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Woodwright Finish Offers Heirloom Essentials Display

Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, September 29, 2011

MOUNT EATON, Ohio - Retailers can polish up their cash flow and make their customers happy in as little as 81 vertical inches, according to coatings supplier Woodwright Finish.

Heirloom Essentials uses vertical space to display its line of cleaners, polishes, microfiber cloths and touchup kits.

     That's the height of a display cabinet provided by Heirloom Essentials, a cleaner and polish brand manufactured by Woodwright, which also makes stains and varnishes for the furniture industry.
     Stores are finding auxiliary products such as Heirloom can add dollars to a sale and bulk up margins that are diminishing because of price deflation, the company says.
     Heirloom Essentials limits its products to fine furniture and gift stores, and doesn't sell in grocery, chain or home improvement stores, said Terri Babcock, vice president of sales for the familyowned company. The polish and cleaner has a premium price tag, about $10 each, but is worth it because of its superior cleaning and polishing process, Babcock said.
     She said the water-based cleaner, called Spotless, removes fingerprints, grease, splatter stains and just about anything from nearly any hard surface.
     "Sometimes at trade shows I don't like to tell people everything it does because it sounds like snake oil," she said with a laugh. "I don't want to sound like an infomercial."
     A key ingredient that's missing in Spotless is ammonia, which Babcock said eats into varnish. "If you've ever been in a restaurant and the table is sticky and soft - they've used ammonia," Babcock said.

     After Spotless, the second step is Heirloom Essentials Fine Furniture Polish. A big difference from some other polishes is that it's available in 14 fragrances, including the most popular and the brand's signature fragrance, Cherry Blossom.
     The polish contains no silicones or waxes. Unlike silicon, which repels varnishes, the Heirloom Essentials formula penetrates and revitalizes wood where it has become microscopically porous and dry, according to Babcock. Wax allows liquids to permeate wood, causing white ring, water spots and blushes.
     Woodwright got its start in 1972 when Babcock's parents, Dave and Valeria Easterday, began mixing coatings as part of their painting business. The company serves a number of furniture manufacturers, including many Amish shops. The cleaning and polishing products came later.
     "We had people calling and asking us what to clean their furniture with," Babcock said. "We couldn't recommend any cleaner because we didn't know if it contained silicone or wax. So after many years of hearing retailers say that they really wanted to clean their furniture (with a good product), we said let's develop one that we know works."
     Since Heirloom Essentials isn't sold as a mass market product, "It gives customers a reason to come back to the store where they may not have had a reason because they already purchased their furniture, so why come back? They also tell their friends."

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