The Master and his apprentice…

They really are two of a kind…

Two parts of the Heritage Furniture legacy, fourth and fifth-generation timber artisans alike, both have forged reputations as specialists in designing and manufacturing handcrafted masterpieces.

Located in an elevated inlet overlooking Geilston Bay, the Heritage Furniture workshop contains a treasure trove of high valued specialty timbers including the iconic Tasmanian Huon Pine, King Billy Pine, Celery-top Pine, Blackwood, Blackheart Sassafras, Myrtle in addition to selected imported timbers such as cedar and mahogany.

In addition, Heritage Furniture has an on-site sawmill with bespoke masterpieces sawn on-site using a combination of traditional methods such as hand dovetailing and carving, whilst using ultra-modern machinery to precisely dress and dry the timbers.

Heritage Furniture sources timber from Island Specialty Timbers, a Fine Timber Tasmanian licensee, that specialises in salvaging hidden treasures in the forest.

Speaking to Responsible Wood’s Jason Ross on-site, Craig Howard discussed the methodology behind its timber selection process.

“Every masterpiece is crafted from us, going out and hand-selecting logs to then ship to our yard and band-mill them ourselves to have complete quality control and continuity of timber.

This puts us above the rest because we can then choose, and book-match every board to best suit the piece of furniture and the client.”

This puts us above the rest because we can then choose, and book-match every board to best suit the piece of furniture and the client.”

For many clients’ material selection is a deeply personal experience, with many hand-selecting boards to put in their furniture pieces.

Every artisan piece is unique and special to its owner!

For Heritage Furniture, sourcing timber from Responsible Wood certified forests matters.

In addition to fine craftsmanship, the inherent value of artisan pieces is in the mystique and scarcity of the timbers themselves.

Heritage Furniture is one of more than 30 Tasmanian timber businesses now covered by the Fine Timber Tasmania’s Group Chain-of-Custody system.

Managed by Brueckner Leech, Mark Leech and Eddy Willis, Fine Timber Tasmania is the largest chain of custody group scheme involved in the Responsible Wood certification scheme.

The Fine Timber Tasmania Chain of Custody system is a simple, yet rigorous system that covers all steps in the supply chain and ensures licensees, such as Wood n Dream, only make timber products that can be traced back to a sustainable and legal source.

Craig Howard explains:

“We source our timber through the Tasmanian Fine Timbers chain of custody. We respect the need to sustainably harvest. We want our industry to be still here in the next century and centuries to come. We ourselves proudly mill, air and kiln-dry all of the special species’ timber we use. In finishing our timbers, we use only natural products as we believe the timber is, in a sense, still alive, still breathing; we believe it is essential to treat fine timber with respect!”

To find out more about Heritage Furniture please visit the Heritage Furniture website. To find out more about Fine Timber Tasmania please visit the Fine Timber Tasmania website. To find out more about Responsible Wood, the Australian Standard for Sustainable Forest Management, please visit Responsible Wood.

Caption: The Heritage Furniture workshop contains a treasure trove of high valued specialty timbers including the iconic Tasmanian Huon Pine, King Billy Pine, Celery-top Pine, Blackwood, Blackheart Sassafras, Myrtle in addition to selected imported timbers such as cedar and mahogany

Caption: For many clients’ material selection is a deeply personal experience, with many hand-selecting boards to put in their furniture pieces.

Caption: In addition to fine craftsmanship, the inherent value of artisan pieces is in the mystique and scarcity of the timbers themselves.