Bespoke, locally manufactured wooden furniture
We sat down with Rawcliffes, creators of beautiful wooden furniture
Rawcliffes Furniture is a family owned and managed furniture manufacturer based in Johannesburg. They have a passion for creating the perfect furniture for your space.
“We design and manufacture custom furniture and cabinetry for decorators working on hospitality projects or home projects, and individual private clients. We also have a selection of exclusive, high-quality furniture available on our online store.”
Daniel Rawcliffe and Katherine Lawrence (brother and sister) started the business in 2020 after working in the furniture manufacturing industry for over 20 years each.
The shift to doing their own thing made sense, because furniture and woodwork is in their blood.
“Sawdust and timber offcuts make excellent play accessories…we practically grew up in a factory and used to play in the yard with offcuts”
Family Matters
Although Daniel and Kathrine are the driving force behind the company, they understand the value of the whole family working together as a committed whole, inspiring and drawing on each other’s knowledge and experience.
“Our parents are involved in training and advisory roles in the factory and office.”
Focussed on high end, handmade furniture, the whole Rawcliffes team is dedicated to only delivering the very best final products. Although small (at the moment), the future is bright and expansion is on the horizon.
“We currently employ 5/6 other people in the factory and hope to grow.”
The road hasn’t always been straightforward, but that doesn’t mean that they are any less motivated to make a success of this venture.
When it comes to the challenges of managing a start-up business in the current economic climate, they are frank about some of the difficulties they have faced.
“Capital and cash-flow, the usual suspects, are a challenge, as well finding enough of the right types of clients to sustain the business and build our dreams.”
Notwithstanding the hard work, the furniture business remains a unique and rewarding environment to work in.
They do a lot of work with decorators, supply a handful of smaller, private retail outlets as well as individual clients who are looking for something special.
“It is always such a warm and fuzzy feeling when a happy customer sends us pictures of the final piece or installation with smiley faces and hearts. When the client shows themselves actually USING the piece; from sitting at the desk, feet on the new coffee table or pouring a drink from their custom drink’s cabinet, we know that we have done right by them. Its great!”
The had to be creative to make the most of shifting markets, but their dedication is paying off.
Born from the total business freeze that Covid 19 and the subsequent rolling lockdowns caused, Daniel and Katherine saw a unique opportunity and grabbed it with both hands.
“We started during Covid as our parent’s manufacturing plant was slowing down due to a loss of larger scale clients who cut back or completely stopped buying stock during that period and the following couple of years.”
They had to change their business plan to suite the changing furniture retail landscape and concentrate on fine quality, bespoke furniture and cabinetry. This meant that they would be making only one piece or small runs of furniture. This meant the need for different types of machinery and raw materials than what their parents originally used. Mostly they had to employ different marketing strategies, costing strategies and floor management. All without the back up of regular stock orders from previous clients.
One of the things they are proudest off, is their “Proudly South African” business model.
“We purchase our timber and boards from of a number of local suppliers, all with eco-friendly and ethical sources and raw materials.”
As to what gets them excited? That’s simple: Serving clients and delivering the perfect end-product.
“We are still thrilled to receive each and every enquiry. We have an inbuilt desire to succeed and to please our customers.”
Sometimes the projects are so bespoke that they have had to do research on how to make the item…
“…like the time we were asked if we could make a Capstan table. Although the order for the table did not come through, the design is done and has given us so many additional ideas for table design.”
The Rawcliffes future is brighter than ever. They have a number of exciting projects and developments lined up for the foreseeable future.
“We will be updating and expanding the range of furniture available on our online shop within the next couple of months as well growing into our expanding role in contract work.”
