Carpenter's bespoke units prove popular in Far East

Now Woodcrafters, a firm of carpenters in West Sussex which makes luxury kitchens, is taking advantage of the fondness in the Land of the Rising Sun's for cool Britannia.

The company has teamed up with a design consortium in Osaka, Japan's second largest city, which is building "authentic" English country cottages for young professionals.

The compact dwellings come complete with York Stone walls, oak-beamed ceilings, and - courtesy of Albourne-based Woodcrafters - traditional solid wood kitchens.

Sales and marketing director David Otway said: "Every bit of these cottages is sourced from Britain.

"We have already shipped eight kitchens across to Japan and we have another in the pipeline.

"We have also provided a kitchen for the company's showroom in Osaka."

Woodcrafters was founded eight years ago by carpenter and joiner Gary Whatford.

When it came to replacing his own kitchen he realised he couldn't find the solid wood, hand-built one of his dreams - so he built one himself.

His friends and family were so impressed they convinced him to reinvent his business and concentrate on building bespoke kitchens from real wood.

Now, to keep costs down, the kitchens are made by machines but they are still assembled and fitted by highly-skilled cabinet makers.

He said: "A few decades ago we were boarding over panelled doors, painting over natural wood and taking a crowbar to dido rails.

"Now, in the 21st Century, we find ourselves stripping paint to reveal natural wood and tearing up carpets in favour of stone or wooden flooring."

Woodcrafters started doing business in Japan two years ago after the country outlawed the use of building materials containing formaldehyde, including MDF.

Mr Otway said Japan represented a whole new opportunity for the firm.

He said: "The Japanese seem to be one of the few nations that like anything with a British label on it."

Wednesday, October 12, 2005