A message from the Chair Man

On our recent trip to the Indonesian Archipelago we caught up with one of the region’s master rattan craftsmen. Satyo has been creating wicker furniture, fishing baskets, beds, boxes, chests and more for decades, a skill he has learned from traditional methods handed down over generations.

Rattan is the plant or tropical vine that is used in the art of wicker making and is extraordinarily versatile and better still, sustainable.

Over the centuries, as well as being used to make furniture, it has been used in the construction of local property, clothing, weaponry, art and crafts, a food source, medicine and something I’d rather not remember from my childhood of growing up in England, as corporal punishment or ‘the cane’ at school.

Rattan as a material is lightweight, durable, suitable for outdoor use and to an extent, flexible.

Harvesting Rattan gives local loggers an alternative to logging the slow growing hardwood trees in the forest and because it grows back to maturity within a relatively short 5-7 years it is a more sustainable way to manage the fragile forests and wildlife of the region.

Rattan is much easier to harvest, transport and requires simpler tools to manage. This makes it a huge potential in forest maintenance, since it provides a profitable crop that depends on rather than replaces trees.

Its sustainability and ultimately biodegradable composition make it the perfect replacement for so much of today’s plastic items.

Of course, as always, our Indonesian container will be full of a plethora of other beautiful handcrafted items and home decor pieces from Sumatran shell necklaces, Sumba stone statues, Dutch inspired vintage teak benches, petrified stools, carved furniture, bronze pots and more.

Orient House welcome you to try one of Satyo’s unique hand crafted rattan chairs for yourself this week at our showroom at Orient House, 45 Bridge Road, Glebe, NSW and sit comfortably knowing that you have not only taken a strain of the worlds natural resources but have also taken the strain off the financial burden for Satyo, his family and village.

FIND US

Orient House, 45 Bridge Road, Glebe, NSW Australia
Phone (02) 9660 3895
orienthouse@orienthouse.com.au