 |
||||
|
Frequently Asked Questions.... What is Rattan?Answer - Rattan is a vine that can exceed 500ft in length and is more dense than wood. We source our rattan from Indonesia – where it is abundant in the rain forests. When it grows to a certain point, it wraps around trees and kills them, therefore it must be cut down to thrive, ultimately protecting the trees. Though it can be bent and flexed for design when boiled and steamed, it does not break. When you see bent and curved rattan design, it is considered a higher quality because it is more difficult to create. In frame construction we wrap our rattan poles in leather for increased quality and durability (Wrapped when wet, then dried to shrink, and secure in place). Click here for the PDF version. What is the history of Rattan? Answer - Rattan can be traced back as far as the ancient Egyptians, who made wicker baskets around 4000 BC and wicker furniture around 2800 BC. The native people have used parts from the entire plant throughout history to make items for daily use. Click here for the PDF version. Are there other variations of Rattan/Wicker? Answer - There are 3 variations of Rattan/Wicker - Rattan Pole, Rattan Peel & Wicker. Rattan Pole is straight tropical climbing vines that are often used to form the frames of furniture. Rattan Peel is flat shaped material, stripped from the skin of the rattan pole, usually for weaving and binding. Wicker is the result of the process of weaving small rattan pole into finished goods. Click here for the PDF version. What is Abaca? Answer - Abaca is dried banana tree. The abaca twist is dried and turned into rope, then woven with a machine to create strength, support and a unique design. The natural abaca products are hand woven for a softer more natural look. Fast-growing and needs to be maintained by cutting it down. Click here for the PDF version. What is Bamboo? Answer - Bamboo is a grass. It is extremely hard and strong (hardwood floors are often made of bamboo). You cannot shape it so you always see it in straight form. Although it is kiln dried, bamboo often cracks overtime, unlike rattan. However, it does not affect structural integrity. It’s the fastest growing plant on the planet – growing as much as 4 feet a day. Maintaining bamboo, by cutting it down, promotes fast re-growth, making it abundantly available for use, and therefore sustainable. Click here for the PDF version. What is Seagrass? Answer - Naturally green in color and turns khaki when dried. It is turned into rope and woven for design. Fast-growing and needs to be maintained by cutting it down Click here for the PDF version. What is Padma's Plantation? Answer - Padmas Plantation, founded in 1997 is an eco-friendly & island-inspired furniture. Padmas Plantation is a family-owned business, known for use of natural sustainable materials. It is a medium to high end price point with top of the line quality. We have become one of the top brands of tropical design furniture. Click here for the PDF version. What is your furniture made from? Answer - We are known for our unique design and better quality, which sets us apart from competitors in the industry. Our products are made mostly of rattan, bamboo, abaca, seagrass, and other unique tropical elements. We use plantation grown and government certified hardwoods for frame construction. We use California grade fire foam for commercial standards on our entire product line. Click here for the PDF version. Green Facts about our furniture Answer - Almost 80% of our product is made using eco-friendly resources such as bamboo, rattan and abaca. We focus on using as much of the plants as possible, which results in minimal waste. Weaving materials that we use, such as sea grass, abaca, banana and field grass, re grow in a year or less, making it very sustainable. When shipping to furniture market shows throughout the year, we utilize blanket wrapping. This prevents us from wasting cardboard, etc. to wrap the items. It also allows to fit items more compactly - potentially allowing us to use a lesser vehicle or less trips. We also use single-face cardboard that is wrapped tightly to the product's shape versus putting the item in a box, which promotes less waste of material. Recyclable cardboard is our primary packaging source. We also almost never box our items individually from the factory to maximize the number of items we can get into a container. This results in less containers brought in by us from overseas which equals less gas/transportation resources being used – ultimately preventing unnecessary damage to the environment. Click here for the PDF version. Facts about our fabrics 9 basic fabric choices are available. For outdoor furniture, we use Sunbrella® brand fabric – which stays strong and vibrant, even through intense sunlight exposure and cleaning with bleach. On large project orders, we have COM options available. All of our fabrics have been tested for open-flame resistance, some have been treated for stain resistance, and most are acceptable for commercial use. Click here for the PDF version. Padmas Plantation featured Extreme Home Makeover Click here for the PDF Version. Padmas Plantation featured in Furniture Styles Click here for the PDF Version. Padmas Plantation featured in Home Fashion Click here for the PDF Version. Padmas Plantation featured in Bill Blass - New York Click here for the PDF Version. |
||||