Westwood Design

Product Availability on Twitter

2009-07-02T09:35:00.003-06:00

We're going to try to get product availability information to consumers faster. I have a Twitter account where I will post updates when I receive them. They'll be kind of random - just product availability for all our different brands and products that are hot topics like: arrivals for Meadowdale Bed Rails, the Dakota Group, Monterey availability, etc. Your retailer is still the best source for information, but we think this may help on specific issues. We'll try it and see if it works. Twitter account: "Cribguy". I know, kind of lame, but all I could think of.

Brookline and Dakota

2009-06-03T18:30:00.006-06:00

One consequence of these times is the inability to get really good feedback from our retailing friends about demand. When Brookline and Dakota were introduced at the September 2008 ABC Show (you saw Scott Bennett's post on these), retailers had a chance to order as much as they wanted. Because of the economic downturn, most retailers didn't order very much- I really don't blame them. HOWEVER a result of not ordering a hot group is a shortage when consumers get a look at the product and WANT IT NOW, IN LARGE QUANTITIES. This reluctance to order Brookline and Dakota resulted in a shortage that may or may not affect consumers with a close due date. Once again, Westwood asks all consumers with a due date within 3 months to check with your retailer about product delivery dates. Some retailers will have plenty; others may not. We are making A LOT more of these two new groups and should be caught up shortly. Thanks for your patience and your support of our company.

Scott Krueger

8th Edition Baby Bargains Book- Westwood Still Wrecking the Grade Curve

2009-04-08T16:09:00.003-06:00

So the newest 8th edition of the Baby Bargains book just came out, and we are pleased to see that we still have the highest rating, A. If you haven't seen it before, the book is a ridiculously complete, independent, and detailed guide to just about every product you can buy for a baby. I personally just used it when we were shopping booster seats for our daughter (we went with the Recaro Vivo Lite if you're curious). Only a handful of crib makers can claim an unreserved A rating, and we've had it since we started. A few highlights:

"Quality-wise, Westwood is a good value."

"We also like how transparent the company is- Westwood even posts pictures of their Vietnam factory to their company blog." [Glad you noticed! -ed.]

"...customer service at Westwood is excellent."

Brookline and Dakota Have Left the Building

2009-03-06T11:28:00.004-07:00

The first production runs of both Brookline and Dakota are completed and packaged, and have passed final inspection. By the time you read this they will have departed the factory to catch the boat. They should start arriving at stores in around 6 weeks or so.

ABC Intro- Brookline

2008-09-10T20:20:00.001-06:00

Our third major intro for ABC is Brookline. This is another large group like Stratton, with big cases and lots of storage. We think the crib is pretty cool- the curved slats give it an interesting transitional look, with a sort of sleigh influence. The crib is tricky to photograph too- looks a lot better in person.

(And again these colors came out weird under the lights in here. This is actually in Virginia Cherry, just like Stratton.)

ABC (Re)Intro- Pacifc

2008-09-08T23:55:00.007-06:00

Yep, it's Pacific again. We had a strong response to this group at last year's ABC show, but Stratton went crazy, and with Jonesport launching at the same time, this one had to wait. I took the opportunity to tighten up the design a bit and respond to some feedback from the last time we showed it. We went with smaller cases ("Euro size", like Dakota), thinking that this group will probably do better in cities and urban areas where people don't always have a lot of space.

The crib construction has been refined a bit (and is currently patent pending). We also showed it converted into a bed. This is probably the coolest thing about this crib, and it's hard to grasp without seeing it in front of you. All convertible cribs on the market (that I know of, anyway) use regular bed rails to convert into a normal, fairly tall bed, and almost always fit a full size mattress. We did something a little different. We used low, wide platforms that can fit either a twin or full mattress. If you've ever seen a two year old try to climb out of a normal tall bed, this will make perfect sense. With a twin size mattress in place, there's a nice little step that a little kid can hop right up on (and a perfect place for a parent to sit and read a bedtime story).

Keen eyed observers will also notice that we changed the color (the wood is darker, and there is a lot less white).

ABC Intro- Dakota

2008-09-08T23:20:00.005-06:00

While the rest of the industry builds big walls around their booths to keep away prying eyes, we take the opposite approach. Those guys are going to copy us either way. We're more interested in customer feedback than trying to keep things top secret.

Dakota is the first of the new intros we've brought to the ABC show this year. This one is exclusive to members of the National Independent Nursery Furniture Retailers' Association (NINFRA). Dakota has a couple of notable features. First is the intro of new "Euro size" cases- we've tried to scale the combo and chest down a bit so they fit into smaller spaces.

Also new is the hutch for the combo- we include an extra base that can be screwed to the bottom of the hutch to convert it into a bookcase later. This neatly solves the "what do we do with the hutch after the baby gets a bit older" problem. Response to this piece has been very strong. We think this is the first time this has been done, and we are working on patenting it.

I'll publish some more new stuff over the next couple days here.

[This is the Chocolate Mist finish, which for some reason is really difficult to photograph under the terrible lighting in here.]

2008 ABC Show

2008-09-08T13:11:00.002-06:00

We are here in Las Vegas at the ABC Kids Expo, the baby industrial complex's annual trade show. We have a few new groups (and a couple of cool new features), which I'll be posting pics of over the next couple days.

Factory Tour

2008-07-07T10:07:00.004-06:00

All Westwood products are made in a new state of the art factory just outside of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. We're always taking pictures when we're over there, and we thought you might like to see a little bit of the factory and the manufacturing process.

This is the main office building. Behind this is living quarters for the management and supervisors who don't live in Vietnam. Sometimes we stay here too.

Factory garden. I was here right after this had been planted in 2003. It's amazing how quickly things grow in that climate.

Motorbike parking. Beyond this is a smaller section for bicycle parking, but almost everyone has a motorbike. The traffic all over Vietnam is indescribable. It moves pretty well, there is just a staggering volume of motorbikes, and everyone is constantly honking their horn.

Here are some parts being shaped.

This is one of the main milling rooms, where parts are made and sent onto the assembly areas.

A few of our groups have hand carved elements. This is the carving room.

This is the crib assembly area. Here they are cleaning up any adhesive that may have squeezed around around the slats when they were put together. They have just used that nail gun to also further secure the slats with pin nails.

After assembly, the cribs go to this climate controlled drying room to bring the moisture level down. This is a very important step. Wood absorbs humidity from the air, and it is of course extremely humid in this part of the world. If you don't do this (and a lot of manufacturers don't), when you bring the furniture into the low humidity, climate controlled environment of your house, the wood will shrink and crack. This is also my favorite spot in the whole factory. After walking around in 80-90° heat (with 90% humidity), coming in here is like stepping into a nice chilly fall Denver day.

This is the finishing line. The pieces slowly snake around on a twisty track going through several spray booths (you can see a couple in the background with the numbers on them). While they ride around, they dry before hitting the next booth. The two women in the red shirts are looking for finishing flaws that they will mark with tape so the pieces can be pulled out and corrected.

After finishing, everything is looked over one last time. These two are checking and adjusting the drawer fit. To the left of this picture is packaging, then it goes right out the door and onto trucks.

Stratton: On the Way

2008-04-28T11:12:00.003-06:00

We were caught a little by surprise by the demand for Stratton, and our initial run sold out very quickly. We have been producing it in large numbers to get caught up- we try to keep everything in stock at all times to minimize the amount of time you have to wait to receive furniture after ordering. Lately we've had several questions from people asking when their orders would come in. To answer that, these pictures were taken yesterday at the factory. These containers will be leaving today, and it will take about 4-6 weeks for them to cross the ocean and leave our warehouse for delivery to stores.

Call for Photos

2008-03-28T11:44:00.003-06:00

We want to build a customer gallery on the website showing how real people use our furniture in their homes. It helps us to jog people's imaginations, and it's a great chance for you to show off that new nursery you've been planning and feverishly working on for months. Got a photo you'd like to share? Send it in and we'll send you a little gift (yet to be determined) as a token of our appreciation. (Got an idea for a gift? Send that too!) You can send photos to sbennett (at) westwoodbaby.com, and you can leave any ideas or suggestions here in the comments. Thanks!

Website Additions

2008-03-28T11:29:00.004-06:00

I just added the product page for Jonesport, which should start hitting stores in the next week or two.

I also added some photos showing how we build our drawer boxes (and we build them very well). You can read more about them here.

Jonesport

2008-02-13T21:30:00.001-07:00

Jonesport is the last of our latest batch of new groups. It is currently in its initial production run, and should be arriving in stores around the second half of April.

The finish is really deep and rich, with a lot of glaze. Jonesport hits a lower price point than most of our other groups, but we didn't strip any of the quality out of it to get there, so it's an exceptionally good value. ~~We'll have a full product info page up in a couple weeks.~~ Just added the product page here.

Dropside Cribs

2007-10-18T16:53:00.001-06:00

In response to some questions we have been receiving regarding recent crib recalls, Westwood does not, and will not, make drop side cribs.

Pacific

2007-08-27T09:50:00.002-06:00

Pacific is another new group we're showing in Las Vegas. We've had this one in the works for a long time, and we think the time is finally right for it. Pacific is a clean, modern group that still manages to have some curves and soft edges. The best part? Pacific will be priced in line with our other products, representing the exceptional value that Westwood has become known for.

The crib has a very unique conversion system that allows as many as 10 different configurations (an industry first), including both twin and full size options. Unlike most crib conversions, it converts to a more modern platform bed- which is also much easier for kids to get in and out of.

New Group: Stratton

2007-08-27T09:08:00.000-06:00

We're headed to the ABC show in Las Vegas next week, where we will have a huge amount of new product. Normally these things are shrouded in secrecy, but we thought it would be a nice change to show you what we've got coming. Not all of it will end up in production, so if there's something you like, tell us!

First up is the new Stratton collection. This one will go into production, and will be available in stores starting in November. Stratton is scaled very big (this is hard to show in photos, but it's big) with a rich, elegant finish. We like this one, and we think it's going to be a big hit.

Westwood Gets Top Marks from Baby Bargains Book

2007-08-25T10:15:00.000-06:00

We are very pleased to announce that Westwood received the highest mark, A, for both our cribs and cases from the industry bible, the Baby Bargains book. This is the first year we've been reviewed, so we're very pleased that all our efforts have been noticed. A few excerpts:

As for quality, the first reviews from parents are in and the word is quite positive. "Sturdy and high quality" is how one mom described her Westwood crib and dresser.

...the overall view is Westwood is worth the money (and possible wait). One telling review: when one reader's Westwood hutch arrived cracked, the president of Westwood himself personally contacted the customer to apologize and pledged to make it right. In an era of customer service in the nursery biz that ranges from abysmal to abhorrent, *that* is refreshing.

The Baby Bargains book is really a great resource for new parents- the authors exhaustively and honestly review just about every product available for babies, and throw in a lot of good advice as well. We're not just saying that because they like our stuff! It really is a good book- we used it ourselves when my daughter was born. You can get more information here:

Baby Bargains book

Safety

2007-08-22T20:54:00.000-06:00

With all the recent recalls of products made in China, a lot of people are starting to be concerned about where and how the products they buy are made. We think this is great. From the very beginning, all of us at Westwood have taken a very active effort in ensuring the safety and quality of our products. We not only test to the minimum government standards, but also go well beyond that. All of our products are made in a new, state of the art factory in Vietnam, because it was the best factory we could find. In the next week or so, we're going to post more behind the scenes photos and information detailing our manufacturing and testing process. We believe in complete openness, and we think you'll appreciate it too.

In the meantime, we wanted to make a statement specifically about lead content. We have taken strong steps to ensure that lead stays out of our products. Again, this is not a reaction to current events, this is what we have been doing all along. Our finish partner, Valspar, is strongly committed to using only lead-free material (read their letter here). We, of course, also use an independent third party test lab to check our finished products not just for lead, but for other heavy metals and hazardous substances.

You will not find any company more deeply committed to product safety than Westwood Design.

You can read more about what we do here, including copies of our actual finish test reports: Link (with much more information to come soon).

Cypress Point in Toffee Pine

2007-07-26T09:02:00.000-06:00

This is actually fairly old news, but we wanted to point out that the Cypress Point collection is now available in a new color: Toffee Pine Distressed. This is a deep, rich color rather reminiscent of, well, a nice almond toffee. We think it looks pretty good.

Youth Furniture

2005-12-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

One of the things we have been getting a lot of requests to add to our line is youth furniture- beds and desks. (Of course most of our cribs already convert to full size beds.) I've been working on this area lately, and I think we have some pretty good ideas for features that haven't been seen in youth furniture before. Computers in particular seem to be an afterthought on most current kids' desks. And storage space under beds also looks like an under-explored area.

But I'm sure there are plenty of things I haven't thought of. What kind of features would you like to see? Here's your chance at power and influence. :) Leave a comment (or send an email) and let us know.

Welcome

2005-11-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome to westwoodbaby.com. I'm Scott Bennett, and I am the lead furniture designer and engineer for Westwood Design. (I also designed the web site, and convinced the boss to let me put a blog up.) This blog is a way for us to share product news and details with you. More than that, though, we will also be using it to give some insight into our design, manufacturing, and QC processes. For instance, when I'm working on a new product, I intend to post some of the initial sketches and concepts and get some feedback in real time. We think this kind of transparency and availability is a first for this industry, and we are excited to try it out!