Plus

Plus

Artistry in wood
By Smriti Daniel
The wood gleams in the dim light. It curves and curls fluidly, here forming a chair, there a small table. I understand only too well how furniture and artistry go hand in hand, as I stand there in the Woodman Lanka factory; for surrounding me is furniture that one could well liken to works of art.

Manufacturers of furniture since 1983, Woodman Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, are also designers of repute. The company is well known for their period furniture and interiors. In alliance with such internationally known names as Arthur Brett, Hallmark, Marks and Spencer and Habitat, Woodman Lanka have seen their products carve a niche in the world market.

Woodman Lanka can now count among their clients not only as many as 27 of the island’s star class hotels but numerous offices, residences and banks as well. They attribute this success to the consistently high quality products they create. Maintaining such standards requires a great deal of hard work along with plain and simple know-how. Indrajith de Silva is the man well able to do both.

As the General Manager of Lanka Woodman, Mr. de Silva has for well over two decades applied his heart and soul to the creation of fine furniture. “We started with quality as our watchword,” he says, going on to add that that has been their strongest guiding principle in whatever work they did, be it for the SOS village or for a five star hotel. Combining both modern technology and traditional skills in craftsmanship, Woodman Lanka maintains a continuous quality control system from sawing to kiln drying and at last in the final assembly of the furniture.

Each project, and by now there are hundreds, commands the special interest of Mr. de Silva. Nevertheless, he has a favourite - the private villa of the Deputy Head of State in Oman. The “villa” which amounted to a palace was furnished by Woodman Lanka, who did everything for it including the bullet proof doors.

Having successfully completed several overseas projects in collaboration with leading architects from Sri Lanka as well as abroad, the company also custom designs furniture or interiors. Their work, carried out by their 350 strong workforce, is expensive but not overpriced. We go into the details,” says Mr. de Silva, adding that their quality furniture will withstand the test of time and use.

Such things as “moisture levels in the wood” and “joining” have to be taken particular care of. Depending on where the furniture will on sale in, the moisture level has to be varied. If not properly treated, the wood is liable to crack, making the piece of furniture unusable. Joining, where the individual parts that comprise a piece of furniture are joined together, must also be done with skill and precision.

Mr. de Silva, unlike many GMs loves to get his hands dirty and in particular enjoys the process of joining. “This is when the piece stops being a design and becomes real,” he says.

Though many are now opting to have more modern steel based furniture in their homes, the appeal of wood remains timeless. “Wood is nice, but expensive,” says Mr. de Silva. Lanka Woodman now works primarily with mahogany. Choosing mahogany for your furniture is the more eco-friendly option by far because the tree matures faster and is also found in abundance all over the island, Mr. de Silva explains.

Back to Plus