Sadaf Rosewood House: Every day is not Sunday
Mohammad Aslam Khan talks about the industry in general and a steady decline in his earnings.
KARACHI:
With the global economic crisis hitting almost every sector, it’s no surprise that the furniture business has also suffered a blow. Due to the dip in local demand coupled with detrimental export policies, Mohammad Aslam Khan, who has been in the furniture business for a while, has seen his income spiral downwards.
Khan has been designing furniture for the past 24 years, first at a factory in Gurumandar, then at a shop in the same area and then he started a joint-venture with his brother, who has been in the furniture business for past 40 years. Today, apart from working with his brother, Khan sets up his own stall at Defence Sunday Bazaar (Street 2, Shop number 22) under the label ‘Sadaf Rosewood House’. His stall at Sunday Bazaar boasts of small furniture items like a centre set table, rocking chair, fruit baskets and a couple of wooden chairs.
The harsh realities
However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Khan, who witnessed a steady decline in his earnings over the years. He recalls that seven years ago, his business (joint-venture with his brother) was doing so well that he had 24 workers working for him, then four years ago that number dwindled to 10 workers and currently Khan and his brother are left with just two workers. Most of their ex-workers have found other professions like driving taxis or rickshaws.
Khan further states that the business had even progressed to the extent that they started exporting furniture to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. However, due to the current export policies of the government, their business suffered gravely. “The exports of furniture have seen a decline in the recent past; firstly, due to a fall in demand in these countries and secondly, due to the high taxes we are required to pay for one container.”
Meanwhile, even his earnings at the Sunday Bazaar, where he has been setting up his stall since the past one year, have drastically declined. If he was making a profit of Rs50,000 per week about six months ago, today Khan says he makes a profit of Rs18,000 per week.
The magic of rosewood
However, due to years of experience in the particular business, Khan can certainly be considered as the go-to person for know-how and advice on the best types of wood for furniture. “Rosewood (sheesham ki lakri) is the best quality of wood that should be used for furniture. However, within rosewood also, there is good quality wood (which is in darker shades of brown) and poor quality wood (usually lighter shades of brown),” he explains, while adding that he gets his wood from Gojra, a place near Faisalabad. As if to give proof of the magic of good quality rosewood, Khan points out to this old wooden box, adding, “This was lying in the warehouse for the past 20 years and you can see for yourself that termites haven’t even touched it.” However, he adds that chemicals like chloridine should also be used to prevent termites from attacking the wood.
Taking care of rosewood furniture
Polishing it with lacquer
Chemicals like chloridine should be used to save the furniture from termites
Famous furniture on TV
“The Simpsons”
The Simpsons centred their domestic lives around the family couch or the kitchen sink.
“Everybody Loves Raymond”
The fork and the spoon denoted the perennial battle of the sexes in Raymond’s household. Raymond’s father hated the fork hanging but his mother let it stay on the kitchen wall for 25 years just to torture her husband.
“Friends”
Chandler and Joey’s La-Z-Boy chairs gained recognition after these chairs were incorporated in the show.
“Frasier”
The lounge chair, which became identified as a separate entity, was meant to represent the contrasting styles between the two characters; Frasier’s classy sophistication and his father’s desire for comfort.
Source: uk-contemporary-furniture.co.uk
Published in The Express Tribune, April 6th, 2012.
With the global economic crisis hitting almost every sector, it’s no surprise that the furniture business has also suffered a blow. Due to the dip in local demand coupled with detrimental export policies, Mohammad Aslam Khan, who has been in the furniture business for a while, has seen his income spiral downwards.
Khan has been designing furniture for the past 24 years, first at a factory in Gurumandar, then at a shop in the same area and then he started a joint-venture with his brother, who has been in the furniture business for past 40 years. Today, apart from working with his brother, Khan sets up his own stall at Defence Sunday Bazaar (Street 2, Shop number 22) under the label ‘Sadaf Rosewood House’. His stall at Sunday Bazaar boasts of small furniture items like a centre set table, rocking chair, fruit baskets and a couple of wooden chairs.
The harsh realities
However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Khan, who witnessed a steady decline in his earnings over the years. He recalls that seven years ago, his business (joint-venture with his brother) was doing so well that he had 24 workers working for him, then four years ago that number dwindled to 10 workers and currently Khan and his brother are left with just two workers. Most of their ex-workers have found other professions like driving taxis or rickshaws.
Khan further states that the business had even progressed to the extent that they started exporting furniture to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. However, due to the current export policies of the government, their business suffered gravely. “The exports of furniture have seen a decline in the recent past; firstly, due to a fall in demand in these countries and secondly, due to the high taxes we are required to pay for one container.”
Meanwhile, even his earnings at the Sunday Bazaar, where he has been setting up his stall since the past one year, have drastically declined. If he was making a profit of Rs50,000 per week about six months ago, today Khan says he makes a profit of Rs18,000 per week.
The magic of rosewood
However, due to years of experience in the particular business, Khan can certainly be considered as the go-to person for know-how and advice on the best types of wood for furniture. “Rosewood (sheesham ki lakri) is the best quality of wood that should be used for furniture. However, within rosewood also, there is good quality wood (which is in darker shades of brown) and poor quality wood (usually lighter shades of brown),” he explains, while adding that he gets his wood from Gojra, a place near Faisalabad. As if to give proof of the magic of good quality rosewood, Khan points out to this old wooden box, adding, “This was lying in the warehouse for the past 20 years and you can see for yourself that termites haven’t even touched it.” However, he adds that chemicals like chloridine should also be used to prevent termites from attacking the wood.
Taking care of rosewood furniture
Polishing it with lacquer
Chemicals like chloridine should be used to save the furniture from termites
Famous furniture on TV
“The Simpsons”
The Simpsons centred their domestic lives around the family couch or the kitchen sink.
“Everybody Loves Raymond”
The fork and the spoon denoted the perennial battle of the sexes in Raymond’s household. Raymond’s father hated the fork hanging but his mother let it stay on the kitchen wall for 25 years just to torture her husband.
“Friends”
Chandler and Joey’s La-Z-Boy chairs gained recognition after these chairs were incorporated in the show.
“Frasier”
The lounge chair, which became identified as a separate entity, was meant to represent the contrasting styles between the two characters; Frasier’s classy sophistication and his father’s desire for comfort.
Source: uk-contemporary-furniture.co.uk
Published in The Express Tribune, April 6th, 2012.