This is the first posting about my newest venture!
Finikiti Woodworks is situated in Benoni, South Africa and is a franchisee of Eureka Woodworks Inc a woodworking business in Dallas, Texas, USA.
Finikiti started operations in December 2012 and was the first franchise for Eureka outside of the USA.
The business is primarily involved in the manufacture of outdoor and patio furniture in the \’Adirondack\’ style using Western Red Cedar wood from Canada.
With the downturn in the South African economy, Finikiti started becoming more involved in a wider array of other business activities most notably project management and repairs and renovations to properties. The woodworking business took a back seat for a while although small orders were still attended to with our usual promptness! However, with a falling local currency, the cost of producing \’Adirondacks\’ became prohibitive and alternative timber types are currently being looked at – Saligna looks promising as is has similar properties to Western Red Cedar. Demand must still be gauged as the price of that timber has more than doubled in the past 8 months making the \’Adirondacks\’ still pricey compared to when we first produced them.
In recent times there appears to be some demand for more skilled people in the older artisan trades of plumbers, foundrymen, electricians etc and a gap is seen in woodworking as well. Having many years of experience as a woodworker with a hobby in wood carving and other \’wood\’ related activities, I have embarked on a new venture to impart some of my knowledge to others – be they carpenters, beginner woodworkers or just \’hobbyists\’