It’s fair to say our range of children’s wooden stools has an enduring appeal with our customers. It’s not hard to see why – they’re solid, well made and feature an ever expanding range of characters and themes to appeal to little ones!
So, how are they made?
All our children’s stools are skilfully hand crafted from plantation monkey pod wood. To appeal to little ones, the top of the stools feature a fabulous design which is hand painted using vibrant colours. In addition to this a brown wax finish completes the look. More importantly this helps to highlight the grain and to protect the wood.
A choice of designs to appeal to all tastes…
With over 40 designs of children’s wooden stools to choose from, there’s something to appeal to all kids. From football, to dinosaurs, wizards to lions and princesses to pretty flowers, we’ve pretty much got it covered! It’s always worth keeping your eyes peeled on the children’s stool section of our web site, as stock availability varies and new designs come along all the time.
What is Monkey Pod Wood?
Monkey Pod wood is known by a variety of names across many different cultures, including Thailand (where it is known as “Chum Cha” wood). A monkey pod tree can grow to a giant 24 metres in height. However its impressive canopy often exceeds 30 metres in diameter and in some cases up to a magnificent 60 metres. Therefore, its gigantic proportions means that in tropical regions it serves as an excellent shade tree.
Monkey Pod Wood has a medium to coarse texture. Therefore, this sustainable hardwood and its straight grain lend themselves well to the manufacturing process. Timber preparation is often a long and arduous process. For example, the wood is seasoned twice – firstly following harvesting and then again after carving. Next, the furniture is waxed by hand. This helps to protect the wood and highlight its natural radiance and variations in the grain.
The Fairtrade Lifestyle range of Monkey Pod wood furniture including children’s wooden stools is hand carved by skilled artisans in Thailand. Their specialist techniques and expertise are often passed down through generations of families.
The charm and individuality of ‘real’ wood furniture
By virtue of the wood’s natural form and its hand carved nature, every piece of furniture is entirely individual, unlike mass produced veneered or laminated furniture.
You may find for example, that your individual children’s wooden stool displays a contrast of narrow and thicker grain patterns. This is representative of the different stages of the maturing process. Likewise the pigmentation associated with the presence of sapwood and the appearance of knotting both frequently occur in natural wood products. One of the most wonderful reminders of provenance is the appearance of ‘pin markings’. These markings tell the story of where the craftsman required additional bonding and support.
Caring for your Monkey Pod Wood Furniture
Here are some tips to help you keep your Monkey Pod wood children’s wooden stool in tip top condition:-
- We recommend treating your monkey pod wood with high quality beeswax or furniture oil once or twice a year. However this can be done more frequently if necessary. Be sure to remove any excess wax or oil and polish to a shine with a lint-free cloth.
- Fine-grade wire wool and furniture wax is often successful in the removal of any ring marks.
- Avoid furniture being placed in direct sunlight, above-average temperatures or being subject to extreme changes in temperature. Central heating and under-floor heating can dry out the atmosphere. Consequently this can cause movement in the wood.
And finally…
If you’ve found your perfect children’s wooden stool, why not check out the other adorable ranges of children’s furniture on our web site? There’s children’s book shelves, an amazing range of children’s rocking furniture, children’s table and chairs and our ever popular children’s toy boxes.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading all about our popular range of children’s wooden stools. As always, if you have any comments or questions, we’d love to hear from you.