February is here, and love is in the air.

What a great time to highlight our 100% Aromatic Cedar Oil because not only can our steam-distilled oil be used to rejuvenate a cedar closet, but it’s also used in many perfumes! Eastern Redcedar (or Juniperus Virginiana as it’s referred to in the perfume industry) oil blends incredibly well with floral fragrances, to make beautiful woodsy perfumes.

Today, we’d like to share just how we make out 100% Aromatic Eastern Redcedar Oil.

As you may know already, the Eastern Redcedar tree grows abundantly in the wild, and we buy trees harvested by area loggers. We employ a steam distillation process to avoid unwanted impurities that can result from solvent distillation.

We use three retorts in our distillation process that each holds 1500 cubic feet of Eastern Redcedar wood. Once the retorts are filled with processed cedar, steam is applied to extract the oil. This steam is generated using water drawn from local aquifers. The water is processed through our boiler, which is fueled using our own wood byproducts.

What’s left from that process is a pale yellow oil that makes perfume smell great and refreshes your cedar closet.

IBS Rundown

With all the excitement of the 2015 International Builders’ Show over, we’re back at the office following up with all the fantastic people we met and still trying to re-adjust to the time difference. This year’s statistics were posted earlier this week and everything is pointing to this year’s show being bigger than ever!

• Official attendance for IBS was 55,237 – 8% more than last year
• Over 1,200 exhibitors filled the 478,000 square foot convention center
• KBIS had a 5% growth in attendance and had over 500 exhibitors

Jennifer was on her own out there, so she didn’t get to leave her booth often (mostly just for lunch breaks!), but she did manage to get a couple of pictures while she was out there.

Overall, it was a great success and we’re looking forward to next year!

Murphy’s Law of IBS

Jennifer arrived in Las Vegas on Monday ready to prepare for the biggest three day event in the construction world, and as soon as she got to the show site disaster struck.

Maybe that’s a bit dramatic. We knew that something would probably go wrong – it’s impossible to prepare for every scenario. Luckily, Jennifer didn’t have any big issues arise during set up! Those practice sessions definitely paid off, so despite the fact that her pallet was not by her booth (she had to carry every piece of the closet to where her booth was) and her drill lost power before she even started, she got the whole booth put together on time and looking fantastic.

The final day of IBS Vegas 2015 kicks off in about 2 hours, so stop by Booth S1255 today if you haven’t already! We look forward to seeing you there!

The Final Countdown to IBS

More than 1,300 exhibitors will attend the International Builders Show next week, including 135 in the category of millwork/wood products. While there will most likely be products available from a multitude of wood species, we wanted to share with you a couple of quick facts on how Aromatic Eastern Redcedar is different from the rest.  And we haven’t forgotten about those pictures we promised, either! Keep reading to learn more about our favorite wood, and take a sneak peek at our IBS display of CedarSafe planks and panels.

If you happen to be in Las Vegas next week, we hope you stop by Booth S1255!

Top Ten Aromatic Cedar Fun Facts:

1. Cedar oil is used along with floral fragrances to make perfume.
2. It’s actually the moth larvae that like to eat wool, silk, cotton, and other linens not the adult moth!
3. In some parts of the country, Eastern Redcedar trees are used as Christmas trees.
4. Eastern Redcedar doesn’t have to be farmed because it grows abundantly in the wild
5. The naturally occurring oil in the Eastern Redcedar wood is what repels insects – they hate the aroma!
6. Over half of the Eastern Redcedar population grows in Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri.
7. Eastern Redcedar also repels silverfish, which like to eat cotton, linen, rayon, and book bindings.
8. The oldest reported Eastern Redcedar grew in Missouri and was 795 years old.
9. The seeds of the Eastern Redcedar grow as berries, and are a significant source of food for birds.
10. Giles and Kendall, the manufacturer of CedarSafe products, utilizes every part of the Eastern Redcedar to make a number of products.

One Week to Go!

The International Builders’ Show is just 7 days away! Although we’ve already shipped our booth to Las Vegas, we wanted to give you a sneak peek at the finished displays.

If you recall from our last post, our Director of Sales & Marketing will have to assemble the closet displays by herself the night before the show. She decided that a few practice runs were needed to guarantee the booth construction goes smoothly in Vegas. Plus it would allow us to make changes if needed.

Our Production Team did a fantastic job on these closet displays, ensuring they are light enough to move. Here are some pictures of the practice session and the final results!

Everything starts packed up on the pallet, wrapped in banding and stretch film to keep it together.

Jennifer will have to unload the pallet and piece the closet walls together, screwing them in place.

Look out for more on Thursday because, of course, we’ll have to dress it up!

Taking the Planks out of the Closet

There are so many different and interesting ways to use CedarSafe Natural Closet Liners. Despite the name, you don’t have to use them just in your closets! DIY Blogger Jaime from That’s My Letter proved just that in her latest blog post. Jaime did a beautiful bathroom makeover and installed CedarSafe Tongue & Groove Planking on the walls. With the cedar walls and pipe hardware, her new bathroom has a rustic feel that’s sure to impress. You can read more about her project at her blog.

Just 11 Days Until IBS!

Excitement abounds for the International Builder’s Show each and every year in anticipation of the extreme measures exhibitors will take to make their booths look fantastic. IBS is all about showmanship, and Giles & Kendall is ready to deliver.

The beginning stages of the planning process for our booth took about a month. The marketing department started out in November enthusiastic and eager to get started. But since this is our first time going to IBS in over ten years, a couple of challenges arose that we hadn’t anticipated.

During the first couple of weeks we struggled with how we could best show off both of our products and their many applications. Confounding the issue, we will be constrained to the 10 foot by 10 foot space we’re allotted, almost half of which will be taken up by a table full of sales and marketing materials. Size was a huge factor – we couldn’t build something too big, but we also wanted to build a closet that everyone could envision in their home.

One of our main goals was to emphasize the fact that you can use Aromatic Cedar Closet Liners outside of the master bedroom closet. Eventually we decided that two separate displays was the way to go – one side for a closet and one for a pantry. This idea gave us a great opportunity to use our Cedar Flakeboard as well as our Solid Tongue & Groove Planking.

Challenge number two came when we started drawing up plans for this double sided closet. You see, our Director of Sales and Marketing is going to have to assemble this closet on her own in Las Vegas. Not only does this closet have to be light enough that our five-foot three-inch sales director can put it together by herself, but it also has to fit on a pallet to be shipped across the country. Luckily, our Production team is pretty handy, and they had a plan!

Together, Marketing and Sales, Production, and Transportation collaborated to create a CedarSafe exhibit that all of us can be proud of. All that was left was to build it!

Here’s a sneak peek of the finished product. Look out for more pictures as we get closer to show time!

Countdown to IBS

In exactly two weeks Giles & Kendall will be exhibiting at the NAHB International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Some of you may be familiar with IBS, but if not, here’s a brief overview.

IBS (along with KBIS – Kitchen & Bath Industry Show) is a 3-day long trade show where distributors, manufacturers, builders, and other residential design and construction professionals can gather to get first access to cutting-edge technology, must-see products, and innovative education on all things construction. These professionals gather from around the world to share their products and knowledge at one of the largest construction shows in the country.

2014 IBS Stats:

• 1,700 exhibitors
• 75,000 attendees
• Over 100 sessions taught by experts in marketing, sales, construction, and more

This year is the first in over a decade that Giles & Kendall will exhibit, and we are so excited! Leading up to the show we’ll share our preparation process, information about the show, and other fun facts about Giles & Kendall and CedarSafe.

Although Aromatic Cedar has existed long before the International Builders’ Show, we are excited to reintroduce Aromatic Cedar and its benefits to the residential design and construction community. IBS is the perfect venue to do that!  As architects, designers, and builders become increasingly conscientious of green building, the need for natural solutions to common household problems is in demand. For one household problem in particular, insect infestation, Aromatic Cedar is a great alternative to harmful chemicals like those found in moth balls. It naturally repels insect pests such as moths, cockroaches, and silverfish.

Our goal during IBS is to not only reemphasize the natural repellency of Aromatic Cedar but to also debunk the myth that homeowners cannot afford such a luxurious wood in their home. CedarSafe 100% Aromatic Cedar Natural Closet Liners are surprisingly affordable and easy to install. For those of you who will be in Las Vegas in two weeks, we hope you will come visit us at Booth #S1255!

Small Decorations with a Big Cedar Aroma

We’ve got another quick and easy cedar craft to show you today! These whimsical paper trees are the perfect finishing touch for a table or mantel. They’re great for adding the scent of cedar to places where you don’t have much room, or if you just want a little something extra.

You’ll need:

• CedarBerry Hill Aromatic Cedar Scent Blocks (purchase these at cedarsafe.com)
• Craft Paper in Various Colors and Patterns
• Small Wooden Dowels (you can typically find them in 2 or 3 foot lengths at any craft store)
• A Hot Glue Gun
• Scissors
• A Protractor
• Ribbon (Optional)
• Large Beads (Optional)

We started by drilling a small hole in the top of each of our cedar scent blocks. This hole should be just big enough for your dowel to fit, so choose an appropriately-sized drill bit.

You can cut down your wooden dowels to whichever length you prefer. Our tallest tree stands about a foot tall. Make sure your dowel fits into the hole you drilled, and secure it in place with a drop of hot glue.

Then, use your protractor (or any other circular objects – bowls, cups, etc.) to trace circles of varying sizes onto your craft paper. You can also do what we did and cut out the pages of an old book, then paint those in any design or color that you’d like.

The sizes of your circles don’t matter too much; the bigger the difference in diameter, the wider and shorter your tree will be. When you stack your pages after cutting them, they should look similar to a bullseye.

Keep in mind that these circles don’t have to be perfect! Imperfections are what makes these trees fun.

Once you are finished cutting your circles, you’ll cut a line from the outside of each circle to its center (as shown in the picture below), making certain that it will fit over your dowel.

Then, you just pull the cut sides over each other to make a shallow paper cone. They can overlap as much or as little as you want.

Now place each cone around your dowel. You may have to secure some of the pages with some hot glue to keep them from slipping.

Leave enough room at the top of your dowel to decorate with ribbon and beads, or cut out paper stars to glue to the top.  Make those little trees your own!

A Unique Touch to a Christmas Classic

For those of you who are looking to do something a little different with your Christmas tree this year, we’ve got the perfect project for you. This faux Christmas tree planter is the perfect alternative to a tree skirt for a unique Christmas tree this holiday season.

You’ll need:

• 12 CedarSafe Tongue & Groove Planks (available at most major retailers – visit cedarsafe.com for more information)
• Wood Glue
• A Saw
• A Ruler and Measuring Tape
• 1”x2” wood scraps (2 pieces at least 6”-7” long)
• A Drill and Screwdriver
• Hinges

We decided that our faux planter dimensions would be 36 inches at the bottom and 30 inches at the top based on a tree height of 7 ½ – 8 feet and a 28-inch diameter tree stand. However you can choose a width for your faux planter that best fits the size of your tree.

Start with three boards lined up side by side, fitting together the tongues and grooves. On the bottom board, measure across thirty six inches from the edge and mark it with a pencil. On the top board, make two marks from the end, one at 3 inches and the other at 33 inches.

You can use your ruler to connect the dots to form a diagonal across the three boards. Do this for each of the four sides, and then cut along the lines you drew. Make sure to save the scrap wood because you’ll be using it in the next step!

If you have a steady hand, you can cut the boards with a jigsaw similar to the photo above, but a miter saw would give you a more accurate cut and angle.

Now that all your pieces are cut, fit your sides back together and use the scrap wood as a backing to glue your boards.

Once you’ve done this for all four sides of your planter, wait a couple of hours for your glue to dry. You may even want to put something heavy over the scrap pieces of planking as they dry, to ensure good adhesion to the planks. You’ll want the backing to be very sturdy before connecting the sides

In the next step, you will attach the sides of your planter. Since the planks are only ¼” thick, you will need a piece of 1”x2” wood to connect two sides to one another. You will do this by screwing in each side of the planter into the 1”x2” wood to create a corner.  First, drill a hole in the top and bottom of your planter side where it will adhere to the 1”x2” wood.  Make sure the screws from each side will not intersect by staggering the holes.

With the first piece, line up your 1”x2” wood on the backside of the planters, and drill a screw into the holes you made earlier. Then line up your second side and screw it into the 1”x2” wood to create a corner.

Repeat the previous steps to create a three-sided box.

The last side will be connected by hinges, so you can open your planter and place it around your tree. We used an additional piece of scrap wood to connect the hinge to the back of each planter side, so the screws wouldn’t go through the front of our planter. Line up your hinges and draw a spot to drill the holes, and then screw each side of the hinge to the planter.

Now you should have a 4-sided box with one side that opens like a door! Put it around your tree and start showing it off!