Materials

This entirely artisanal production implements know-how acquired over time within the workshop itself: five years of experience are necessary to earn the title of “qualified fitter” and a few additional years to qualify for a mastery of weaving. The entirely manual manufacture of a chair, an armchair, a stool, a planter, a baby chair, a bench, a conversation seat, etc. requires at least six hours of work for the simplest model, and up to thirty hours for a more sophisticated piece. The most deserving craftsmen see their most complex works qualified as “Masterpieces”, a well-deserved name.

Wood

Rattan

Rattan is a fibrous and siliceous vine that grows in the shade of trees in the humid grounds of tropical jungles, particularly in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, etc. It came to Europe in the 16th century in the holds of Dutch, Portuguese and English ships. The bundles of rattan poles were used to block the precious goods brought back from these distant countries. Once the goods had been dispersed, the rattan was left on the docks. Very quickly, someone decided to use it to make furniture. Furniture, very cheap at the time, hence the expression “it’s not worth a rattan”. This vine cultivation requires the tree preservation on which it climbs, its exploitation is an important element in forest conservation.

Rattan in detail

What are the different types of rattan?

There is an innumerable diversity of rattan, of various diameters and colors. Maison Louis Drucker works mainly with light rattan: Manila rattan and dark brown rattan, Malacca rattan.

How is the rattan vine presented in its raw state?

The raw rattan vine can measure up to 200 meters. It is first stripped of its thorns and then cut into poles of about 2 meters. Classified according to their diameters, the poles are gathered in bundles for sale and export.

What are the rattan essential qualities?

Rattan is a light, very resistant material and imputrescible. The rattan pole once steamed becomes flexible and easy to bend to give it all the desired shapes.

What are rattan poles used for?

Rattan poles are mainly used to make the structures of rattan furniture. Rattan poles can also be split to obtain rattan blades which will be used for weaving.

Do we always use rattan in its raw state?

Rattan is most often used in its raw state in its natural light or dark colors, but debarked rattan, or lacquered, painted or varnished rattan may be preferred.

Manufacturing steps

What are the different types of rattan?

There is an innumerable diversity of rattan, of various diameters and colors. Maison Louis Drucker works mainly with light rattan: Manila rattan and dark brown rattan, Malacca rattan.

How is the rattan vine presented in its raw state?

What are the rattan essential qualities?

Rattan is a light, very resistant material and imputrescible. The rattan pole once steamed becomes flexible and easy to bend to give it all the desired shapes.

What are rattan poles used for?

Rattan poles are mainly used to make the structures of rattan furniture. Rattan poles can also be split to obtain rattan blades which will be used for weaving.

Do we always use rattan in its raw state?

Rattan is most often used in its raw state in its natural light or dark colors, but debarked rattan, or lacquered, painted or varnished rattan may be preferred.

Manufacturing steps

Wood

The wooden frames

The rattan structure seats are built around a wooden base called the frame. These frames are made by first class carpenters. Depending on the use and constraints required by the chair or armchair to be made, these frames are made of beech, or the best exotic teak or even sturdier bankirai woods, used in particular for benches. Maison Louis Drucker has around twenty models of exceptionally robust frames.

Metal

Much more robust and 100% outdoor aluminum tube structures

Sensitive to the announced shortage of rattan, and wishing to maintain the more than century-old image of the Parisian bistro chair while offering its customers products that combine aesthetics, comfort and durability, Maison Louis Drucker has chosen aluminum as an alternative material. The choice of aluminum is a very thoughtful choice. Aluminum tubes are almost as light as rattan. Aluminum is worked a bit like rattan: it curves and bends. Maison Louis Drucker has developed an epoxy paint with colors identical to those of rattan. The weaving techniques are different but perfectly mastered by our wonderful weavers. Almost all Maison Louis Drucker furniture can be declined with either rattan or metal structures. Decoration professionals are way off the mark.

Rilsan or Raucord

Screws

Maison Louis Drucker has made-to-measure most of the metal components that are used, to master the required qualities, including screws and nails, staples…and of course the Maison Louis Drucker stamped brass “medal” directly attached to the back of the each piece of furniture made at Maison Louis Drucker.

Fibres

One of the exceptional characteristics of Maison Louis Drucker furniture is the weaving and all the furniture that comes out of its workshops is decorated. Originally, weaving was done mainly in natural rattan skins, or flat ovale cores. These are still occasionally used today for their natural side, very popular. They have been largely replaced by much stronger synthetic Rilsan and Raucord fibres, resistant to both UV and weather and notably offering a very wide choice of colors ideal for the creation of an infinite number of jacquard weaves.

Flat ovale cores or rattan skins

For a long time, the naturally slightly varnished rattan skin was used in its primitive state. The rattan skin is the outside, the bark, of rattan that has been somehow peeled off into strands. It is rounded on one side and flat on the other.
From 1920, rattan was colored, thanks to the tinting machines manufactured by the rattan limited company, which created colored rattan color charts. Drucker is one of the very first companies to have exploited this new offer, quickly deploying an unparalleled imaginative ability to offer numerous patterns combining several colors. The current range, rich in the background of weaving models developed since then, is the direct heir to this century-old inventiveness.
In the 1950s, colored, enameled rattan was replaced by the Rilsan.

RILSAN

The RILSAN, a “natural” polyamide, polyamide 11, obtained from castor oil, has replaced the natural flat ovale core for the caning, it is traditionally preferred for outside.

It has a very durable flexibility: it does not lose its elasticity, even after many years of intensive use ;
It resists ultraviolet rays. It does not heat up in the sun. It also resists insects, termites, fungi, and molds ;
Maintaining its performance for use in a wide temperature range from – 50°C to + 70°C ;
The liveliness and brilliance of the color over time ;
Its ease of maintenance; the Rilsan does not require any particular maintenance.

The Rilsan is a 100% French material whose only manufacturer in the world is the French company ARKEMA. Rilsan’s color chart has around thirty colors.

Raucord

The Raucord of the HDPE family, on the contrary, is satin.It is often preferred to use indoor even if it is perfectly suited for outdoor use and has a resistance comparable to Rilsan over time. Raucord is the alternative, chosen on the basis of primarily aesthetic considerations for uses where shine is not desired. Raucord is available in twenty specific colors.
Raucord is a plastic manufactured by the german company REHAU, world leader in high-tech plastics