Lowe Furniture and Décor

Lowe designed and manufactured a server cabinet as a competition entry product for the SA Furniture Design competition for established designers and manufacturers, sponsored by DTI and SABS design Institute. Their design piece, “Ntombi, a tribute to women of the world” was selected as the runner up for the competition.

The brief was to design a product for living spaces using African or South African produced materials. The cabinet was crafted using Kiaat wood, African Mahogany and steel. These two types of African woods have beautiful dark colours that were finished with Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C - Pure, to enhance the natural look and feel of the grain.

"I have been one of the early adopters of Rubio Monocoat products and have since introduced the product to many other manufacturers who use solid wood or veneer in their production and designs. In the past, I used stains that are time-consuming to apply and to clean factory space once applied. The Rubio Monocoat products are safe to use and contain 0% VOC's. You only have to apply one layer which saves time and makes for a quicker turnaround and production lead time, that translates to happy customers. Rubio Monocoat oil is beautiful and appeals to the eye that creates effects of opulence that my high-end customers expect for their furniture pieces. Rubio Monocoat is a price differentiator and sets me apart from those that are not using it on their wooden surfaces".

- Velaphi Mpolweni (Founder, Lowe Furniture and Décor)