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The Hardwood Company Factfile
Known respectfully as ‘Mr. Bob’ wherever he travels throughout the subcontinent Robert Haywood is the founder and visionary of The Hardwood Company.
For more than twenty years he has been travelling and developing unique relations with the craftsmen and wood merchants of India, today few if any can equal his knowledge and experience of rosewood furniture production and even fewer can reap the benefits of the relationships he has forged over the years.
Robert always says, “The secret of being able to produce the right piece of furniture, at the right price is all about knowing the people who make it and having a real understanding of how it is made.”
For centuries there has been a furniture caste residing deep within the desert of Eastern Rajasthan, traditionally manufacturing the very best of the best furniture for their Maharajah. These same gifted craftsmen are today working for The Hardwood Company to produce the company’s timeless collection of simple and classic furniture.
Key to the creation of the ‘right piece of furniture’ is always the consistent quality of wood used in its construction; at this price none is better than the rosewood grown on the foothills of the Himalayas.
Central to The Hardwood Company’s success is the unique relationship Robert has forged with the wood merchants whose business has been supplying top quality cured rosewood known as ‘Heartwood’ cut only from the whole tree.
Once the wood is selected for the item of furniture it will be used to create, production begins with the kiln drying. This is a highly skilled and painstaking process; dry too quickly and the wood will become brittle and crack, too slowly, however, the heart of the log or plank may remain damp and will eventually finish up bending and twisting.
Once the wood has been expertly prepared, the craftsmen set to work fashioning each item by hand, according to the exacting design, quality control demands and precise production instructions set by The Hardwood Company.
Finally after many days of painstaking craft, the nearly completed ‘right piece of furniture is ready for finishing.
By carefully applying only natural wax to the crafted virgin wood, a skill learned over generations, the living beauty of the wood is finally revealed.
What more impressive sight can there be, than to see the sun reflecting on a piece of hand-crafted living rosewood revealing the hidden beauty of its unique depth of grain... coming to life in hues of gold, black and rose red?
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