Introducing our new 100% reclaimed teak furniture collection

We love wood. But there’s something even better: reclaimed wood. That’s warm, radiant, solid wood that doesn’t cost a single tree – in fact it saves trees. So, it’s a real thrill to unveil our new Kediri collection, an exclusive range of 100% reclaimed teak furniture. Here’s the full story…

The launch of Kediri is the end of a long journey for Myakka. We’ve been working for years on bringing our customers ethically sourced and traded hardwood furniture that uses recycled timber. Recycled pine is easier to find and our Fernley Hallway Organiser Bench in reclaimed pine is a great success. But teak is a tropical hardwood tree (Tectona grandis) native to South and Southeast Asia. In these parts, reclamation has been slower to get underway. Based in Semarang, our supplier for Kediri is one of the very few companies in Indonesia making high quality reclaimed teak furniture.

Progressive fair trade partners

And wow!, they are passionate about protecting and preserving their environment from illegal logging. Adamant that no tree will be cut down to produce their furniture, the company uses only 100% recycled teak and achieves the highest ecological and social standards of production.

The wood comes from old disused colonial teak houses, footbridges and other buildings in Blora, a city in Central Java. Seeing the potential of this neglected but still mightily strong, beautifully seasoned wood, the company collects it in a responsible if sometimes eccentric way (one of their small-scale suppliers delivers wood by bicycle). All this teak is FSC-certified as reclaimed – your guarantee that it protects the world’s forests.

Lovingly restored teak wood

Once received by our supplier, the sorting of the old teak begins. Skilled craftspeople then carefully remove nails and hinges, seeing beyond the wood’s weathered surface to a richer heart within. What’s truly wonderful is that this salvaged teak is even lovelier than new plantation-grown teak wood – having a richer grain and colour thanks to decades of air drying, yet being just as strong and durable as new wood. Small repairs known as ‘let ins’ are made where necessary, but tiny imperfections are intentionally left intact to tell the story of the timber’s former life. Having said that, although the wood reveals a history, after restoration, it does not look ‘old’.

Next, the beautifully restored teak wood is handcrafted to come alive again in the various pieces of our Kediri collection for bedrooms and living spaces. Designed along clean contemporary lines to celebrate the beautiful wood and suit the homes we live in today, the furniture is made by highly skilled employees. Each one benefits from fair pay and good working conditions. Finally, a hand waxed finish enhances and protects each piece of reclaimed teak furniture.

Flourishing forests and communities

But the story doesn’t end there. The Kediri collection goes one better than making new furniture from old timber. Every piece sold also supports a ground-breaking reforestation initiative called Trees4Trees™. Based in and around the forests of Indonesia, this not-for-profit organisation is leading the way in ethical timber production. It works by empowering local communities through partnership reforestation and education. Community-planted and owned forests are a fantastic fight back to illegal logging.

Already in Central Java, Trees4Trees has planted almost 1.5million trees, helped over 14,000 families, and captured over half a million tonnes of CO2. Every piece in our exclusive Kediri collection supports this amazing environmental effort. On each item, you’ll find a swing tag with a unique number on it. Enter this number at www.Trees4Trees.org and you’ll see the location of the tree plantings funded by your purchase.

It’s wonderful that more and more people want to know where the wood that makes their furniture comes from. With our new Kediri 100% reclaimed teak furniture collection, everyone who’s concerned about the wellbeing of the planet and the welfare of workers can shop with confidence.