Wood Buying Guide
We stock many wooden products and have put together this guide to explain the origins of the different woods used. Many are trees that are being given a second lease of life after they have reached the end of their primary use, for example, fruiting.
Rubberwood is harvested from rubber trees that were tapped for latex, at the end of their useful lifecycle — typically after about thirty years. It's a hardwearing wood so often the choice when heavy duty usage is on the cards. Lanka Kade use rubberwood to make their toys, for example!
Olive wood is derived from the olive tree, a species of small, fruit-bearing trees found in much of Africa, the Mediterranean basin, the Arabian Peninsula and southern Asia. Before they are felled, olive trees have thick, irregular trunks and knotted branches, making for interesting-shaped planks that are rarely angular. A perfect example of its pattern diversity can be seen Dassie Artisan's salad servers.
Olive trees can live for hundreds of years, and while they take a long time to grow, the wood is often a by-product of the agricultural industry, since trees eventually stop producing good fruit. This makes olive wood a sustainable material.
Mango wood is used to make goods when ancient mango trees have come to the end of their fruiting life. These unique vases that look like earthenware by Dassie Artisan are one of a range of items made entirely from mango wood.
Lemonwood is excellent for carving and it is often used for turning, fishing rods and cabinet making. Our Bohemia Honey Dipper is made from intricately carved lemonwood.
Bamboo is one of nature’s most sustainable plants. It is a rapid-growing grass that constantly sends up new shoots and can be harvested every 4-5 years. Not only is it a sustainable product with a plethora of uses, it is good for the environment in its most natural form: as a plant. Bamboo removes CO2 from the atmosphere and produces over 30% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees, and so helps combat global warming. It offers an opportunity to stop the destruction of forests, as it can be selectively harvested without destroying the grove or stand.
Additionally, bamboo's ability to rapidly soak up excess nutrients contained in wastewater has captured the attention of environmental and manufacturing engineers as an environmentally safe and reliable way to deal with waste issues.
Bamboo stabilises the earth. Its root system helps to prevent soil erosion and improves the soil by removing excess nitrogen. It also retains an abundance of water, helping to reduce runoff, protect riverbanks and reduce water pollution (due to its high nitrogen consumption).
Bamboo grows successfully without fertilisers and pesticides. The bamboo plant, and the products it is made into, are biodegradable. It is harvested without the use of energy guzzling tractors. The root system stays intact and the bamboo regrows, also helping soil stability. Bamboo also grows on hill slopes where nothing else is viable. The yield from an acre of bamboo is far greater than the yield from cotton.
Bamboo can be used as a textile (clothing, towels…) or a hard material (cooking wares). Bamboo is 99.8% naturally antibacterial. Take a look at our bambu range of products.