|
|
Furniture Spotlight: Platform
Beds by Ramblin Wood
Article written for PlatformBeds.com - March
2008
|
|
|
Sandia
Bed by Rambin Wood
|
Recently,
I had the opportunity to talk to Dave Cady, owner of Ramblin
Wood which is located in Albuquerque, NM. Ramblin Wood is
a manufacturer of solid wood beds, tables, dressers and
under bed drawers. I've always been curious about the history
of this 27 year old company and wanted to ask Dave all about
it. He was kind enough to take out time from his busy schedule
to grant me this interview.
In talking to Dave, the first thing I wanted to know was
a little bit more about how he became interested in woodworking.
Dave explained "I would watch my dad in his shop who really
enjoyed woodworking and learned from him how to use all
of his handsaws, chisels, table saws and joiners." He went
on to tell me that many of the early techniques he learned
he did so from watching his dad working on various wood
projects. Soon Dave started making projects of his own.
Woodworking definitely interested him, so much so that he
decided to attend a wood working/cabinet making school where
he learned more about the trade and advanced techniques
in woodworking.
Taking woodworking from a hobby towards doing it commercially
though required Dave to gain some much needed experience.
"I started out working in a cabinet shop." He explains.
"I picked up a lot of commercial cabinetry building techniques
and wood working skills and decided to start doing some
of my own work on the side in my garage." This work would
eventually lead Dave out of the cabinet shop and to head
out on his own. He goes on to say "In 1981, It was me and
another guy helping me to build custom things like wood
doors and custom wood work. We'd take these products to
local shows and would take orders at the shows for the doors,
things like tables, chairs all sorts of things. Orders that
we'd take after each show would keep us busy for the next
6 months."
|
|
|
Placitas
Bed by Rambin Wood
|
Much
of Dave's business for the next 4-5 years consisted of going
to shows, showcasing his quality wood products and building
the orders for his customers. He would eventually be approached
by a local retailer who sold futon products. For a little
bit of history about futons, the early 1980's really marked
the time frame when futon frames were first emerging onto
the furniture scene and this particular retailer asked Dave
if he could come up with a couple of frame designs that
could be ordered on a continuing basis. He designed a simple
mechanism and successfully created two frame styles and
matching tables. This would eventually lead him to creating
other furniture which would include several styles of beds,
nightstands, dressers and bed drawers all of which could
be made to order and shipped ready to assemble.
Ramblin Wood would soon outgrow the Cady garage though and
would have to be moved. It was relocated into the 6,000
sq. ft. facility where it is located today in Albuquerque,
NM. It has been in this same location now for over 20 years.
Dave has employed many skilled workers throughout the years.
His current employees have been with the company for over
7 years including his wife Ellen. I asked Dave what job
she has with Ramblin Wood and if he has any other family
working in the business. Dave replied "She does the book
keeping for me and works on maintaining our company website
[ramblinwood.net]. When my kids are out of high school for
summer breaks they'll come down and work in the shop with
me and help me cut wood, do packaging and other odd jobs
around the shop." At this point in our conversation I had
learned quite a bit about the back story of Ramblin Wood
and it's early beginnings as well as how Dave came to be
involved in woodworking and how that led him into taking
it from a hobby into a profession.
|
|
|
El
Paso Bed by Rambin Wood
|
I
was curious about an article I remembered reading years
ago with a picture of him standing next to a wooden boat
he had built and asked him if he builds these on the side
too? He chuckled and said no. "I've actually built 4 boats
which include a canoe and three ocean style kayaks including
a 16 footer". These were actually more for his own personal
use though. Something I found very interesting besides his
love of a good kayak was that he has built several homes
including his own. All of the wood work and cabinetry throughout
his home was of course done by himself. He has also done
wood work in several other homes and businesses including
a ski resort.
Besides learning about the rich history of the company I
also wanted to spend some time talking to Dave about his
products including his thoughts on different recent trends
in furniture throughout the industry. If you're not familiar
with Ramblin Wood products, there are roughly ten different
styles of beds that range from Southwestern to traditional
to contemporary in design. These beds are manufactured using
oak, maple or bamboo and are all made to order. I asked
Dave what process they are using today to finish the platform
beds. He replied, "We're using a hand rubbed Danish Oil
finish."
One of the most interesting features of Ramblin Wood beds
that separate them from other brands is the fact that they
let customers customize their beds the way they want to
with a wide assortment of various options that one can select
from. I asked Dave what made him decide to offer his beds
so many different ways? "These options have always been
customer driven." He said. "Maybe the customer needed it
a little higher off the ground or maybe needed the headboard
a little taller." He went on to explain, "It's really not
me creating these options, it's customers who want something
different. With all of the different options we offer we
have somewhere in the neighborhood of a 1,000 different
components that can go into making a custom platform bed."
|
|
|
Ranch
Bamboo Bed by Rambin Wood
|
Oak
& maple have been in the Ramblin Wood lineup for some time
and recently bamboo was added as an available wood option.
I questioned Dave as to why he decided to add bamboo to
the available wood options. "I saw some bamboo flooring
in a store that really looked good. I figured if they could
make bamboo boards for flooring then I was sure that they
could make boards for our beds. I got in touch with a factory
in China who could make what we needed for building our
beds. Ellen and I flew to Asia and travelled up from Hong
Kong through China by rail. When we were within 3 hours
of the factory they sent a driver to bring us up to the
factory to show us how they produced moso bamboo boards."
Dave gave them the specs of what he needed. They began production
and now Dave gets a steady supply of moso bamboo boards
from China which he can then process for use in Ramblin
Wood beds.
Knowing these beds well at both a retail and distributer
level I had always noticed that there were very few service
issues with these beds. Which is quite incredible. I asked
Dave about this and what he thought was the reason for that
success. His reply was simple. "I keep my eyes on everything
in every phase of production. It helps me to detect defects
and if I see the same problems come up I can fix them."
Dave is also out there cutting the dimensional lumber that
goes into most beds which keeps him hands on with that side
of the production that goes on in the plant.
I'm
always studying trends in furniture and I thought it would
be interesting to ask Dave what his thoughts were about
recent trends in his furniture. He indicated that king size
beds have been slowing down over the years. Extra long or
xl beds are becoming more popular. He also mentioned that
he has seen quite an increase in customers upgrading to
poplar wood slats and double slat options for the platform
of these beds. This could largely be attributed to the popularity
of memory foam mattresses which typically need a more solid
foundation.
|
|
|
Mission
Bamboo Bed by Rambin Wood
|
My
conversation with the owner of Ramblin Wood, Dave Cady had
come to an end. I thanked him for his time and answering
all of my questions and he thanked me for my interest in
his company and products. In talking with Dave I came to
a better understanding about the history of Ramblin Wood,
how Dave helped to shape the direction of his company, and
how customers ultimately play a huge part in helping to
create many of the offerings that exist in this line of
furniture today. After talking with him it's easy to see
that Dave brings a lot of experience, skills and a love
for woodworking into every piece of Ramblin Wood furniture
he makes. Ramblin
Wood in my opinion is a great source for quality American
made beds. They're well made and offered at very affordable
prices. I hope you'll consider adding one of these quality
made beds to your own home from a manufacturer that takes
great pride in their made
by hand wood products.
About the Author:
Phil Pendleton is a furniture professional with over 15
years experience in the furniture industry. He has been
involved in furniture sales, production and distribution.
He continues to work with other furniture professionals
to promote new trends in bedroom furniture and modern designs.
He invites you to visit the wood
platform beds section of this website to learn more
about this manufacturer's products and available bed options.
This article was written for and is copyright by PlatformBeds.com.
All rights reserved worldwide. Copyright 2008.
* Please retain the above information if using this article
on your own blog or website.
* Free Shipping
of Platform Bed Models to
any of the 48 Continental United States of America
:: Home :: Site
Map :: Resources
Program :: Resource
Links :: Platform
Bed Reviews ::
:: Platform
Bed Designs :: Platform
Bed Specs :: History
of Beds :: Twin
XL Beds ::
©1998-2008
PlatformBeds.com ** All Rights Reserved **
|
