Category: News

Hi Everyone,

We have had an amazing quarter this fall season, and there is no signs of slowing down just yet! We landed a few interviews and promotions as well which just kept bringing in more and more business. (whiskeyreviewer.com, huffingtonpost.com) I am having this website completely redesigned and our new site will be up and running towards the end of the month so be sure to visit back soon. We will also have a couple brand new items available for purchase along with some special sales on sets for our wine and whiskey barrel furniture too. With business picking up we are going to feature a wholesale catalog for all those retail inquires as well.

Now that being said, I am happy to announce our first Winter Sale Special. I will be giving away out 100th Chair absolutely FREE! Be the lucky one who orders our one hundredth chair and receive a check for the complete amount.

-Rules-

Contestants must:

-Be 18 or over
-Be a U.S. resident (no international shipping)
-Pay for shipping and handling or Delivery charges
-Take photo with the 100th chair (winner will be featured on our news blog, winner’s first name and state which he or she lives in will be mentioned)
-Winner will receive a reimbursement check for the 100th chair with in 2-3 weeks after placing order and after all contest rules and requirements have been met.

Thank You and good luck to you all!

-Balazs Moldovan

So last month I was featured on uncrate.com, huffingtonpost.com along with many others and oh man, things got very busy for us. I had to make 30+ chairs and the orders are still coming in. I even hired a buddy of mine to help because without him, I probably would only be half way done. Thank you Justin. We learned a lot more about shipping all over the country as well as about international shipments. We also started playing with the idea of retail. Hopefully a little down the road people will start seeing Hungarian Workshop item in stores. This site will be going through some major updates too in the upcoming months, so be sure to visit often to see the new changes and improvements. Since winter is just around the corner, I’m planning on making a few new item for the holidays and also couple more interior home decors that will make exceptional gifts for friends and family.

A big thank you goes out to kentuckybarrels.com for supplying us with such great material.

I have to keep this short and sweet. Last week I was featured on a website called uncrate.com and the orders just started to pour in. I have people interested even from out of the country. I may need to hire a helping hand with all this work and also rent a little more space. Well, it is time to get back to work and go hunt down for some more barrels.

Last week I finished up five more barrel chairs for Stone Brewery and they came out great. These barrels were used by the brewery for pretty long time before they gave them to me to turn them into chairs. The great thing about Stone is that they really like to stay Green. By reusing their own barrels it creates a neat story for all the chairs and on the plus side, it makes my job a whole lot easier because I don’t have to hunt down any barrel, ha ha.  Three of the barrels originally contained bourbon, which have thicker staves and are charred heavily which creates that great black patina. The other two had white wine that have thinner staves and no burns what so ever.  I was pretty excited when I opened up the white wine ones because I always wondered what a clean barrel chair would look like. The light and the dark colors give a great contrast and makes the chairs stand out. With these chairs completed I have now collected a substantial amount of barrel lids and I am now ready start making some coffee tables and side table. The goal is to have a complete set which will be similar to my Adirondack set, that will include four chairs, two ottoman, one coffee table and one side table.

Be sure to come back and visit us again soon to see our new line of products.

Thank you for stopping by and have great day.

-Balazs Moldovan

A little bit ago, I had a few customers asking me what other type of wood I have used to make my chairs besides my usual Sequoia (redwood). The more I thought about it, the more I realized I have not really ventured out and worked with any hardwoods and any exotic woods. Well I think its time for me to start and we are going to jump right into it with some of the worlds finest and most durable species of wood. I am going to talk about their characteristics along with some general information.

Cypress– I am going to kick things off with Cypress, which is a moderately hardwood and has good strength and stiffness. It has medium bending and crushing strength.  It works easily with hand and machine tools, holds screws well, glues satisfactorily, sands easily and accepts finishes readily.  The heartwood contains oils that make it very durable when its exposed to moist weather. It grows on the east coast of the USA.

Jatoba–  Also known as Courbaril, West Indian locust and Brazilian Cherry Wood. It is very hard, tough and strong. Can be moderately difficult to work with because of its hardness but with skill can be bought to a great finish. It can be stained well and its gluing properties are good along with its steam-bending properties.  Jatoba is durable and very resistant to dry-wood termites and is very popular for furniture. It grows in the West Indies, South and Central America.

African Mahogany-  The wood is usually light pinkish-brown when freshly cut, darkening on exposure to a deep reddish color, often with a purple cast. The grain is typically interlocked but can be straight. Swirly figures are often present and the texture is variable. Resistant to shock loads and its generally easy to work with. It turns, sands, bores, glues and nails satisfactorily. Also it stains and polishes very well. The heartwood is highly resistant to preservatives. Its grows in the tropical areas of West, Central and East Africa.

Sapele– This wood is in the mahogany family also called scented mahogany, aboudikro, penkra and sapele mahogany. It has a very high crushing strength and is fairly easy to work with. It bores, routes, carves, nails, screws, staines, varnishes and paints very well, and sands great.  The wood can exhibit an attractive range of figure, with ribbon, bee’s-wing and regular stripe on quarter sawn stock. Typically used for musical instuments, window frames, furniture and boats. It grows in West, Central and East Africa.

Purpleheart– This wood is definitely one of my favorites. It is hard, dense and heavy, with high crushing, stiffness and bending strength. It glues, waxes, stains and polishes well. When freshly cut it is bright purple then turning a deep purplish brown color on exposure. It is straight grained but can be wavy or irregular. Purpleheart is highly durable and very resistant to decay fungi and dry-wood termites. It is used in quality furniture, boat building, billiard or pool cue butts and heavy exterior construction. It grows in Central America and northern South America.

Teak– The mother of all woods, ha ha. Most Teak is a dark golden-yellow that turn to a rich brown with darker, deep brown markings. The distinct narrow to medium-width sapwood is white to pale yellow. The grain is typically straight but sometimes wavy and feels oily to the touch.  It is a hard, medium density wood that is strong,  incredibly durable and has a high crushing strength. Working with it is relatively easy but it does have a severe blunting effect on cutting tools.  Amazingly Teak is acid and fire resistant due to its silica content. Very resistant to termites and fungi and an excellent material for outdoor furniture. it grows in Burma ( Myanmar) India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Java; also Malaysia, Borneo, Philippines, Central America and tropical Africa.

I hope this information was beneficial and helped guide you in the right direction of what type of wood you would like you furniture to be made from. If you are interested in prices you will have to contact me because prices at lumber yards tend to change often and some lumber may have to be special ordered. 

Thank you for stopping by   T H E   H U N G A R I A N   W O R K S H O P    and have a great day!