The Indonesia Export Forum is now Open…

We’ll be adding categories, topics, questions and answers as we go. If you have anything you want in particular, post a comment here and we’ll see what we can do.

http://www.indonesiaexport.com/wordpress/forums/

Wholesale Banana Leaf furniture from Bali – Prices Updated.

Prices on Banana Leaf (bananaleaf) furniture have been due a price check since the beginning of this Summer and, sure enough, prices have gone up.

The makers (or weavers, if you prefer) blame the increase on higher fuel and transportation charges on raw materials as well as increases per kilo or cubic meter on the banana leaf itself.

Long story short, you’re looking at a 10-20 percent increase over the old pricing.

For example, BLF-400, a 2-seater Banana Leaf Sofa, used to cost just under US$150.00, now costs US$184.00.

Technical Details on Handmade Balinese Banana Leaf Furniture

Banana Fibers (also known as abaca fibers, abaca-banana fiber, musa textilis) have a high tensile strength and resist rot. Historically they have been used to make rope. They are environment friendly and renewable.

Banana Leaf furniture is hand woven from Banana fibers. The fibers arrive at the factory already treated against parasites and bugs.

The process starts with the building of frame out of wood. At this point in the process, once can select from a variety of wood options but usually banana leaf furniture is woven on top of fairly low quality wood.

We inspect the wood before production on our orders to ensure moisture content is in range (i.e. the wood is dry) and that the wood is free from bark.

The banana fibers are then woven to the furniture frames by hand, treated again to avoid insects and mould and then painted, stained and finished with a clear gloss top coat (you’re welcome to request alternative finishes for your orders).

We’ve uploaded a video to youtube so you can see exactly how this furniture is made – please click here to see the making of banana leaf furniture:

http://youtu.be/XLkXpAhgdl8

Depending on fiber stock and the complexity of an order, a 20’ container load of banana leaf furniture can usually be finished within 5 weeks.

Uses of Banana Leaf Furniture

The range includes mirrors, coffee tables, loungers, dining chairs, sofas – practically speaking any type of furniture can be adapted to be made from Banana Leaf.

Importing, Wholesaling and Retailing Coconut Wood Bowls

I do like banana leaf furniture in Bali… by which I mean I like it here as product to use here – we have a banana leaf sofa set in the office and one more in the warehouse. We’ve had them for years and they’ve stood the test of time pretty well.

We did see a little unraveling towards the base of one of the armchairs but were able to fix it pretty easily by gluing it back in place.

I’m not completely convinced about the general merits of exporting the banana leaf furniture. It’s inexpensive but bulky which means it takes up a lot of space inside a container. One banana leaf sofa set (2-seater sofa + 2 armchairs + 1 coffee table) can easily take up 3 cubic meters inside a container.

That means, you could quite easily fill a 20’ container with US$4,000 worth of product or less.

That’s a low value 20’ container and I really have no idea on what kind of returns you would be looking at… my guess is that this furniture is best imported either by specialist furniture outlets with the ability to retail sets and pieces at high volume or perhaps as just occasional pieces when your order is ready to go but you still have a few cubes of space of available.

I would also recommend against online only retailing simply because Ebay and price comparison websites routinely show, for example, banana leaf dining chairs at around the US$60.00 mark which is roughly the price we see them at here.

Obviously, we’re not talking about the same quality product but it’s almost impossible to judge that online.

Retail markups at higher class outlets like John Lewis, Ralph Lauren, HayNeedle and their ilk are much healthier.

Visit our banana leaf furniture online by clicking here:

http://www.indonesiaexport.com/frame.php?category=Furniture+–+Banana+Leaf

As always, if there’s a style you have in mind but can’t find in our catalaog, go ahead and send us images and details — if we can’t find it, we can have it made for you.

Conclusion & Final Word

Enjoy,

Sean

Note: don’t forget, in order to see pricing you must first logon or register for access to pricing.

Wholesale Coconut Wood Bowls from Bali – Prices Updated.

We have replaced our original maker of coconut wood bowls with a new crafter in Bali. Prices have changed across the board – some pieces are now slightly cheaper than last months but most models are seeing a moderate increase in price (between 5 and 10%). over US$4.00.

Technical Details on Balinese Coconut Wood Bowls

Coconut / palm wood is probably the most widely spread and widely used and renewable wood source in Indonesia (take a look at this post on coconuts for a little more information).

These bowls are hand carved in Bali from locally sourced coconut wood. Production time on a small order (under 50 bowls) can take 4 weeks or more because of drying time.

Production usually begins with wet (high moisture content) wood being turned on a lathe.

Cut bowls are then left out in the sun to dry. As with other wood products, you do have the option and may request kiln drying but please note there will be further charges for this. Quotes from 3^rd party wood kiln suppliers are usually by the cubic meter – we’ll check and confirm before starting production.

When the bowls are dry, they are resanded by hand and stained or clear coated (if requested).

Uses of Balinese Coconut Wood Bowls

Generally, used for decoration only but can also be prepared with a food safe finish for use as dinnerware (for example, salad and serving bowls).

Importing, Wholesaling and Retailing Coconut Wood Bowls

I find the bowls, overall, to be a little pricey / expensive. That said, they’ve never gone out of fashion.

They seem to appeal to people from just about every sector and background… perhaps as an antidote to the ubiquitous Chinese plastic and Tupperware bowls.

They’re just as perfectly appropriate at a Danish dinner party as a Bali traditional feast. There’s no hint of ‘Asian-ness’. They’re simple, elegant. Everybody understands them.

Retail pricing of an average sized bowl (diameter 12 inches / 30 cm) seems to run around US$40.00 at the higher end catalogs (Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, John Lewis).

That looks fairly low at first but when you realize the bowls stack pretty well, are sturdy / robust in terms of shipping… you’re looking at a very good return per cubic meter if you have a customer base addicted to kitchen and dining and willing to part with the money. This is not for the cheap and cheerful, souvenir crowd.

Visit the wholesale coconut bowls category online by clicking here:

Coconutware…

If there’s a style you like but can’t find in our pages, go ahead and send us images and details — if we can’t find it, we can have it made for you.

You may also find these coconut related categories of interest:

Bamboo Windchimes…

Carved Coconut Shells…

Coconut Bag…

Coconut Utensils…

Natural Palm And Rattan Products…

Painted Coconut Leaf Platters…

Teak Wood Products…

Enjoy,

Sean

Note: don’t forget, in order to see pricing you must first logon or register for access to pricing.

Charmingly simple, handmade traditional style wooden Christmas decorations for those of you who’ve had enough of bling and glitz for one year.

See the range here:

http://www.indonesiaexport.com/frame.php?category=Traditional+Style+Wooden+Christmas+Tree+Decorations

We have only 8 models to show you in this update but, of course and as usual, we’ll be happy to work on your custom designs and models.

Production lead time on this range is pretty quick — two to three weeks will probably be more than enough for 1-2,000 pieces.

You’ll also find more Christmas Related Items at:

• Christmas Tree Decorations…
• Mobiles…
• Painted Bali Metal Products — Christmas Edition…

Enjoy,

Sean

Note: don’t forget, in order to see pricing you must first logon or register for access to pricing.

Gone fishing, out in a boat, at the beach, gone drinking (beer) – all of the nautical theme wood signs and decor you ever needed – handmade here in Bali.

You’re welcome to send us your own designs, sizes, specs and color schemes.

Mostly MDF or Albesia wood – inexpensive, fun and cost-effective in terms of shipping.

Click the image above to launch the category in a new tab or copy and paste this link into your browser address window:

http://www.indonesiaexport.com/frame.php?category=Nautical

Enjoy,

Sean

Note: don’t forget, in order to see pricing you must first logon or register for access to pricing.

…by missing Christmas, I mean you’ve missed Indonesia Export’s Christmas deadline for production orders – if you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, the long-story-short is that if you started a production order with us now for shipping by sea, we can not guarantee you would have it in time for Christmas (you can read more details here: Production Deadline Christmas 2010).

We are Open for Business

This does not mean that everyone at Indonesia Export has downed tools and headed off to the beach for long, hot relaxing days in the sun (didn’t that sound tempting?)…

…if anything, it means we’re now busier.

From now until the end of the year, certain catalogue products are no longer available – these include teak furniture, the larger wood carvings, certain of the large stone pieces. This does not mean we’ll refuse your order; what will happen is that if you order those products, we’ll tell you we don’t have time for production but we do have time to go around Bali sourcing similar and alternative pieces from stock.

As you wish (bimsalabim, abracadabra, etcetera, etcetera.)

From this point of the year on, we treat everyone’s order as a wishlist and we limit production / preparation accordingly.

A wishlist is a list of product codes and quantities from our websites or pictures of products with quantities if you’re looking for something from outside our catalogue.

We call it a wishlist so you understand: you can’t always get what you wish for (but we’ll try our very best).

Our job is to go out and find you stock that’s ready to ship or nearly to ready; check pricing; take a photo; send you the pictures and confirm you’re ok with pricing before making the order.

For all Christmas orders, our target is to have your products arriving at your sea port (note: your port, not your door) by November 15th at the very latest. To Europe and the US we’re assuming 5 weeks container shipping from Bali (6 weeks LCL shipping).

So our last Less than Container Load orders will ship out by Friday October 1st.

Our last full container orders will ship out by October 8th.

If you’re not familiar with those shipping options, please go to our notes on shipping cost-effectively:

Shipping from Bali

All of this breaks down to the following:

• We are still open and you can still order products for Christmas.
• For items that require lengthy production lead time, we’ll go out and source alternatives in stock.
• We will do our best to see you get your products in good time but cannot guarantee you will receive your products in good time for Christmas.

If you have any questions, drop us a line.

All the best of the season,

Sean

We’ve just uploaded a new category: Resin Buddha Statues.

The statues are made from solid diecast resin,  handpainted and finished in Bali.

The casts are based on woodcarvings and bronze statues.

Custom casts, sizes and colors available – just drop us a line with details of what you need.

And you may like these related categories with Buddha statues and motifs:

• Balinese Classics — Buddha Carvings…
• Bird Cages…
• Bronzes…
• Buddha Reliefs…
• Ceramic Incense and Spice Dishes…
• Golden Buddha…
• Javanese Style Wooden Decor…
• Recently Shipped…
• Resin Sculptures…
• Shoulder Bags…
• Sun Motif Mirrors & Medallions…

Enjoy,

Sean

Note: don’t forget, in order to see pricing you must first logon or register for access to pricing.

We’ve just added 60 new models to our fashion jewelry range.

Click the picture above for our wholesale fashion jewelry page or go directly to the updated categories below (newest models at the top):

• Fashion Bracelets
• Fashion Bangles
• Fashion Necklaces

Enjoy,

Sean

Note: don’t forget, in order to see pricing you must first logon or register for access to pricing.

Handmade Christmas Tree Decorations — albesia wood carvings to hang on and around Christmas Trees…

…prices and models updated in time for Christmas 2010.

As always, we’re happy to work on customisations with you — if you’re planning something new for Christmas 2011, now is a good time to start talking with us.

Enjoy,

Sean

Note: don’t forget, in order to see pricing you must first logon or register for access to pricing.

We’ve managed to dramatically reduce pricing on most of our natural stone, marble and granite washbasins.

For one or two pieces, prices are basically unchanged but the average reduction across the line works out to be a very healthy 33% saving on last months list pricing with some pieces going down by nearly 60%.

I don’t often use exclamation marks but… HOLY COW! SIXTY PERCENT!!

We’re happy.

See the new pricing by clicking the image above or following this link:

Bali and Java Stone Washbasins Wholesale Promotion

You may also want to take a quick look at our July Promotion page:

Indonesia Export – July Promotion

Enjoy,

Sean

Note: don’t forget, in order to see pricing you must first logon or register for access to pricing.