Featured in SquareRooms Magazine – February 2021
Our Sassafras Range was featured in the February 2021 issue of SquareRooms Magazine, one of Singapore’s most-loved interior design publications. Known for its daily home inspiration, beautiful styling ideas and practical solutions, SquareRooms is a trusted guide for readers seeking thoughtful, stylish and liveable spaces.
The feature highlighted Australian Woodwork’s Sassafras Range, a collection showcasing the exceptional beauty of Blackheart Sassafras sourced from Tasmania’s cool temperate forests. This timber has long been prized for its dramatic figuring, with pale golden tones streaked through rich chocolate patterns. The effect is caused by a naturally occurring fungus that travels through the tree, creating striking dark veining that cannot be cultivated or predicted, ensuring that every piece is entirely unique.
Over the past decade, Sassafras has become increasingly scarce. Large areas of forest that once supplied high-quality Sassafras were placed under protection, an essential step for conservation that also limited access to the timber. As availability tightened, remaining stocks were increasingly acquired by speculators and exported at premium rates, placing pressure on small designer-makers who rely on selectively harvested native timbers.
Our woodworkers, who use less than 3 percent of carefully sourced timbers such as Sassafras and Tiger Myrtle, continue to produce pieces from the stock they hold. Once those supplies are exhausted, prices are expected to rise, with anticipated increases of around 30 percent as competition intensifies for the remaining material.
The Sassafras Range featured in SquareRooms Magazine reflects the very best of what this remarkable timber offers: rarity, natural artistry and an organic beauty that cannot be replicated. Each piece is crafted by Australian designer-makers committed to sustainability, thoughtful sourcing and the preservation of Australia’s most distinctive timbers.
The inclusion in SquareRooms Magazine underscores the growing international appreciation for Australian native timbers and the craftsmanship behind them. As Blackheart Sassafras becomes ever more precious, this feature arrives at a moment when its bold character and rarity are most keenly valued.