We make our wooden products throughout Bali and Java. All our wooden furniture is kiln-dried. Made in our partner furniture factory located in the heart of Jepara. Controlled by our resident QC team.
We use teak, suar, mahogany, mindi, mango and sungkai wood. All our wood is sustainable from government-controlled plantations. This is the highest quality wood. With solid teak, we only use grades A and B which is the best.
Note: Many small Balinese and Javanese manufacturers don’t kiln-dry the wood. They cut corners, by leaving it outside to “sun-dry” as it’s free and a lot cheaper process than kiln-drying. Indonesia is a tropical country with a long rainy season and all-year-round high humidity.
They will tell you it’s ok. But it’s not dry enough. The wood still has a higher level of water in it compared to being kiln-dried. You run the risk of the furniture arriving mouldy.
Also, many use “Jati Kampung” which means “teak from the village”. It’s not government-controlled. It could be from private land or illegal logging. It’s very cheap, compared to legal wood but of inferior quality.
Government-controlled wood uses the best quality seeds and the best care is taken to ensure a healthy tree. Whereas “Jati Kampung” just grows in the wild. You can’t sell “Jati Kampung” for export as it is illegal. You can’t get a V-legal certificate as it’s breaking Indonesian law.
These are not acceptable to us. These issues can lead to quality and legal problems. For these reasons, we avoid making furniture with these types of companies. If their price is cheap, you now know why!
Our Advice: If you use another furniture company. For furniture design and production ask the question: Is the wood sun-dried? Is it Jati Kampung? If it’s kiln-dried ask to see a picture of the oven. If the answer is yes to either question or they can’t provide a picture of their oven.
Don’t buy and walk away! You are asking for trouble if you do.