The Beauty of Ash Wood
From sourcing raw materials to sending parcels in our plastic-free packaging, we take a responsible approach to every area of our process; handcrafting high-quality, functional pieces with sustainable principles to help protect our planet.
When it came to designing our collection of home accessories, we prioritised creating a functional range of products using the most sustainable materials and processes to continue to deliver durable pieces that will be loved, used and stand the test of time. After lots of research and experimentation, we decided to craft this range exclusively from ash wood and celebrate this unique and versatile natural material.
Why Use Ash Wood?
Our process is designed to protect and prevent damage to our natural environment. We’re committed to using sustainably sourced timber from responsibly managed forests, and continually weigh up the credentials, carbon footprints and traditional techniques to inform what we buy and where we buy it from. We handcraft all of our steam bent product range and large-scale bespoke projects exclusively from sustainably sourced wood.
Having heavily researched the most sustainable materials to use, we decided to use ash wood to create our latest collection. Not only is ash wood fast-growing and self-seeding (meaning it is a more sustainable option than lots of other types of wood), it’s also in plentiful supply as a direct consequence of ash dieback in Europe.
The Qualities of Ash Wood
Ash trees themselves are incredibly important for our environment, providing a rich habitat for wildlife and insects and offering a light canopy that allows sunlight to hit the woodland floor and encourage wildflowers to grow; these fantastic qualities aside, ash wood is also light but strong, making it a brilliant material for manufacturing.
Ash wood is one of the toughest hardwoods available, its shock absorbing and strong, whilst also being flexible and versatile. We predominately make our lighting ranges from ash, oak and walnut wood, whilst are unique furniture range uses mostly oak wood.
Working with naturally supple ash wood enables us to create pieces with more complex bends (such as those in our Amble Hanging Seat and 2018 Chelsea Flower Show Bench) with a much smaller chance of splintering, splitting or snapping than using oak or walnut. This lets us be more experimental in our designs without worrying about wastage. When designing our new accessories collection, we knew that using ash wood would enable us to create the signature curves and twists present in the range.
The beauty of ash wood
The appearance of ash wood varies from one tree to the next, with huge variation between the grain, colour and tone of each piece of wood. The wood can appear pinker or more yellow and can have delicate or distinctive grains. This makes each design we create using this wood completely unique, celebrating its naturally distinctive beauty.
“This new collection celebrates the beauty of ash wood in all its varying tones and grains, making for a cohesive yet unique range of products. Sustainability is really important to us, so using ash wood was the obvious choice for this collection as it’s the fastest-growing hardwood and also self-seeding, which means it grows in plentiful supply. This durable and supple material, paired with our ecological process, allows us to create these complex shapes with minimal wastage.”
- Tom Raffield, Founder
Inspired by the sculptural tree canopies that surround our Cornish studios, our new range of wooden shelving, mirrors and wall hooks brings the outdoors in, combining function and elegance and celebrating the strength, versatility and unique character of sustainably sourced ash wood, whilst showcasing our signature steam bent twists and curves.
Posted: 20.03.20
Updated: 13.01.23