Treske

Timber Sourcing & Sustainability

Guide to responsibly sourced hardwoods

At the beginning of the 20th century, 5% of the land area in Britain was woodland; it is now 10% and growing - as members of Woodland Heritage, Treske are proud to support and encourage this growth. The British, European and American hardwoods we use are hand-selected and come from sustainable forests where new trees are planted to re-stock the woodlands.

Treske take great care to only use timber that is ethically grown and sourced. The problems with sourcing have mainly been associated with tropical timbers, which we avoid as manufacturers as we believe that very few of the schemes can adequately cover these kinds of timbers from regions where deforestation is the major environmental issue. We do not use suppliers who cannot certify their timber!

Oak

The most British of woods. Correct timber selection, furniture design and cabinet making skills produce really special results. Light brown to golden brown in colour, the timber itself is usually very straight grained and has distinctive growth rings and medullary rays that show to great effect with particular cuts of timber.

Treske often fume oak to react with the resins causing the timber to darken. This natural process helps show off the patina of the timber and can lead to very pleasing finishes. Customers at Treske can see examples of this when deciding on how they would like their furniture finished.

The heartwood of Great Britain

Straight grained, tough and flexible timber

Ash

Treske was founded using locally grown Ash and still makes furniture using this coarse, straight-grained, and very tough timber. Unlike the elm disease, it is thought that Ash is genetically diverse enough to survive Ash Dieback Disease and will remain a feature of our countryside for generations to come.

Ash is characterised by a wide colour range from the whites of the outer layers to the dark olive brown of the heartwood. This colour variation can be used to great visual effect on tables. As with oak, ash can be stained to different colours, often to match a client's existing furniture.

The epitome of native timber

Elm

Sadly, this tree, which dominated much of the landscape, has virtually disappeared in much of England due to Dutch Elm disease. Happily, elm is available from colder areas of the UK and makes wonderful furniture.

The wood is coarse textured, the grain is boxy and often highly coloured, but it finishes into delightful character furniture.

Maple

Grown in Canada and the USA, this hard maple is heavy, with a straight grain and fine texture that finishes very smoothly.

The timber grain patina is similar to Cherry & Sycamore, but on finish is a warm pale, almost white colour. Heartwood can be a darker brown. Often used as a veneer, especially timber that shows a latticework of knots – Birds Eye maple - excellent within wardrobe and kitchen doors to show off this special feature.

Hard, North American fine finishing wood

Relative of North American Maple

Sycamore

A tree that is often considered a weed can be made into lovely, fine-textured, creamy, golden white furniture. Sycamore is a softer alternative to maple and, over time, develops more of a golden colour than the more orangey colour of maple.

A quirk of Sycamore is that it is felled in the winter months before sap has started to move up the trunk. If felled too late, the sap produces a green colouration within the timber - it is for this reason that the planks are traditionally dried standing up on end.

American
Black Walnut

This North American plantation grown hardwood is a tough, fibrous timber that finishes smoothly and makes for very nice furniture. Often used in conjunction with oak as a complement, this wood is a rich dark brown to a purple black colouration.

Current bedroom and kitchen trends are resulting in the use of more of this timber to produce modern and stylish furniture.

On trend popular dark American hardwood

Easy working rare and beautiful hardwood

European Walnut

Walnut had a golden age in British furniture making, ended by a succession of cold winters and the import of mahogany as an alternative. Many people will recognise walnut as the timber used for gunstocks and for special pieces of furniture.

This is a truly special timber with a delicious range of brown and grey creamy colours. The amount of feature depends on where the tree was grown, the best being British. The timber is bought in log form (boules) to ensure that timber remains well matched.

Straight-grained hardwood

American Cherry

A straight-grained hardwood with a smooth texture that enables a fine finishing to furniture. Grown in North America, this timber is characterised by a colour change in light from pale green-brown to a deep, rich orange-red. The initial colour change is so fast that objects left on and protecting a surface from light will leave a light outline that will even up once the area is exposed to light. The timber is also characterised by small, darker sap pockets within the wood.

Beech

A traditional cabinet making and high-class timber, loved for its straight grain and fine, even texture. Colours are generally very pale, creamy white to a pinkish colouration.

As with ash, beech is often used in chairs, especially where a bent wood shape is required. Treske frequently use beech for drawer boxes as well as individual pieces of furniture.

Traditional cabinet-making wood