A while back, we shared some stories about the various creatures which roam the woods and fields near our offices here in Maine. And, we solicited photos and stories about your CedarWorks swing set and the pets and/or wild animals (no, not your kids) that use it.

I recently received these great photos from Debra White who is president of Winslow Farm Animal Sanctuary in Norton, MA. Debra had contacted us earlier this year about a Serendipity swing set for her unique organization. As described on its website (www.winslowfarm.com), Winslow Farm is a “stay-for-life animal sanctuary dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and care of mistreated and abandoned animals”. In addition, the farm aims to “promote the prevention of animal mistreatment through quality educational programs and events, and to advocate the preservation of wildlife habitat.”

As we had understood it, the swing set was to be another great reason for the young visitors at Winslow Farm to have fun while being educated. We believe that this is what Debra was planning as well. But, apparently, Mervin the goat had other ideas (he was a kid once too, right?).

We still don’t know who has more fun with the swing set – Mervin or the human kids. But it really doesn’t matter as long as the swing set continues to get good use, and Mervin continues to prefer tin cans and goat chow over cedar.

“I am not the type of person who would email companies,” Beverly wrote in her email, “but the kids were having such a blast and so happy that I thought you guys might appreciate seeing your great products in real-life action. This was my son’s idea (the boy in the close-up), with the helmets and some ground rules being mom’s requirement. It was nice to have an activity for them in this heat that was fun, safe, outside, and at home! The day was a record-breaker for Seattle – 104 F.”

Thanks for sharing, Beverly. And, if the kids ever get too hot (or too cold, or too wet), maybe we can interest you in one of our Rhapsody indoor playsets!

The original plan was to eat and play games in the grassy fields by the pond at our offices in Rockport. But, as the forecast went from rain to heavy rain to flood warning, we decided that even a tent would not suffice, so we relocated to the warehouse at our plant in Rockland.

By the time I arrived, the crew had replaced swing set inventory with picnic tables; there were several pots of lobsters billowing steam; and the grill was crackling and smoking away. We had decided that some games, like Bocce, had to be sacrificed due to the concrete floor, but the makeshift volleyball court was fully occupied as were the several ladder ball alleys (just google “ladder ball” if you want a description).

We spent the next few hours eating, talking, playing games, and celebrating the many accomplishments of the year. We consumed copious amounts of beef and lobster, and more importantly, we avoided my one fear – a visit by either the fire marshal or our insurance inspector. Multiple open flames in a warehouse full of wood might have been a touch difficult to explain away.

So, what does this all mean for you? Not much, unless you buy one of our swing sets, open the boxes, and then try to eagerly inhale the wonderful cedar scent. If you find yourself dreaming of the ocean or a summer barbecue instead of a cedar forest, you’ll know why.

It has been almost exactly one year since I challenged the small but very talented team here at CedarWorks to create a completely new line of playsets for inside the home. And today, precisely as scheduled, we are excited to introduce Rhapsody, the first wooden play system designed for indoors.

The goal for the product line was rather straightforward: create an indoor playset with all the same winning characteristics of a CedarWorks outdoor playset. Thus, the new line would need to be strong, safe, fun, beautiful, modular, and environmentally sound. But, to achieve this, we quickly realized that we needed to start with all new materials, construction methods, manufacturing methods, and visual designs. We needed to start from scratch.

It took a few months before we began to hit our stride. By then, Heather Telo, our product design manager, had nailed the basic look and construction method for the line. Soon thereafter, Sean Carnell, our IT manager, confirmed that he could achieve the 2D and 3D custom playset design tools required for the line. And then Don Protheroe, our manufacturing manager, announced that he had identified the equipment and vendors necessary to deliver the product.

By late spring we had our first major test: a prototype was installed in the same basement playroom where the idea for an indoor line had dawned on me nearly 5 years earlier. And several hours later, while still huddled in a nook of the playset along with three of my kids and our very large dog, I knew we had it right.

The kids had run, jumped, slid and climbed. They had played knights and princesses, alien invasion, and stuff your little brother in the toy box. The playset had instantly become the nexus for all the kid energy and imagination they could muster. And the other basement furniture, for once, had a rest.

And that’s the story of Rhapsody. Please take a look at our new creation, and if you have a moment, let me know what you think.

This letter, from Liza Beaty of Bollingbrook, Illinois, happened to strike a particular chord for me. It speaks of exactly what we hope for each time we ship a swing set off to a new CedarWorks family. Liza’s letter began with “For 11 summers…” then shared the following memories:

“…our family enjoyed our CedarWorks swing set. Our 3 children, several cousins and countless neighborhood children had spent many gloriously happy days and evenings running, jumping, swinging through the (completely splinter-free!) CedarWorks swing set. Obstacle courses, made-up games, and fantastic adventures were a regular part of daily life in our backyard. As our youngest child enters middle school, and as focus shifts away from the ‘childish things,’ we dissembled something that had become so near and dear to us as parents, and a integral part of our children’s lives and livelihood.

Thank you for engineering such a fabulous product that has enriched our daily lives for more than a decade. The memories are far more valuable to us than I could ever have imagined.”

And, Liza, your generous comments have been far more meaningful to each and every one of us here at CedarWorks than you could ever imagine.

This may be bad weather for sailing and hiking, but it was perfect weather for photographing Rhapsody, our new line of indoor playsets. The photo shoot not only made for lots of happy kid product testers, but also made for lots of happy moms going stir crazy after a couple weeks of fog and rain. We hardly needed to convince these moms that an indoor playset is a must-have item. In fact, I think we may have already pre-sold our first several Rhapsodys!

The photo shoot was physically draining, and there remains a lot to accomplish between now and our August 1 launch date. Yet, what we learned about Rhapsody these past few weeks has us all totally energized.

Kids love it. Moms love it. Its beautiful all natural. Its beautiful with color. Its great for the basement, playroom, and bedroom. Its easy to assemble, disassemble, and reconfigure. Its everything we hoped it would be, and we can’t wait to introduce it to you.

Plus, we have all these really great shots of super cute kids! Here are some for you to enjoy.

As for the Rhapsody playsets themselves, they continue to impress not only our visitors, but even those of us on the design team. Today’s surprise was the only playset we plan to photo with all natural toned (vs. colored) accent pieces. When we photographed our Serendipity line of outdoor swing sets a few years back, I insisted that we show several “natural” swing sets and include them in the catalogue. The sales of these “natural” swing sets, as well as the photos themselves, have been lackluster at best. Yet, lackluster is hardly the word I would use to describe our “natural” Rhapsody set. Rather, it looks like a joyful combination of fine furniture and wooden sculpture that just begs to be played on. And, given all the brightly colored kids stuff that already populates most homes, I suspect that many families will be relieved to introduce this oasis of color tranquility. Here are a few more shots from Days 1-3.

The kids, of course, loved the play structures the second they arrived. They immediately began climbing, sliding, and exploring the various nooks and hideouts. The moms immediately loved the way the playsets look – like a nice piece of furniture infused with fun.

Then, something very exciting happened. It started slowly, then began to build speed. The more the moms asked questions, chatted about the playsets, and watched their kids play, the more we began to hear “I want one”. The more the moms discussed all the time their kids spend playing indoors, and all the weather that prevents them from playing outdoors, the more we began to hear “I need one”.

In fact, one mom who was planning to buy a CedarWorks outdoor swing set next Spring told us that she is now thinking she might buy a Rhapsody instead. We love the enthusiasm, but might we suggest one of each?

Enjoy these photos. And stay tuned – there are more to come.

The article explicitly calls out the eco-friendly bonus of a swing set made from untreated wood, and only CedarWorks can boast of a swing set made from 100% natural untreated, unpainted, and unstained wood. And if that weren’t enough to cement the eco-friendly top spot for CedarWorks, we are certainly the only swing set company to have given away more than 400,000 cedar seedlings since the inception of our ReCedaring program.

In case you don’t know Kiwi, its tagline is “Growing families the natural and organic way”. More specifically, “KIWI is dedicated to helping parents raise their children the healthiest way possible. Our charge is to introduce families to the latest in natural and organic living—showing how to practice this lifestyle on an everyday basis.” You can learn more at www.kiwimagonline.com.

Sean developed our award-winning swing set design program, CedarDesigner. He then single-handedly developed Cedar3D which generates the 3D models of your custom swing set designs. He has been rumored to willingly cuddle up on the couch with a 1,000 page tome on database programming, and his office looks like a miniature version of NORAD with seven monitors of various sizes stretching around his L-shaped desk.

Yet, despite this affinity for technology, Sean likes nothing more than to steal away for a weeklong kayak paddle on one of the many remote lakes here in Maine. He recently escaped on just such a trip to Northern Maine, and brought back these great photos (he’s our photographer, too – remember?).

Enjoy!