AFRICA

WENGE

Wenge wood has excellent strength and hardness properties, and come in shades dark enough to be used as a substitute for ebony wood. Heartwood is medium brown, sometimes with a reddish or yellowish hue, with streaks that are almost black. The grain is straight, with a very coarse texture.

DISTRIBUTION
Found in Central Africa.

COMMON USES
Veneer, panelling, furniture, turned objects, and musical instruments.

DURABILITY
Wenge is a very durable wood, and is resistant to termite attacks.

OTHER POPULAR CHOICES:

American Walnut

Burmese Teak

Merbau

Satin Wood
(Afrormosia)

Carbonized Vertical Bamboo

White Oak

The post Wenge appeared first on LUMBERmart.

ALTHOUGH he had early exposure in woodwork during his schooling days, it was a random job opportunity that acquainted Charles Lee with wood products and led to his eventual rediscovery of carpentry.

The trained accountant had then just returned from abroad and had ended up working with a timber company. After five years, Lee realised that he quite like the production of wood products.

Around the same time, he also started noticing that parquet flooring, which was gaining popularity in the 1990s, was also starting to get a bad rap among consumers.

“At that time, everyone was complaining about their parquet floors. Some parts of the floor was more shiny and the pieces were coming out.

“I wondered why the product in other countries looked so nice but ours don’t look good. Then I realised that what was lacking was really the installation skills. There was nothing wrong with wood flooring. They’ve been around for a long time. What was wrong was the workmanship, ” he says.

So he founded Lumber Mart Sdn Bhd in 1999 because he thought he could do a better job than most other flooring providers in town. Besides, it seemed like there was good money to be made in wooden flooring.

But Lee admits that they had a bit of a blunder when they first started. In an attempt to provide better workmanship, they mainly copied “whatever others were doing overseas”.

He soon learned that there were methods that had to be modified to accommodate the local climate.

“People always say our climate is not good for wood flooring. When I went to the US, they told me the opposite. They said our climate was good for wood flooring.

“Wood moves when the temperature and humidity change. And here, they are relatively the same throughout the year. In temperate countries, the variance is high so it is harder to control wood.

“So I did some research, bought books and attended conferences. Then I got my craftsman degree in flooring, ” he shares.

By 2003, the company had discovered and patented what Lee thought was the best installation system for wood flooring. It was a termite- and water-resistant wood flooring installation system.

Lee also took up a study in flooring inspection and is currently the only certified wood inspector in Malaysia.

New lines

With his works in flooring gaining traction, Lumber Mart started getting demand for wooden doors. Since he was already dealing with wood, why not extend its use in doors, customers asked.

And that was what Lee did about four years ago.

Once he started making wooden doors, he noted that most of the equipment could also be used to make wooden furniture.

“So we might as well extend to furniture.”

Then he found that the furniture segment started producing a lot of wood waste. So he used these leftover pieces to make wooden accessories like cheese boards.

Along with these new product lines, Lee has also had to acquire new skills. He became interested in techniques like dovetail

joinery and hand-buffing and he applied them in his furniture making.

Lee is proud of the fact that his custom-made furniture collection is built with traditional techniques. There are no nails involved.

“And there are no nails in our workshop, ” he emphasises.

If his employees required one, they had to justify their case.

Naturally, this means Lumber Mart’s products are priced a little on the high side. But Lee points out that unlike most mass-manufactured furniture, his are unique pieces that last.

“For solid wood pieces, they are not that much more expensive than normal custom-made furniture that use plywood.

“I don’t like to do cheap things. I don’t mind it if people say, ‘Charles, you do so expensive things’. But I mind it if people say, ‘Charles, you produce rubbish’, ” he laughs.

“Whatever I build, I can use it myself. Things that cannot meet my standards, I won’t build it, ” he adds.

Uplifting the industry

Malaysia is fairly known for its furniture making industry. They make up a sizeable portion of our export.

However, Lee notes that the bulk of the industry mainly deals in the original equipment manufacturing segment. This caters more to the lower range market, which has lower margins.

He opines that there is a need for the industry to upgrade to get a slice of the higher-margin pie, which is currently dominated by countries like Italy, Spain, and more recently, China.

He urges other local players to aim for excellent products rather than settle for mass-produced furniture.

“Our local industry is very far from the real thing. We are not trying to preserve the old art 100%. If you do it fully using traditional methods, it would take too long to finish a piece, there’ll be no commercial value. Likewise, if they are just commercially produced, they are not that nice. So you have to balance both.

“At Lumber Mart, we are combining traditional techniques with modern technology. And there is a pocket of market for this, ” he says.

According to Lee, there is demand for unique carpentry works, such as for hotels, particularly in the Middle East. If local furniture makers could upgrade their products, it’d be easier for them to make a name for themselves in the international market. “We have all the resources here, why shouldn’t we be designing award-winning pieces?” he asks.

This thought also led Lee to seek out the services of renowned furniture designer and master woodworker Thomas Hucker, whose acclaimed work has permanent collections in New York’s Museum of Arts and Design, as well as art galleries and museums across the United States and Europe.

The collaboration saw the development of four signature pieces under the Backley x Thomas Hucker by LUMBERmart collection.

“One of the reasons we wanted to bring sifus like Thomas in was because I wanted my boys to see how he did things. Our employees helped him and they were able to learn as well, ” says Lee.

Lee notes that there is a lack of know-how among locally produced technical talents.

“Compared to overseas technical schools, a lot of our guys here were taught more about the machinery. They are trained to operate the machines so that is more for mass manufacturing. Many can’t do actual carpentry.

“So when they work here, they have to be trained all over again with the tools. But they like it because they are learning new skills, ” he says.

All its employees start off learning about basic woodwork at its flooring department. Those who display an affinity for woodwork will then be brought on work on its wood accessories products and then promoted to its doors line.

The ultimate promotion, Lee says, is to its furniture-making section.

Currently, its flooring products generate about 70% of revenue. But Lee says the flooring market is becoming more saturated and he hopes to expand its furniture arm and export more of its wood accessories.

Lee acknowledges that there is quite a bit of market education needed to also encourage consumers to give local furniture makers a boost.

“It is a challenge trying to change the perception that imported products are better. But our products are just as good. A lot of people didn’t know we can do things like what we are doing here.

“A lot of customers are paying a huge sum for what they think are expensive furniture but they are not getting the value. After a while, these pieces start to peel. A lot of people with deep pockets are still buying mass-produced, but good quality pieces. We ask our customers to pay a little more, have it done in solid wood and they will last, ” he says.

Lumber Mart is also eyeing the corporate market to build fit-ins for property projects.

The post Against the grain- Eyeing a bigger slice of the wooden furniture market appeared first on LUMBERmart.

Redecorate your living space in the everlasting woodworks of LUMBERmart’s Backley Collection

LUMBERMART IS INSPIRING a meaningful lifestyle by introducing Hackley, a bespoke collection made with nature’s finest wood materials. Using heavy-duty methods with state of the art machinery, the collection presents a pristine outlook of fine artisan woodwork that guarantees high and long-lasting quality that will evoke great memories throughout generations.

Each Hackley creation carries much of the brand’s passion for class woodcraft designs; with the practice of combining traditional woodcrafts and a handpicked selection of textures and patterns makes Backley an outstanding home collection.

The brand uses of wood materials derived from American cherry, American walnut and white oak, for an incomparable standard for the Flo cabinet. the Flo chest cabinet. the Slyvia dining table, the Jerele console table, the Tromme wine cabinet and the Spyder dining table.

With a customisable option, customers can delve into a selection of wood options, preferred designs and dimension to ensure their desired Backley creation is truly a unique piece on its own.

The post Architectural Persistence appeared first on LUMBERmart.

Legendary wood artisan, Thomas Hucker shares why he chose furniture as a vehicle for artistic expression and his one of a kind collaboration with luxe wood expert LUMBERmart 

Unabashedly original and brilliant, Thomas Hucker’s furniture designs are imbued with an artistic flair like no other where each unique masterpieces have been made to perfection for discerning clients. The renowned furniture designer and master woodworker has many of his work in permanent collections in New York’s Museum of Arts and Design, as well as art galleries and museums across the United States and Europe. 

Deeply influenced by traditional Japanese aesthetics and contemporary Italian design thinking while also drawing extensively on classical furniture designs, the New Jersey-based furniture designer deftly fuses abstraction and utilitarianism in a recent limited edition collection with LUMBERmart, a premiere bespoke wood furniture and timber architectural solutions provider. 

In this first designer collaboration, Thomas was tasked in developing four signature pieces for the collection known as Backley x Thomas Hucker by LUMBERmart. 

How It All Started 

Says Thomas, “I was in touch with Charles Lee, (Managing Director of LUMBERmart) before I came over and we were sending photographs and drawings to each other. It was a mutual selection of pieces that have been done before that he liked, although, the side table is a new piece, it was designed for this collection here. There were a few adjustments made on improvement as well as with using the timber selection here at LUMBERmart. We were also looking for pieces that had gotten a response within the United States. The chairs are in a collection in a museum right outside Boston and the sideboards have always been one of my favourite pieces.” 

“Our collaboration began three years ago, and from the moment we started talking about furniture making, I knew that Thomas’s skilled craftsmanship and masterful understanding of materials would be the start of something magical,” says Charles. 

A Stunning Collection 

There are basically three groups in furniture so there are tables, seatings and casework, or as Thomas calls it, cabinetry, so he wanted to have one piece representing each of those categories. “I didn’t want to come in with three chairs or three tables, I wanted to have that diversity represented.” 

And the collection is stunning. The Backley x Thomas Hucker Collection by LUMBERmart revels in its fine craftsmanship, premium wood species and functional aesthetic with the four signature pieces individually crafted and personally signed by Thomas himself. 

Out of the four, three are a reinterpretation of his spectacular earlier works. The first piece is the Akiko side chair, with its curvy and elegant silhouette, provides ample support and backrest. Next, the Drummond side table, a complement to the Akiko chair, has sleek angled lines and a shelf bottom which looks suspended in mid-air. Finally, the impressive Credenza console table, with its curved drawers, exudes an ethereal air with its weightless and floating appearance. 

For the pieces that I create, I want the material that I’m working with to shine and that each piece to work because functionality matters to me. 

From West to East 

Pennsylvania-born Thomas, whose repertoire spans from New York to Milan, is currently one of the world’s top 25 furniture designers. He started his training as a two-year apprentice to Leonord Hilgner, a traditionally trained German cabinetmaker, before attending four summer sessions in Penland School of Crafts under the tutelage of top-notch woodworkers such as the American Craft Council (ACC) Gold Medalist, the illustrious Sam Maloof, and ACC Fellow Tage Frid. 

In 1976, he furthered his studies by enrolling in Boston University’s Program in Artisanry where he worked closely with craftsman extraordinaire, Jere Osgood. It was here that he cultivated a strong interest in Japanese aesthetic by taking classes at the Urasenke School of Japanese Tea Ceremony. His pursuit in all things Japanese continued after he obtained a Fulbright scholarship for a residency at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts. 

 Soon after, he went to the prestigious design school, Domus Academy in Milan to study product design. Presently, his acclaimed pieces are in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. 

When asked on what continues to inspire him to do what he does, Thomas shares that he is continuously drawn the material that he works with. “For the pieces that I create, I want the material that I work with to shine and that each piece to work because functionality matters to me.” 

The post Conversation with A Wood Master appeared first on LUMBERmart.

Backley X Thomas Hucker by LUMBERmart

This collection draws inspiration from traditional Japanese aesthetics and contemporary Italian design while also drawing extensively on classical furniture design.

The post Fabulous Gifts For Him: Side Tables & Chairs appeared first on LUMBERmart.

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Although he had early exposure in woodwork during his schooling days, it was a random job opportunity that acquainted Charles Lee with wood products and led to his eventual rediscovery of carpentry.

The trained accountant had then just returned from abroad and had ended up working with a timber company. After five years, Lee realised that he quite like the production of wood products.

Around the same time, he also started noticing that parquet flooring, which was gaining popularity in the 1990s, was also starting to get a bad rap among consumers.

“At that time, everyone was complaining about their parquet floors. Some parts of the floor was more shiny and the pieces were coming out.

“I wondered why the product in other countries looked so nice but ours don’t look good. Then I realised that what was lacking was really the installation skills. There was nothing wrong with wood flooring. They’ve been around for a long time. What was wrong was the workmanship, ” he says.

So he founded Lumber Mart Sdn Bhd in 1999 because he thought he could do a better job than most other flooring providers in town. Besides, it seemed like there was good money to be made in wooden flooring.

But Lee admits that they had a bit of a blunder when they first started. In an attempt to provide better workmanship, they mainly copied “whatever others were doing overseas”.

He soon learned that there were methods that had to be modified to accommodate the local climate.

“People always say our climate is not good for wood flooring. When I went to the US, they told me the opposite. They said our climate was good for wood flooring.

“Wood moves when the temperature and humidity change. And here, they are relatively the same throughout the year. In temperate countries, the variance is high so it is harder to control wood.

“So I did some research, bought books and attended conferences. Then I got my craftsman degree in flooring, ” he shares.

By 2003, the company had discovered and patented what Lee thought was the best installation system for wood flooring. It was a termite- and water-resistant wood flooring installation system.

Lee also took up a study in flooring inspection and is currently the only certified wood inspector in Malaysia.

New lines

With his works in flooring gaining traction, Lumber Mart started getting demand for wooden doors. Since he was already dealing with wood, why not extend its use in doors, customers asked.

And that was what Lee did about four years ago.

Once he started making wooden doors, he noted that most of the equipment could also be used to make wooden furniture.

“So we might as well extend to furniture.”

Then he found that the furniture segment started producing a lot of wood waste. So he used these leftover pieces to make wooden accessories like cheese boards.

Along with these new product lines, Lee has also had to acquire new skills. He became interested in techniques like dovetail

joinery and hand-buffing and he applied them in his furniture making.

Lee is proud of the fact that his custom-made furniture collection is built with traditional techniques. There are no nails involved.

“And there are no nails in our workshop, ” he emphasises.

If his employees required one, they had to justify their case.

Naturally, this means Lumber Mart’s products are priced a little on the high side. But Lee points out that unlike most mass-manufactured furniture, his are unique pieces that last.

“For solid wood pieces, they are not that much more expensive than normal custom-made furniture that use plywood.

“I don’t like to do cheap things. I don’t mind it if people say, ‘Charles, you do so expensive things’. But I mind it if people say, ‘Charles, you produce rubbish’, ” he laughs.

“Whatever I build, I can use it myself. Things that cannot meet my standards, I won’t build it, ” he adds.

Uplifting the industry

Malaysia is fairly known for its furniture making industry. They make up a sizeable portion of our export.

However, Lee notes that the bulk of the industry mainly deals in the original equipment manufacturing segment. This caters more to the lower range market, which has lower margins.

He opines that there is a need for the industry to upgrade to get a slice of the higher-margin pie, which is currently dominated by countries like Italy, Spain, and more recently, China.

He urges other local players to aim for excellent products rather than settle for mass-produced furniture.

“Our local industry is very far from the real thing. We are not trying to preserve the old art 100%. If you do it fully using traditional methods, it would take too long to finish a piece, there’ll be no commercial value. Likewise, if they are just commercially produced, they are not that nice. So you have to balance both.

“At Lumber Mart, we are combining traditional techniques with modern technology. And there is a pocket of market for this, ” he says.

According to Lee, there is demand for unique carpentry works, such as for hotels, particularly in the Middle East. If local furniture makers could upgrade their products, it’d be easier for them to make a name for themselves in the international market. “We have all the resources here, why shouldn’t we be designing award-winning pieces?” he asks.

This thought also led Lee to seek out the services of renowned furniture designer and master woodworker Thomas Hucker, whose acclaimed work has permanent collections in New York’s Museum of Arts and Design, as well as art galleries and museums across the United States and Europe.

The collaboration saw the development of four signature pieces under the Backley x Thomas Hucker by LUMBERmart collection.

“One of the reasons we wanted to bring sifus like Thomas in was because I wanted my boys to see how he did things. Our employees helped him and they were able to learn as well, ” says Lee.

Lee notes that there is a lack of know-how among locally produced technical talents.

“Compared to overseas technical schools, a lot of our guys here were taught more about the machinery. They are trained to operate the machines so that is more for mass manufacturing. Many can’t do actual carpentry.

“So when they work here, they have to be trained all over again with the tools. But they like it because they are learning new skills, ” he says.

All its employees start off learning about basic woodwork at its flooring department. Those who display an affinity for woodwork will then be brought on work on its wood accessories products and then promoted to its doors line.

The ultimate promotion, Lee says, is to its furniture-making section.

Currently, its flooring products generate about 70% of revenue. But Lee says the flooring market is becoming more saturated and he hopes to expand its furniture arm and export more of its wood accessories.

Lee acknowledges that there is quite a bit of market education needed to also encourage consumers to give local furniture makers a boost.

“It is a challenge trying to change the perception that imported products are better. But our products are just as good. A lot of people didn’t know we can do things like what we are doing here.

“A lot of customers are paying a huge sum for what they think are expensive furniture but they are not getting the value. After a while, these pieces start to peel. A lot of people with deep pockets are still buying mass-produced, but good quality pieces. We ask our customers to pay a little more, have it done in solid wood and they will last, ” he says.

Lumber Mart is also eyeing the corporate market to build fit-ins for property projects.

The post Eyeing a bigger slice of the wooden furniture market appeared first on LUMBERmart.