Making a killing out of pre-loved furniture

The sale of pre-used furniture made up of Indian teak, which
is illegal to procure today, is booming in the secondhand business market.

“The African teak is the most common teak available in the
market now, but it is not as good as the Indian one. People who know it are our
customers,” Hyder Ali, who runs a second- hand furniture store at Langer Houz
in the city, says. Most of the wood collected in Hyder Ali’s store is over five
decades old. Some of it, he says, is older than a century. “Rain or sun, storm
or ice, it withstands it all.

Also, it is naturally termite-resistant ,” Al i says. “My
father collected furniture from wooden houses that got demolished in
Siddembazar, Hussaini Alam and other parts of the Old City in the last
two-three decades. Now, we are segregating all the pieces, repairing,
refurbishing and restoring so that these can find a new home,” he says. Also,
some of these pieces are a rare and real gem.

According to the seller, there are still pieces of
functional furniture which was built without a nail or screw in it, using
precise wooden joinery techniques. Jaya Tulsi Ramashetty, a photographer and
media and communication professional based out of Hyderabad, has recently
started refurbishing and selling pre-used wooden furniture pieces. “Half a
billion trees are cut every year and more than 20 per cent of these are used to
make new furniture.

Brown and Teal (her brand) aims to encourage people to
re-use furniture that is refurbished. A piece of furniture is as strong as a
tree that’s alive if restored well. It is a brand where antique aesthetics,
sustainability and contemporary style meets,” says Jaya, who is currently
working on a teak cabinet. She likes working alone. “For me, restoration is
like meditation.” Her idea was to find new homes for the pieces of furniture,
to find a new love for these intricate and beautiful pieces.

For this, she recently started an Instagram page ,
brownandteal. “These are the pieces that have stood the test of time and are
treasure troves of memories passed down from one generation to another. They
are strong sturdy and have been restored to their previous glory,” Tulasi
writes on her Instagram page. Imtiaz Ahmed, a resident of Tolichowki and who
owns a hardware store, also loves antiques.

“The 50-year-old house built by my father has now been
demolished, but I have kept all the pieces of furniture, including the doors
and windows. I have decided to restore them and will be using these pieces in
the new building,” he says.

Reviving hidden gems

The sale of pre-used furniture made up of Indian teak, which
is illegal to procure today, is booming in the second-hand business market.
Antique refurbishers like Hyder Ali and Jaya Tulsi Ramashetty have been
collecting wooden furniture which are over decades old. Also, some of these
pieces are pretty rare.

According to Hyder, there are still pieces of
functional furniture which was built without a nail or screw in it, using
precise wooden joinery techniques. Courtesy: www.newindianexpress.com