OsBlog

October 2, 2009

Osborne Wood Products - World Travelers

Filed under: Daily Life at Osborne, Shows — Melody @ 11:44 am

In an effort to expand our market presence, Osborne Wood Products, Inc. looks to increase our physical presence in Canada through trade expos and our first international showroom.  “Canada has always been a market for us, though we have been long awaiting an opportunity such as this, to display physical products to a truly international audience,” stated Christian Smedberg, Director of Marketing here at Osborne.

Company CEO Leon Osborne attended the Woodworking Machinery and Supply Expo in Toronto on September 24th and 26th.  While he attended primarily in an effort to promote our new international showroom, he was also there to lend support and service at the Woodworking Components Manufacturer’s Association (WCMA) booth.  As members of the WCMA in good standing, we have enjoyed their support in many ways, and Mr. Osborne was excited for the opportunity to be of service at their booth.  A sampling of Osborne products was on display at the WCMA booth, along with our most current catalog and our new CAD Catalog 4.2.

In addition to meeting new people and making connections with potential customers in the Canadian Market, Mr. Osborne learned much about that market.  For instance, he was surprised to l earn that, unlike our own market, the Canadian market is strengthening - with a housing industry that is growing in the double digits.  He also learned a great deal about specific ways in which our company can contribute to designers and cabinet makers alike.

Mr. Osborne indicated that he was very satisfied with the trip, overall; stating, “It certainly was a pleasure making friends in Canada, and learning how we can be a source of strength in this demanding market.”

In addition to a presence at the WMS Expo, we will also have a more permanent display in the Toronto Design Center, Designers Walk.  Our showroom within Designers Walk should be completed by mid-November.

Designers Walk (www.designerswalk.com) is located in Toronto and provides design professionals an opportunity to view, specify, and purchase exquisite products from suppliers throughout North America.  Open to the public, this design center displays appliances, lighting, flooring, paint, tile, and much more - all under one roof.

We will exhibit a full line of cabinet legs, corbels, decorative carvings, as well as other various cabinet components - including our new carved Ionic Column.  At Osborne Wood Products, we have been providing quality cabinet and furniture components to the trade for over three decades, and while much of their appeal has been to manufacturers, we are now providing tools and venues for designers, such as this new showroom in Designers Walk.

Pictures from the trip follow below:

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July 22, 2009

AWFS Recap

Filed under: Shows — Melody @ 8:36 am

The Osborne team is back from our recent trek to the AWFS fair.  Though it is true that numbers were down from previous years, we felt that we had a really good show, all in all.  We had the opportunity to meet many of our customers face-to-face, getting great feedback and learning more about what you need!  We gave away copies of our CAD Catalog on DVD, and demonstrated the various software programs it could be used with.  We were so thrilled to be present at the show, and also glad to chat with everyone who stopped by to visit us.
We brought some new products along, such as our  new line of metal corbels, and everyone was so helpful in letting us know specific applications they saw for such products, as well as offering insight as to what they would like to see along those lines in the future.

We also brought several potential new products along, and again were blown away by the responsiveness of customers and prospective customers alike.  Adjustments in the methods for mounting new corbels, materials they could be offered in; great suggestions were made across the board.  And now that we are  home and getting back to work, we are eager to put these ideas into action!

The CAD presentation made by Christian went very well, and in fact he had opportunities in the next few days to help various cabinetmakers put some of those principles into action by beginning the process of choosing a good design software program.

We were so excited to spend the time chatting with those of you who were there, and are grateful for your insight and of course also for the appreciation expressed.  We are truly seeking to see how we can better serve our customers, and love opportunities (such as tradeshows) to learn how to do that more and more.

Here are some pictures from the show:

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Above: Leon speaking with customers
Below: Christian assisting a customer

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Above: Liz explains some new products to current customers (and tells them about the bamboo combs we were giving away)
Below: Haden is writing down some customer suggestions (which we go over and turn into action points, later).

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Above: Dennis (L) and Nathan (R) both display their knowledge of Osborne products and processes to eager listeners
Below: Haden discusses new products with a visitor to our booth

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The following pictures are the CAD demonstration Christian did for a customer.  We were able to demo six different software programs to customers who want to see how our DVD imports into their particular program.  The programs we were able to demo are AutoCad, Cabinet Vision, 20 20 Design, Rhino, Pro100USA, and Google SketchUp.  The booth was set up in such a way as to allow for the customer to look on with Christian or Haden (both were doing demos), and display the drawing on a screen above as well, so passers by were also able to see.
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And last, though certainly not least, here is our team photo:

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L-R Back: Liz, Dennis, Nathan, Haden
L-R Front: Christian, Leon, Melody

July 10, 2009

AWFS Press Release - Capitalizing on CAD

Filed under: Shows — Melody @ 1:08 pm

So, this week we are finishing up preparations to head out to Vegas for AWFS.  Our team includes company CEO Leon Osborne, as well as members of the office, shipping, and production (listed alphabetically): Christian, Dennis, Haden Liz, Melody, and Nathan.  You can find us at booth 1419 (which also happens to be the part number of this popular island leg).  The following text is a press release that will be featured in our local paper in the upcoming week.


Osborne Wood Products to Present in Tradeshow

The tradeshow season in the woodworking industry is underway, and the team at Osborne Wood Products is preparing for the trek out to Las Vegas, Nevada; the site of this year’s Annual show for the Association of Woodworking and Furnishings Suppliers (AWFS), which is convening July 15-18.  This is a big year for Osborne, as they not only have a booth, but also have an employee making a presentation at the show.

Christian Smedberg is giving a presentation entitled Capitalizing on CAD; Enhancing Sales and Choosing Software.  Smedberg will be drawing upon the experience from his position as drafting engineer, in conjunction with his relationships with various software companies.  He has seen firsthand how CAD (Computer Aided Design) can be utilized in marketing and sales, as well as in design.

The presentation will be geared toward cabinetmakers; and intends to educate the attendees on how to use cabinet software to market and sell their products.  Smedberg also deals with important design issues involved with using CAD programs, such as which software program to use, techniques such as photorealistic rendering, and how to display the digital representations of their work to their customers.

Smedberg will be demonstrating six different CAD software programs and discussing what to look for when deciding to purchase a program.  He will also address the fact that in the last five years manufacturing and design software have merged into one package, and that importance of having both in that same package.

Smedberg is looking forward to the show, commenting, “I am privileged to be a featured as a speaker at the upcoming AWFS Fair. I hope to continue the education of many cabinetmakers as they learn more about integrating their software with sales and marketing.”

On the tradeshow floor, the team from Osborne will be getting to meet customers face-to-face and get feedback on current products, as well as new product ideas.  While they hope to hear about the things they are doing well, a significant reason for this type of customer interaction is to learn what they can improve on as a company.  In fact, the driving force behind creating a full DVD catalog of their items as CAD images was the feedback they received from customers at a prior AWFS show in 2007.

Company CEO Leon Osborne is looking forward to the trip as well as Osborne’s opportunity to make this presentation.  He remarked, “This opportunity to provide needed information to experts in the architectural design field is timely.  I am delighted to see Christian Smedberg to be selected as an educator assisting cabinet makers to learn how to effectively present their products.”

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May 15, 2009

KBIS Review!

Filed under: Shows — Melody @ 2:10 pm

A couple of weeks have passed since the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Atlanta, GA.  After a bit of time to gather our thoughts and sort through photos, we wanted to share some of our experiences there.

We enjoyed the opportunity to connect with some of our customers that we had not yet had the opportunity to meet.  Speaking for myself, particularly as a customer service representative, that is the part of shows that I enjoy the most.  We had a much larger booth this year, and so were able to invite more of our current (and hopefully new) customers in to chat with us about their favorite products, customer service likes and dislikes, etc.
We also got a great deal of good feedback on some recently released items; as well as on some new items that have not yet been released.  In addition to all of this, we also got some good feedback on items that some of you would like to see.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our time at KBIS (and now we look forward to AWFS!), and hope that - if you were there - you did, too!  Thank you to everyone who stopped
Here are some pictures from the show.These first three pictures are our booth.  At the center of our booth stands a triangular tower, and these three displays are of the three sides around the middle of the tower.
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What follows below is a selection of shots from our customer interactions while manning the booth.

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ABOVE: Christian helps a gentleman at the counter.

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Above: Dennis is putting his shop floor knowledge to use as he assists someone at the counter.

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Russ discusses some of our new metal corbels with this customer.

Finally, these last two pictures are group shots:

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From Left to Right:  Christian, Leon, Russ, Haden, Dennis, and myself.

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August 26, 2008

Bri-Wax Experiment, Part I

Filed under: Daily Life at Osborne, Shows — Melody @ 4:27 pm

At one of the last woodworking shows we were at (I do not recall if Leon said it was last year’s KBIS or AWFS show), we had heard about the potential of Briwax to work well on woods that contain “sapwood.”

You see, in woods that contain sapwood, it can sometimes be difficult to stain the lighter sapwood to the same shade as the darker heartwood.  We already make an effort to counter that issue by keeping the sapwood content of our turning squares to 25% or below.  However, for some applications an even closer match is more desirable.
Professionals have long had access to a remedy for this problem.  There are a variety of “sap stains” which allow for wood which contains varying tones to arrive at the same finish.  However, many of these stains are made only for commercial woodworkers, so what can the “small shop” owner or the hobbyist do?

That is why we’re excited about the potential that Briwax has!  If, as our dear friend from Briwax suggests, it has the potential to eliminate the “sapwood problem” for everyone else, then that is certainly very happy news.  So, now on to determine the effectiveness of Briwax on sapwood.

I have three pieces for which you are about to see “before” pictures.  The first is a corbel (8020, our Athens Bar Corbel) which is made of hickory.  Now, hickory is very striped in appearance and that is completely unavoidable.  Some people, such as myself, like the zebra effect these variations have on the completed look.  Others however, like the strength and finishing properties of Hickory, but could do without the stripes.  For them, I will be finishing this Hickory corbel in Dark Brown.  Here are some Before images:

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Here the “striping” effect can be seen pretty clearly.  I am going to see how much consistency we can get by applying the dark brown Briwax.

The second item is a Corbel in Cherry (Our 8035, to be precise).  Now, this corbel is actually very consistent in color, however it has very fine carving lines: bunches of grapes and leaf designs leave many crevices that your average “wiping stain” might have a hard time combatting.  So, the inclusion of this corbel is more to determine how well Briwax does with hand carved items.  Here are the Before pictures of our cherry corbel:

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(I should note that I am quite aware these corbels are upside down, but being as how they are as of yet unmounted, all these pictures will be upside down.)

Last, though not least, we have the 4070 Brunswick Bun Foot in Black Walnut. This bun foot is a “second” because of its sapwood content, so I will be finishing it in the Tudor Brown, and taking a look at how close this brings the consistency of the two shades.  Now, here are the before shots of the Brunswick:

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Now, I suppose it is time for a confession.  I have already seen Jim (the Briwax representative we work with) do many things much like these.  However, he is a professional.  The real point of these experiments is to see just how easy it is for an amateur to achieve the same gorgeous results that Jim did.  So, being an amateur in all things finishing related, I volunteered for the job!  Look for weekly updates on this whole finishing process!

August 25, 2008

IWF August 2008

Filed under: Daily Life at Osborne, New Item Ideas, Shows — Melody @ 6:18 pm

We just got back from IWF, and it was a great show.  I just wanted to thank those of you we met this week for coming out and giving us your feedback.  There are a lot of new things potentially in the works here, and it is good to hear your thoughts on those things.

For instance, we came out with our CAD-Catalog on DVD because of a show some time back.  We asked several people at shows what it was they really needed that we did not have, and they said they needed a CAD-Catalog to import into design software.  Our customers (YOU) told us what you needed, so we did it!  I was reminded of that at the show this week when a man said, “Tell me, who was the mastermind behind this DVD?”  I thought about it and, realizing the answer, told him, “Our customers!”

That is why it is so important for us to get feedback from you at shows (and at whatever point throughout the year you feel like calling us up and giving us feedback).  That is why we call to check when we get the notification that you should have received your orders.  Because we want to make sure that the decisions we make line up with the things you want and need.

So, thank you.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by just to say hello, and ended up staying for a little while to discuss your thoughts on metal corbels, or new corbel mounting hardware.  Thanks for letting us know what you do and do not like about the new Mission and Basket Weave products; and for letting us know what similar products you would like to see.  Thank you for telling us what you appreciated about the way we relate / have related to you.  Thank you for telling us where we need a little improvement.  All of those comments, ideas, insights; they help us to serve you the way we do.  It helps us to be a better company, and to make sure that we’re not just making products for the sake of making them, but creating something to meet your specific needs.

Working in customer service, we encounter a lot of names and voices.  Some of you a few times a week, some on a weekly basis, some a few times a month, some a little less than that; but all of you have a place in the heart of this company.  This week at IWF, I was able to look at name badges and say, “Oh, so that’s who I’ve been talking to these last 8 months!” It’s a very neat opportunity, and since this was my first show it was the first time I’ve gotten to meet any of our customers other than those right here in Toccoa.

Special thanks to Jim Ryan with BriWax, who helped give me some pointers while I was at the show, to get me set up for my next series on the blog: Finishing With BriWax!  Sneak Preview:  Because of its successful use in blending sapwood to its darker counterpart (Heartwood), BriWax holds a lot of potential as a finish that is actually available to the hobbyist as well as to a pro.  Since I do not have much experience finishing wood pieces, I get to be the lucky one to test it for our hobbyist friends :)   This will be complete with pictures.

Those items above in bold, please feel free to comment here with your thoughts!  Come to think of it, you can comment on anything else I’ve posted today, too!

August 11, 2008

It’s that time of year!

Filed under: Daily Life at Osborne, Shows — Melody @ 5:41 pm

That’s right, folks. IWF is just around the corner, beginning on Wednesday, August 20. This year it is in Atlanta, just an hour and a half drive from our shop up here in Toccoa, so of course you can expect to see us there. Leon, Christian, Dennis, Martha, and I will be manning booth # 3649 for the event.
This year the show brings with it even more exciting news. The Cabinet Manufacturer’s Association (CMA) is bringing a group of woodworkers to tour our shop the day before the show! Our new showroom, the final touch on the 2500 ft. building expansion we are just finishing, will be debuted on this tour.

If you are headed to IWF this year, feel free to stop by our booth to say hello!

Below: Enjoy some pictures of Christian (left) and Haden (right) setting up the new showroom.

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(Below) Haden checks the corbels he just installed with a level
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April 18, 2008

KBIS

Filed under: Shows — Melody @ 5:42 pm

Osborne Wood Products, Inc. participated in the KBIS show in Chicago this last weekend! I just got some photos of our booth from Christian, who was there along with Martha, Cindy, Leon, Jeremy, and Carl. The display looked great!

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Here’s Jeremy, hard at work preparing for the show.

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In the back left, we have Martha, Cindy, Jeremy and Carl, with Christian up in the front.

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In this shot, Jeremy is helping an inquirer learn more about our Island Legs and Corbels.

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Here Christian and a lovely passer-by draw the winner of our free iPod drawing. Our winner is Natasha Chatkin. Congratulations, Natasha!

February 12, 2008

iPod winner

Filed under: Shows — Mary Beth @ 3:48 pm

Osborne Wood Products, Inc. participated in the Atlanta Woodworkers Show the other weekend! And we had a drawing for an iPod. This shows winner was Kim Muthersbough! Congratulations Kim! I hope you enjoy the iPod and thanks to all for visiting our booth!

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July 23, 2007

iPod Winner

Filed under: Shows — Mary Beth @ 6:19 pm

Hey, we had a drawing for an iPod at the show this past week, and the winner was…..NATHAN HINZE! Congrats Nathan! You should be expecting the iPod in the mail pretty soon. Thanks to all those who participated.

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