The specialist guide to Asian antiques and exotic home decor from the far east.

The Chinese have always prized hardwoods for their dense grain, durability and rich color. But with Beijing being located in the north of China, one must wonder where all those tropical hardwoods being made into classical Chinese furniture today come from? Well, in most cases the answer is the Dong Ba Timber Market or “Dōngbà  [...]

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I get so backed up with blog posts, because there is so many interesting and fascinating things to see and talk about. And being detailed oriented, I really want to spend the time to talk about each item in detail, the history behind it, where it comes from and all the other details that make [...]

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Burma hua li,  Old rosewood, Red sour branch,  Ebony, Small leaf tan,  

Vein Ebony, Thailand Hua li, Vietnam Huang hua li, Chicken Wing Wood, Black Sour Branch, Big leaf tan 
 

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Teak wood (yóu mù 柚 木)
Click here to listen to Chinese

Latin: Tectona grandis (IE true teak).
African name: Baikiaea Plurijuga (Rhodesian Teak)
Other trade names: Burma teak, Rangoon teak, moulmein teak, gia thi, jati sak, kyun, mai sak and rosawa.

African teak wood trees and lumber

Teakwood is an average hardness wood from the Verbenaceae family, found in various [...]

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I was in the warehouse the other day looking over some pieces when I was reminded how much reclaimed, recycled and/or renewable materials are definitely a growing trend. A quick Google turns up a range of articles from Reclaimed furniture: Give trees a chance to buzz on various designer blogs. Even [...]

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Here is some great collection of articles I found on wood finish supply.com’s website about lacquers & wood finishing. Its quite technical and really intended for woodworkers and the like but if thats you, then this is a good resource.
Here is a sample of some of the articals:

The Atanomy of A Wood Finish
These 3 basic [...]

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