OsBlog

Some of you know that we have been working on an addition to our building over the last several months! We have expanded the warehouse a bit, added a showroom, and expanded our office space a great deal. This has all been very exciting, and we have been itching for that moment when we were able to move into the new offices. Well, that time is upon us!

This weekend is the date for the big move, and with that, we are also switching over to a new phone system. This system is going to allow us to serve you better, and we are fairly excited about it! However, we also know that any period of transition is bound to have a few errors as we adjust to the new system. In view of that, we thank you in advance for the patience that we know is typical of our customers. It is good to know that you see our efforts to serve you better, and that you understand that any period of change will necessarily have its minor bumps along the way. We are confident that the end results will be an improvement; both for you as our customers, and for us as we strive to serve you better. Particularly, we know this will be a help to those of us who stay late for calls from our customers in earlier time zones. Though we run on Eastern Time, we have someone staying from 5-7 Monday-Friday, so you don’t have to rush to get your order in by 2:00 if you live in California, Oregon, or Washington. It can be difficult to give every customer your full attention when you are the only person manning the phones, so we are excited about the possibilities this new system brings to serve you better.

Additionally (pun intended), we have worked hard to make sure that our building addition has been “green,” in the sense of eco-friendliness. Learning about the various tools we had at our disposal to accomplish that goal has been very exciting. Stay tuned in the next couple of days for pictures of the progress, and then we will have more pictures once everyone is all settled into their spaces.

Friday was an exciting day here at Osborne Wood Products, Inc! The local Middle School brought a group of kids out to tour here, and we spoke with them about several things. We showed them around and explained what we do here. They got to watch Carl working away on a lathe and see the “production” end of things first hand. They were also able to watch the guys in shipping, and learn about that aspect of the business. We also brought them through the office and told them about the customer service aspect of what we do here, as well as drafting and design, marketing, and other things taken care of in the office. Christian headed up the tour, with some help from Keith and Will.

One group was split up between Christian, Will, and Keith for the tour of the plant, while Leon spoke to another group in the gym about how to fill out an application, as well as what employers look for in a prospective employee.

The third group was with me in the conference room. We were talking about why it is important to work hard and get a good job - as opposed to just “any old job” - and what steps they could take to become a desirable applicant. We talked about qualities and skills that make a good employee, and help get a job that will really provide for you.

The groups rotated through Leon’s session on applications, the plant tour, and, and then played a game with all the groups at the end to see how much they learned!

We have had this opportunity before, and we gain a lot from the experience each time. I know it is important to Leon to have a company that gives back to the surrounding community. No business should only take from their community, using its assets and influence everywhere but at home.  We are grateful for events like this, which give us an opportunity to invest in the lives of this up-and-coming generation to make a real difference in the surrounding community.

I was thrilled when a group of girls came up to me at the end and began to question me enthusiastically about what my job is (customer service representative, as well as blogging extraordinaire…and I get to do some writing for various other things here, too).  They wanted to know how long I have been here, what skills they will need if they want to work in customer service, and how to get those skills.  That is the whole reason why we have these tours!

We snapped a lot of pictures of the tour!  These ones below are just a few!

(Below) A few of the students come into the warehouse…one girl is a bit camera shy!

(Below) Me, giving my  presentation to my first group of students.

(Above) Christian addresses a group while Carl operates the lathe
(Below)  Leon addresses a group in the gym

(Above)  Keith also leads a group by Carl’s lathe
(Below)   Christian poses by JR as he leads a group through the office

(Above) Keith examines a shelf in the warehouse with one of his groups.
(Below)  Keith and this same group, posing with an Extended Tybee Leg (1559)

An often overlooked and underestimated furniture category, bun feet can make or break the general design scheme of a room. At Osborne Wood Products Inc., we pride ourselves on having a fairly extensive line of bun feet and sofa legs, including some beautiful Queen Anne style legs.

Well, today I received a phone call from a customer of ours who was thrilled with the results of her kitchen remodel after having added our bun feet to her kitchen island. She was eager to send me pictures, and I can understand completely. Her kitchen looks absolutely lovely, and those bun feet were the perfect accent! Susan was particularly pleased with how well they took the stain she applied (these feet were in Red Oak), and the nice glossy look she was able to attain.

Susan, from Michigan, sent me these pictures of her beautiful kitchen not long before I began typing this post.

Note the two 4 1/2 inch Bridle Bun feet, subtly and gracefully lending their support to this beautiful island. Below: Here is a shot of the same feet from another angle

Susan is certainly right about the way these two little feet finished up. They look fantastic! She said to me in her email, “I originally had planned to have a NEW island rebuilt…to the tune of over $4000! The feet alone to match the new redo would have cost me almost $100 apiece (and they were no where near as pretty as yours)! I completed my project, including pull-outs in the island, the doors on the end, some minor interior construction, and a new granite top; for less than $2000…and my beautiful bridle feet were only about $12 each…what a bargain! I love the quality of your work and would highly recommend Osborne products to anyone looking for the right wood pieces to finish a project! Thank you!”

Thank you, Susan, for sending us these pictures of your beautiful home!

Recently a representative of the Boy Scouts of America came to present Leon Osborne with an award. The following is the press release regarding this event.

Osborne Wood Products, Inc. has been awarded the Eagle Club Silver Award, for their assistance with a local Eagle Scout’s project and for making a donation to that troop. Allyn Harris sought the help of Leon Osborne in completing his Eagle Scout Project. Glad for the opportunity to help, Mr. Osborne volunteered the use of our drafting team and a CNC Router, in order to carve out the lettering on signs Harris was using to mark a nature trail for this project.

Haden Smith and Christian Smedberg, the drafting engineers at Osborne Wood Products, Inc., are producing a total of seven signs for Harris. Six of these signs will serve as trail markers and the seventh sign will be the for trail head. This project enables Harris to progress from Life Scout up to Eagle Scout, a progression that only about 5% of all Boy Scouts end up making. For assisting him in that goal, as well as donating financial resources to the troop, Osborne Wood Products, Inc. was awarded the Eagle Club Silver Award. 

The Award was presented to Mr. Osborne by Matt Desing, Currahee District Executive for the Northeast Georgia Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Above: Matt Desing with Leon Osborne and Haden Smith

Below: Haden Smith with one of the signs made on the Router

Below: The Eagle Club Silver Award

I realize that the weekly featured item has not actually been very “weekly,” but trust me when I say there is good reason for that. We have a great deal of “finished product” pictures from our customers, but a good number of them are of legs that are already popular. That is certainly nothing to complain about. It is good to have pictures of legs that are much requested, because then you can send pictures to customers who want to give their customers ideas of what can be done with a certain piece.

However, I very much want to highlight legs that are more understated when they are not seen “in context.” I think there are a lot of very good items which provide “that certain something” for a piece, but often you cannot really tell that is the case until the piece is finished. While that is all well and good for the more adventurous woodworker, some of us want to know what a piece is going to look like before we get started!

However, this week we are going to look at a leg that is, indeed, already popular. There is also a very good reason for that. Friday marks Jason’s last day here at Osborne Wood Products, Inc. Jason and his family are off to the mission field (so please keep them in your prayers); and so he will not be working here with us anymore. We will greatly miss him, his lovely wife, and their two children.

To get ideas on what products to star the weekly series with, I asked everyone in the office what their favorite leg or product was, and one of Jason’s (because, really, how can you have only one?) is the 1450 - The Islander. Already a very popular leg, it was a tough job to pick only a few pictures to show you.

The Islander is substantial, yet graceful. It has a strong appearance as a two-square leg (A two-square leg is a leg with both a top block and a bottom block, or - in some cases - a stretcher block), and yet the vasing effect on the turning provides a certain elegance. It is easy to see why many have considered this leg a must-have for their kitchen island. Which brings me to how I chose pictures. One of our customers, a Mr. Levi Mize, has a website displaying some very high-quality pictures of our legs, which he has often used for various jobs. Well, one of these pictures is of the Islander leg being used for a bathroom vanity! The Islander does much to add to the stately appearance of this vanity!

Below you’ll find another Mize picture of a more typical application of The Islander. Again, the word that comes to mind is stately; even regal.

And, just because it is so very hard to choose, one more picture by Mr. Mize, just for effect.

I think it is plain to see why this leg is so well loved: It is not only strong and elegant, but also quite versatile, as well!