apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

So do they have a website? There is no link for the hypered link you have up there.

Actually, Darren said they don't have a site. They're still a bit no frills/wholesale in style....

I got some nice dressers here. The deals are good, but the service is TERRIBLE. Also, one of the dressers I got started to crack on top. So far they have been receptive to repairing it: they picked it up no problem, but I am still waiting for it to come back. Again, trying to get a hold of them has proved very tough and quite annoying.

hm. My dresser is cracked too. It had a teeny crack when I bought it and they said they would repair it. Then it arrived with crack intact. I sucked it up but the crack has gotten worse. Sucks cause I kinda wanted to get another piece..

Now they have a website. www.fromthesource.us

Be careful. We bought two dressers. They looked great when they arrived in the summer, but now the wood is splitting rapidly. These are not just "the occasional crack", they are now 12" long and 1/4" wide, all the way through the wood. We are now discussing remediation with the company, but have been told that we must pay for any transport of the pieces, whether for repair or replacement: a $150 proposition. Has anyone had experience with the quality of their repairs?

Dear Lauren, I own a store in Asheville N.C. where we sell imported teak furniture from Indonesia. We have to deal with the problem also. It is very frustrating to unpack a beautiful piece and then see it on the display floor with an awful crack developing. We have had different results with different loads of furniture. Some of the wood is aged and cured well and just as often it is used in production while it is still too raw and wet. We have little recourse at the source. The people over there who make the merchandise are poor and live day by day. Sometimes they will replace a piece with another like piece, but it has to be brought in on the next order, which might be in several months or longer. I am researching methods of repairing cracks, but it is a long search so far. We've tried about 10 products and combinations of products so far, but have not found any good results yet. When I find the right method, I'll try to let you know if you send me your email address. Steve

I own a store in Canada selling imported Indonesian teak wood furniture. Steve from Legends hit the nail on the head. We have also been experimenting with various methods to repair cracks and its too early to tell how well our repairs will hold up. Our problems are worsened due to the cold temperature and dry air in Canada. The wood seems to go into shock and splits all the time. Sometimes we can hear it cracking in our showroom! So far our customers have been understanding as our prices are very low for solid wood furniture. In some cases the splits actually add some character to the rough finishes typical of the region.

Steve -I'd sure appreciate if you would keep in touch with me on this issue. Hopefully we can help eachother out. You can reach me at jayroy_8@hotmail.com.

Cracking furniture ? I too have been a victim of this type of furniture.But not from this company. The wood used is a quality mahagony but theres steps used in quality manufacturing , These steps are avoided to save time an push these products to the market . In order for wood to be used properly in the construction of furniture or accent pieces the wood has to be cured or kiln dried to remove the moisture . This isnt the case with this type of furniture , usually cut raw carved or figured to style an then finished with a dark anylin dye , finish dried, wrapped & shipped . This stuff is probably cracking in the shipping containers as its sailing to its destination . Ive heard it crack in a show room , pretty startling to say the least . One thing not all of it cracks just some ? Another thing i bought a piece of furniture from Levits with a protection plan . The piece broke with in a month or two , and Levits gave me a run around for over a yr , their inspectors lied an the piece never got replaced . $2,500.00 spent in Levits + buyer protection an got dupped. WARNING = Buy right , buy once / Buy wrong , buy twice . Thanks for listening Johnny

CRACK? I just smoke it!

Teak isn't indigenous to Indonesia, only Thailand, Burma & India - thus, its an inferior product.

People import from Indonesia because its cheaper, but you get what you pay for - which is poor quality teak & poor construction.

Coffee grows best in South America, and Redwoods grow in California...you could grow these in other regions, but they will not be of the same quality.

Got a container load from Saritekmas also trading as Meubel Toha in Malang near Surabaya. Paid more than the usual prices in response to the promise of superior quality. Mostly mahogany reproduction furniture, some. All looked great when the container was unloaded. Then things started to unravel with many pieces showing cracks or the beginnings of cracks. Seller who communicated through and Englishman called Mike McMyn publishes a warranty on their webpage but when called to task rejects all complaints, calls my documented complaints "rubbish" and finally asked me to have my mental health examined. So much for customer care Indonesian style. Hence: buyer beware. By the way: no such problems with my solid wood furniture from the Philipppines or Thailand

We purchased a chair, teak and bamboo, from the DUMBO location of From The Source. We had it for about 2 years and rarely sat on it. Suddenly the bamboo section of the chair, the seat, started to break or come apart. We took it back to the store and they said they could fix it, it would take about 10 days. After not hearing from them in 3 weeks, we called them, and Philip explained that the chair could not be fixed. He said "we can put a piece of ply-wood on the seat, but we can't replace the bamboo". Bascially we can't use it, at least not to sit on. Be warned, don't expect great quality or good customer service from this place. We will never buy from them again.

From the Source is great except the furniture is weak and does not hold up!Also the employee that is there so not nice and is very nasty!!!!I believe she is there all the time, I love the one young lady on the weekends.


Great store, bad service!

Having read about the problems with Indonesian teak wood cracking, I would like to suggest that all of you -- both dealers and consumers -- STOP BUYING EXOTIC WOOD PRODUCTS FROM INDONESIA.

Your purchases of products made with exotic woods (like teak or mahogany) from Indonesia contributes to the destruction of unique and irreplaceable tropical rainforests, thereby endangering and even eliminating countless species of animals, while accelerating global warming.

Indonesia alone contains over 60% of Southeast Asia’s tropical rainforests and the greatest numbers of endangered bird and mammal species in the world.

It is your responsibility. (And dealers, please do not put all the responsibility on the consumers unless you are ready to advocate that the public be able to buy virtually anything: drugs, bombs, etc. For unless you are that kind of free-market fundamentalist, then any talk of just "letting the consumer decide" is nothing more than self-interested sophistry.)

Re my earlier comment about cracked furniture from Indonesia. In response to my request for replacement of faulty pieces and making good on the seller's quality guarantee I have received the kind response that I would be reported to customs authorities for underdeclaring the value (I declared the value in manufacturer's shipping invoice). Unless I would remove my comment above. There is no option to remove my earlier comment but now declare to the readers here that the quality of the furniture is incomparable to furniture I ordered from other sources and that my negative comments must be the result of a vivid phantasy on my part. The cracks that I reported I am sure will disappear over time and are all due to to the extreme weather and climatic conditions to Europe as well as to totally wrong storage circumstances at my end. I apologize therefore to all readers for misleading them and that all those that wish to make the same unique buying experience that I made should order a 40 ft container load from Saritek Mas in Indonesia.

One might be forgiven in thinking that Mr. Konrad Hans Traugott Goll’s postings are erratic in their content, and that his resent apology offered is some what insincere, however we will accept it at face value.
The facts are as follows: - Mr. Goll received a container of furniture from us which had been custom made to his specifications, and I enclose a copy of a letter received from him, which acknowledges that our furniture arrived in good order and that he was generally very pleased with the furniture that he received – and as follows:-
“Dear -------,
Furniture arrived yesterday at the house. Generally very pleased. Thank God we have a large house as some pieces did turn out rather on the XXL size end of the spectrum. The dining tables, chairs, bookcases, china cabinet turned out especially well. My moving vompany trucked away a full truckload of packing material. They had never seen something like that before. The packing is the best I have ever seen - and I have seen a lot in my lifetime.
All tables and chairs and benches, also the smaller items drew complimentary remarks from people who saw them during unpacking.
Feedback on a few points.
a) the dining table tops turned out to be a bit too high in relation to the chair height. We'll try with a local carpenter to lower the table legs
b) we should have ordered more glass shelves for the dining room china cabinet
c) there are two or three items where the wrapping paper was put on before the varnish was dry and this left a mark. I will take photos, then ask for your advice how to repair myself.
d) the Japara study desk turned out very large and for future orders you may wish to consider to break it up into 3 modules. It is almost untransportable the way it is constructed. That is true for the upper part of the china cabinet too. It took 6 people to bring it up the staircase.
I will now check with a friend how we can proceed to create an import business for reproduction furniture for the Austrian market and then I will revert
kind regards
---------“
In the case of solid wood furniture, which has been moved from a tropical climate into the northern hemisphere, care has to be taken to allow the furniture to settle (please refer to some of the other listings on your site, who make comment of this fact). The furniture can not be subject to excessive air-conditioning, or over heating for about eight months, and until it has adjusted to the local conditions. If not, it may crack. The reason for this is the difference in humidity in Indonesia and else where. We elevate much of this problem, by kiln drying the timber prior to furniture construction, ---- however a settling down period is still required.
Mr. Goll imported the furniture from us during a very hot summer in Europe, which may have compounded the problem.
He makes mention of the fact that he has had no problem with furniture from the Philippians or Thailand, but he has made no mention of the fact that this furniture was housed for some time in Hong Kong, where he lived and prior to moving to Europe.
Finally, we live up to our Guarantee which we issue, but the client is responsible in providing the correct specifications for his custom made furniture (e.g. timber species, measurements, colour, finish etc), and has to take care that the furniture is treated correctly once we have shipped it, and as we advise our clients to do.
We have many satisfied customers all over the world who we will continue to serve.

Over a slightly different subject --- may I point out that ALL Mahogany and Teak wood, used for furniture in Indonesia is PLANTATION grown wood, which are sited in Java, Bali, and Southern Sulawesi. Teak and Mahogany does not grow in the Indonesian Tropical Forests, as the climate is not suitable for these species. The plantations are managed by the Indonesian Government, and on a sustainable bases, – which means that they are re-planted once the trees are cut.
I hope that this will rectify some of the misinformation which seems to filter its way on to your website.