This is a great time of year at CedarWorks. Excited moms, dads, grandparents, aunties and uncles start coming out of the woodwork (no pun intended) to plan the summertime-fun gift of a lifetime. And it’s not just a gift for the kids, it’s something the whole family can enjoy.

The days are getting longer, warmer, and families are focusing on better quality time together.  No sitting at the Xbox this year!  At CedarWorks, the options for a new swing set are as exciting and unique as the families who purchase them. And, CedarWorks swing sets are designed with the whole family in mind, using the very best splinter-free Northern White Cedar. With consideration to your site, age of your children, and budget, CedarWorks can offer ideas and solutions. If you are considering a new swing set for your family this year, why not give us a call?  Helping you create the “most amazing swing set ever!” really makes our day.

So, if you were to learn that a swing set was made from 100% Cedar, you’d have a good feeling about it, right? But how would you feel about a swing set made from 100% China Fir? Or 100% Chinese Cedar? Not the same is my guess. And, clearly, that is the assumption made by many swing set marketers these days, because almost every swing set made of “Cedar” sold in big box stores is not actually made of Cedar.

How did this happen? About 7 years ago, as wood products from China started to flood the US market, there were a lot of salesmen peddling something they called “China Fir”. The actual species was Cunninghamia Lanceolata, a fast growing tree in southern China, and a member of the Baldy Cypress family. Within a year or two, it was being called “Chinese Cedar”, and we, like all other swing set manufacturers, received unsolicited samples and price quotes on a regular basis.

Soon, entire swing sets made from this species began to appear. In the early years, the wood was called China Fir or Chinese Cedar. But starting a few years ago, with the backlash against all things made for kids from China, some marketers decided it best to call the wood by its real name, Cunninghamia. This name had no positive associations, but at least didn’t have any negative ones.

The name Cunninghamia prevailed for a few years, but clearly frustrated the marketers. Why use such an ungainly new name for the wood when 50% of the old name was so good? If it used to be called Chinese Cedar, why not just call it “Cedar”?

And that is exactly what has happened. So, like the kids game of telephone, the name has evolved to the point that it bears absolutely no relationship to its original name. And, in this instance, the name also bears no relationship to the actual underlying species.

Of course, we never succumbed to the siren song of low import prices, so we were never tempted to engage in this marketing slight-of-hand. All CedarWorks swing sets are made from 100% real Northern White Cedar. We have looked into lots of other wood species over the years including various Cedars, Redwood, Cypress, and even Teak. So far, none of them has provided the same magical combination of natural rot-resistance along with a naturally splinter-free surface.

We are always looking for ways to improve our products, so we will keep our eyes open for a wood species better suited for outdoor swing sets than Northern White Cedar. And if it’s not Cedar, we won’t call it Cedar. That’s the easy part. Changing our company name might be a bit more difficult.

If you saw my post of a few weeks back, you know that I love snow. We have just had our second 12”+ storm in about 4 days and everywhere you look it is a wild winter wonderland. Mother Nature may be testing my limits, to which my back and arms will attest, but I am still deeply infatuated with the fluffy white stuff!

Combined with the snow already on the ground, it’s now so deep that my son Quinn told me I need to shovel a path for the swings to swing. Hmmmm. Maybe I’ll just shorten the ropes

Check out these pictures taken over the past few days.