From humble beginnings, hand crafted furniture from Cane Logix is now proudly seen in some of the world’s leading hotels.
When Cane Logix founders Allan and Theresa Savage and Bobby Warren established their venture in 1997, they could have little imagined their hand-made furniture would stand proud in some of the world’s leading hotels.
Yet, 18 years on their beautiful creations, produced in their New Germany-based factory and exclusively employing South African labour, has hand-crafted pieces for the Red Carnation Group including The Oyster Box, been incorporated into Club Leisure Group resorts, and is sold through Builders Warehouse, Builders Express and a host of independent retailers and designers nationally and into Africa.
However, that does not mean any job is “too small”. The partners welcome everyone into their newly-revamped showroom set amid the 1 500m2 of factory so the public and designers can both marvel at the finished products and witness first-hand the weaving, sewing and carpentry master craftsmanship involved in manufacturing bespoke cane, fibre-cane and wooden furniture and combinations thereof.
Their pleasure extends to breathing new life into damaged furniture, repairing the handicraft and revamping a beloved piece that may otherwise have been discarded.
Allan says the company employs around 60 people, some of whom have been with him since 1987 from an earlier business, but during the peak periods, those figures rise to anything from 90 to100. However, when joking the working environment was “like one family with all its joys and occasional arguments”, it is more than banter – mothers and daughters work alongside sons, husbands, aunts, uncles and cousins virtually all drawn from the surrounding community.
Their range includes chairs, tables, dining-room and lounge or patio suites, headboards, bar stools and mirrors, with the accessories and cushions produced amid the hive of activity in the sewing department. Before the Indonesian government clamped down on exporting raw materials, they also manufactured products made of natural weaving from scratch.
Today they receive the unfinished products from Indonesia proudly boasting the intricate Balinese carving and artistic lines, and complete the furniture to clients’ colour specifications. Theresa also has a talent for spotting new trends and concepts to introduce into the range or considers older designs and provides them with a fresh appeal.
“Customer service, quality and back up are the key elements for business success. We can back our products, because we are locally based, whereas an imported product has little, if any, after-sales support,” says Theresa.
It has been this philosophy that sees them supporting local – from their employees to their suppliers of raw materials.
“In our years in business, we have learnt reinvention is essential. Entrepreneurship is not an easy road, but it is a rewarding one and it demands keeping with the times and adapting to changes,” Allan concludes.
The showroom is open daily from 7am to 4.30pm and on Saturday morning. Contact them on 031 705 6955 or www.canelogix.co.za