
I would like for you to get to know me and my story of how I went from a big-eyed college student wandering from one career idea to the next, to a focused and passionate designer for AdenWorks Ltd. I hope that I will be able to keep you filled in on what we are up to here in “Teak City.”
AdenWorks Ltd. is happy to introduce our new blog. We want to use this blog to keep you informed out what we are up too, discuss teak furniture, and keep up to date with the latest trends in the furniture world. We love hearing from our clients and we hope that this site will be a platform to talk about your desires regarding rustic furniture.
Since one of the most important aspects to the buyer is the quality of the rustic furniture, I thought I would talk a little bit more about teak wood’s abilities. Then tomorrow we will get back to your list of what clients want in rustic furniture for their stores.
If you are anything like me, when I first heard the words “teak wood” I just assumed it was another type of wood used to make furniture. However, the second I joined AdenWorks, I learned how drastically different teak wood really is.
The number one selling point for teak is its versatility. Whether you are wanting to dress up your indoor living space or create an outdoors escape, teak wood is your best choice.
Teak easily handles the ware and tear from everyday living, and it is definitely kid proof as well. Rustic teak furniture will surely add personality and beauty to your living space, but it will not be furniture you must be delicate with.
Teak furniture can also handle the great outdoors. If you want to liven up your outdoor living spaces with furniture, than teak wood is a must. Teak can withstand rain, snow, sleet, or shine. The science behind the wood allows for it to be so accepting of various weather conditions. (Later I will explain how teak wood can handle such variety.)
It is easy to see that teak wood offers way beyond what other woods can, making it a wonderful choice when it comes to indoor, and outdoor furnishings.