The la terre exotic hardwoods

Care of your hardwood

Your candleholder has been highly polished and treated with a furniture polish containing beeswax, carnauba wax and raw linseed oil. It will resist all normal spills if wiped clean and not immersed in any liquid for longer periods.

To restore the lustre treat with a beeswax based furniture polish or with a grade 000 steel wool followed by wax treatment. Similarly the inlay lustre can be restored with grade 000 steel wool.

Steamed Pear (Pyrus Communis) – Alpine Europe

Pear wood – also known as Swiss Pear - has an even pinkish brown colour with a barely perceptible figure loved by designers. Before nylon was created, pear wood’s hardness made it perfect for the production of harpsichord jacks and it is also sometimes used as a substitute for ebony. Steamed refers to the technique used to bring out the pinkish hues in the wood.

Carretto (Aspidosperma Curranii) – Colombia

Carretto is a light orange layered hardwood with more or less roseate streaks producing a delightful effect. It has an extraordinary fine, dense boxwood like texture which allows a superb finish. Normally used for turnery and cabinetry as well as for woodwind instruments, we believe it deserves a role as base for your fragrant candles.

Carretto is also known as Yellowwood, Putumuhu, Camassari - Buis Camassari

Wenge (Milletia Laurentii) – West Africa

Wenge is dark brown, mostly black, with fine, closely spaced, very dark veins and white lines. The combination of white bands against the dark wood with black streaks gives Wenge a very attractive appearance. Until now it has been used almost exclusively for panelling and furniture pieces. We believe that it should be enjoyed as decorative art as well.

Wenge is also known as Awoung, Dikela, Mibotu, Bokonge, Tshikalakala, Nson-so, and Palissandre du Congo.

Wenge grows in the open forests of Zaire, Cameroon, Gabon, the southern regions of Tanzania, and Mozambique. It is also found in the swampy forests of the Congo region.

Sonokeling Rosewood (Dalbergia Latifolia) - Indonesia

Rosewood varies in colour from rose to dark-brown with darker purple-black lines. The darker streaks impart an attractive figure to the timber. Contrary to Indian rosewood, Sonokeling Rosewood has a broader colour range arising from its cultivated status.

Rosewood is also known as Bombay Blackwood, East Indian rosewood, Indian Palisander, Indian Rosewood, and Java Palisandre.

Dalbergia is a large genus, consisting of about 300 species found throughout the tropical regions of the world. The species is also planted as a shade tree in coffee plantations and on roadsides.