Why was 2014 one of the best hearth years in the past 40?

That was a question we posed to hearth manufacturers throughout January and well into February as they told us how great a year they had just finished. For quite a number, it was the best year ever; for many it was one of the top five years, and for a few others it was just good.

Their answers were consistent: “I just don’t know,” they said.

The same held true one year ago, when the editorial on this page had the headline of “Great Sales, But Why?”

You remember 2013 don’t you, when sales were fairly flat for the first few quarters, then exploded at the beginning of September?

No one (manufacturers) could answer the “Why?” question then, and they still can’t now.

So we sent a survey out to hearth retailers on February 2, with only one question: You guessed it. Why were sales so great in 2014? Answers varied by region and, as you might suspect, there really is no single answer. It’s a combination of the following factors, depending, of course, on region and product (gas, wood, pellet):

Cold weather, power outages, fear of such outages, desire to keep warm during an outage, costs of fossil fuels, costs of electricity, the economy in general, new construction, remodeling, consumer confidence, investing in their homes, desire for self-reliance, quality of new hearth products, replacing older units, and more younger buyers (Millennials?).

Squeeze them all together and you might end up with the following summary: Cold Weather, Power Outages, Stronger Economy, Confident Consumers, Costs of Fossil Fuels.

“Perspective”

We, like many others, have always admired the people, and the company, that is Glen Raven and its Sunbrella brand. Words such as smart, interesting, hard-working come to mind, as does the phrase, “They don’t let the grass grow under their feet,” meaning that they act rather than procrastinate.

That may be particularly true of Gina Wicker, Design & Creative director, Glen Raven Custom Fabrics. Not only does she direct Sunbrella’s fabric designs, she also manages creative aspects of the company’s marketing communications programs, such as photography, advertising, collateral, website design, sample books, etc.

To chronicle the tasks this woman accomplishes would require more pages than we have in this magazine; to accompany her on her travels would require more energy than most of us have. So we concentrated on discussing one program she manages – with the help of others, including the company’s long-time ad agency, Wray Ward.

It’s called “Perspective,” and it’s a series of web-based videos that describe (presently) unconventional uses of Sunbrella fabric, such as in the interior of a sailboat, an Airstream trailer or a loft in Atlanta, all of which are interior uses of a fabric commonly considered made for the outdoors.

Wicker’s task is to introduce the brand and its performance features to potential users/customers. Her job is to build the brand, and she does it well.