Redwood strong in furniture market

FTEDWOOD furniture is unique. JINo other furniture uses wood grown in only one place in the world. Almost no other furniture can be traced in origin to one of five manufacturers.

All found leisure areas ofthe country originates in a region of Northern California called The Redwood Region. The majority of redwood casual furniture of the in the redwood furniture gardens, patios and sold through home centers, patio shops, discount stores, department stores, mail order and catalog houses comes from Little Lake Industries, Harris of Pendleton, Crown Redwood Co., Inc., A. Brandt Co., Inc., or Vandy-Craft.

Little Lake and Crown Redwood Co., Inc. are located in the heart of the redwood producing area: Little Lake, a division of U.S. Leisure, at Willits and Crown Redwood at Fortuna. Harris manufactures at Pendleton, Or., and A. Brandt Co., Inc., at Fort Worth, Tx. Vandy-Craft is located in Chicago, Il.

Competing with metal, plastic and white wood in the outdoor furniture marketplace, redwood has gained favor in the past few years. It is especially popular on the East Coast, according to Dave Cubit, Little Lake industrial products manager, who explains this is due in part to the great mass of population located there and a more appreciative attitude towards redwood as a species.

INVITING relaxation, redwood casual furniture from Little Lake shows several popular pieces. Umbrella tables, l0unges, footrests and combination chairs and tables are best sellers nationwide.

The redwood furniture market is "nothing but growth," comments Jean Nichols at Crown Redwood. This firm, the newest in the redwood furniture market, is experiencing continued growth. Nichols credits redwood's popularity to it being a natural as well as a unique product.

The manufacturing process is virtually the same at all companies. Little Lake, called the world's largest manufacturer of redwood outdoor furniture, buys25 to 30million board feet of l0 to 20 foot lengths of redwood from neighboring mills each year, keeping several million board feet as an air drying yard inventory at

Sfo4r at a Glance

Redwood gains favor in casual furniture market manufacturer's reps aid dealers appearance, durability, good porformance altract. homeowners.

parts depends on the extent of the lines manufactured. For example, the inventory at Little Lake includes 725 wooden parts for 14 furniture lines.

Finished parts are matched according to product, packed in cartons and shipped to assembly plants located throughout the country by Little Lake and Harris. From these sites, the assembled furniture with cushions is sent to retailers. Furniture from Little Lake which is also sold with Sierra Leisure or house brand labels is assembled in Calhoun, Ga., Longview, Tx., Alexandria, In., Pottstown, Pa., and San Bernardino, Ca.

Crown Redwood assembles, cushions and packages its furniture in Fortuna. Sixty to 75 piggy back vans of completed furniture leave the plant each month enroute to warehouse distributors, according to Nichols. Their lines are marketed under the Crown Redwood label.

Sales staffs and reps spend a lot of time educating dealers on redwood furniture sales features. They all stress that redwood furniture is not an item which must be replaced each year. "If maintained as suggested, redwood will last for years," Cubit says. all times. After six to nine months in the yard, the redwood is transferred to dry kilns for two to four weeks of final drying. Crown buys most of its redwood ready to use since its kilns cannot keep up with production demand. Out of state companies have to transport the redwood to their manufacturing facilities.

Reasonable care includes protecting the wood with an oil base penetrating semi-transparent stain. This should be renewed after a light "kiss" sanding each year or so. Ifthe homeowner likes the natural silvery patina that bare redwood acquires, no finish is necessary since redwood is considered the ideal outdoor wood.

An essential maintenance step often overlooked is the tightening of the bolts. Contractions of the wood may loosen these, causing the furniture to become wobbly, but an annual spring tightening will keep it in good shape.

Redwood furniture manufacturers convey a special feeling about their unique product. A feeling shared by the retailers and consumers if one can judge by the success of the industry.

Dried lumber travels through a plant being cut, shaped and finished into the parts needed for outdoor furniture, including frame sides, arm rests and wheels. The number of

It's Redwood on theOutside

Visual beauty is not the only quality of redwood siding. Above average insulation against heat and cold is provided by redwood's low density, meaning that it has a high percentage of dead air spaces in ratio to wood substance.

In insulating value, a redwood board one inch thick is equal to 6 inches of brick, 9 inches of cement block, 14 inches of concrete or stucco and over 1,700 inches of aluminum. The insulation protection provided by redwood can keep a home comfortable year around with a minimum expense for heating or air conditioning.

High stability makes redwood a durable all weather siding, capable of lying straight and flat for the life of the structure with little or no checking or other weather damage. Durability also is an important characteristic of redwood. It is resistant to decay and insects.

Redwood may be stained, painted or left to weather to a mellow shade. Bevel, channel shiplap, V shiplap, board and batten, and tongue and groove patterns make redwood adaptable to every style of architecture and setting. Rustic siding textured with knots and streaks ofheartwood and sapwood also is available in a variety ofpatterns.

NATURAL, yet elegant, redwood siding is oerlect for soDhisticated architecture as well as ruslic country cottages. The wood provides natural durability and resistance to insects and decay in addition to a warm, attractive appearance.