David Francis Furniture :: Blog

With the ever-increasing cost of materials, especially wood, we have turned our attention to the past. Instead of staying the course and simply allowing rising costs to affect pricing for our customers, we are again focusing on rattan and getting really creative! I am currently in the process of developing new design concepts that will propel this once-casual furniture to the level of fine furniture. So far, I’ve got about 30 new designs on the boards.

In order to glamorize rattan, I had to throw out any pervious notions I had about the material. I started to view rattan poles as a substitute for wood. Then, I began seeing woven cane used as fabric. I envisioned the uneven surfaces created by the natural poles and weaves revealing texture and dimension.

A concept for these new designs is based on using color to achieve depth through hand-rubbing the finishes. I want designs that are constructed with materials and weaves that we can “hang” color in. This creates the depth that I am looking for.

Every new design concept is something I’ve never done before. It’s totally fresh and new. I feel I have succeeded in achieving the goal of bringing rattan and woven cane to the luxury market. I hope you will agree when you see the new collections.

As an avid follower of David Francis, you have probably noticed that in recent years we have diversified our line by introducing a lot of wood designs to complement our rattan pieces.  Our wood furniture has run the gauntlet from very traditional to transitional to contemporary.  However, with the current cost of fine hardwoods skyrocketing, it has become necessary to seek out alternative materials for designs. Ironically this has brought our attention back to rattan.

Since the early 1950’s when rattan was brought indoors and made fashionable, the basic forms, materials and patterns have remained the same or similar.  Most people would classify rattan furniture as being casual in nature. It has been designed this way on purpose - it fulfills a specific lifestyle. However, we are set to do something new – we are taking rattan designs from casual to luxurious.  

Besides being “eco-friendly,” rattan is extremely strong and durable.  It also holds finishes better than wood. Because it is so pliable, it has a lot of the properties you look for in construction. However, at this time, the most important thing rattan has going for it is its cost. Certain wood designs have become so expensive to produce that it has reduced the number of prospective buyers to a point they are no longer economically feasible. Therefore, we must make necessary adjustments in our product offering.

David Francis Furniture has already begun the transition from casual rattan to sophisticated and luxurious rattan designs. You will see the first of these in the 2009 catalog due out in early January. There will be more to come in 2010 and 2011. We are committed to offering you only the highest quality products for the luxury market regardless of the materials use. I am extremely excited to have this opportunity to “re-invent” rattan and to bring our new luxury rattan designs to market.  I hope you will be too.