An ‘oak’ and his purpleheart

It was a welcome addition to the North Coast community – a store selling a variety of gorgeous handmade wooden furniture.

Robbie Howie has always worked in furniture, but always on the retail side. He fancied himself a bit of a hobbyist, though it was only a few years ago that he started making things, teaching himself in the process.

“It started when I renovated my house in Umtata, I bought myself a table saw and just started doing my own stuff.”

One of the first things he made was a chopping board.

And the boards are still Robbie’s favourite thing to make, forming an integral part of their store.

“They are more of art pieces than anything else. We don’t use stains. I use a timber called purpleheart which actually comes out purple. Then I’ll use walnut and maple, so you’ve got quite a dark brown and then almost a white. So the contrast, with a strip of purple is colourful and fun to make.”

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The end-grain boards are ideal for those with expensive knives, as the fibres bend out the way when you cut down. Though, said his wife Carmen, some people think the boards are too nice to chop on, and use them as cheese boards instead.

The couple opened their doors at the Litchi Orchard at the beginning of 2018. They also do a lot of custom work and installations.

Their furniture is very modern, designed with clean lines and angles.

While Robbie doesn’t make all the pieces on offer, he does design them and is involved in the entire process. He uses mostly oak and other hard woods.

Carmen manages the shop and finds suppliers for the décor items.

Together they are a formidable team, and Howie & Co. continues to grow from strength to strength.

They plan to focus more on solidifying their range.

“We will still do the custom work but I want to limit the amount because of the time it takes. I want to grow our range of ready-made furniture that people can just pick up and buy.”

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