Boatwood

With our nautical boatwood furniture, everyone wins, from the fishermen, to the environment, and you. These truly unique pieces can blend in a variety of decors, and they are as functional as they are beautiful.

The Boatwood Journey – Fishing boats are commonplace on the exotic island of Bali and their neighboring Indonesian islands. These colorful boats are not only beautiful, but are important tools for fishermen, helping provide their families with the essentials to survive. Over time, however, connectors rust, steel fails, and adhesive joints become loose. While the wood itself stays strong, these boats become too weak to survive the punishing seas and exhausting schedules.

Traditionally, when a fishing trawler becomes too expensive to repair, it might simply be turned into cooking fuel or firewood. Our supplier steps in to save these rich hardwoods from the chopping block. Believing in fair trade practices, the team has long established working relationships with many of the fishing villages, fisherman, and village elders. The fishermen sell them to our team, often earning them several months wages, putting them on the path to a new boat to continue their craft.

The boatwood is made from hard woods such as teak and ironwood that are in short supply naturally – and some only available from these recycled boats! We do not chop down forests, distress the new wood and call it recycled. And, we never encourage anyone to do so.

With this eco-friendly boatwood taken to the workshop in Bali, the team enlists their skilled craftsmen to step in and provide new life and purpose for this beautiful wood. Furniture pieces and accessories are formed entirely from these recycled and reclaimed fishing boats. Preserving the naturally aged beauty of the material, the wood is never re-painted. The years of layered paint, weathered by time and elements, help create a striking, one-of-a-kind piece of art. Each piece is heirloom quality, made to last several lifetimes.