Building a Legacy in Teak: The Tectona Grandis Furniture Story
9 May 2025, 11:21AM
Building a Legacy in Teak: The Tectona Grandis Furniture Story
Creativity often lies in restraint, in knowing when to simplify, when to refine, and when to let a material speak for itself. This philosophy defines Tectona Grandis Furniture, the Ahmedabad-based studio founded by designer Dhruvkant Amin, an alumnus of the National Institute of Design (NID).
With a distinctive sense of art, rhythm, and playfulness, Dhruvkant and his team craft designs that are bold yet balanced, grounded in nature but shaped for contemporary living. At first glance, their creations appear minimal. Look closer, and you see an effortless sophistication that only years of devotion to craft can bring.
A Journey Rooted in Wood
The story of Tectona Grandis Furniture began long before it had a name. After a brief stint in stainless steel design, Dhruvkant’s heart gravitated towards wood, a material that felt alive, warm, and infinitely expressive. In the early 2000s, his projects at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, and later at the Navjivan Trust in Ahmedabad, challenged him to create furniture that respected heritage while feeling timeless.
Working within the architectural legacy of these institutions, he turned to locally sourced teakwood, a choice that combined cultural reverence with environmental mindfulness. It was here that his philosophy took shape: design should be enduring, responsible, and quietly expressive. These values would soon become the soul of his studio.
What’s in a Name
The name Tectona Grandis comes from the scientific term for teakwood, a tree that embodies strength, grace, and resilience. To Dhruvkant, teak represented more than material; it was a metaphor for endurance, adaptability, and beauty earned through time.
Every piece born in the TGF workshop carries this essence, handcrafted from reclaimed and responsibly sourced teak, seasoned to withstand time and temperature. The studio reinterprets traditional Indian teak furniture with a modern eye, creating designs that are fluid, versatile, and deeply rooted in the Indian aesthetic of simplicity.
Shortly after its inception, Jalpa Amin, a NIFT Gandhinagar graduate, joined the journey as Co-Founder and Management Partner. Together, the duo brought design and detail into perfect balance, where vision met precision and creativity met continuity.
Shortly after its inception, Jalpa Amin, drawing from her background in mathematics, training at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, and her family’s textile legacy, brings structure and strategic clarity to the studio.Together, the duo brought design and detail into perfect balance, where vision met precision and creativity met continuity.
Designs That Speak Softly, Yet Stand Tall
At Tectona Grandis Furniture, simplicity is an art form. The brand’s signature lies in clean joinery, chamfered edges, and tactile finishes that invite touch and familiarity. Every prototype undergoes rounds of refinement, from initial sketches to full-scale mockups, ensuring that form, comfort, and structure exist in harmony.
The result is furniture that feels effortless, even when it has been perfected over countless hours. The studio’s collections whisper stories of balance, between geometry and grain, between function and feeling.
What began with five craftsmen in an 800 square foot workshop has now grown into an 18,000 square foot studio buzzing with more than forty artisans. Yet the ethos remains unchanged: craft with care, build with integrity, and design with empathy.
Today, Tectona Grandis Furniture stands as one of India’s leading design-led furniture studios, committed to preserving the soul of Indian craftsmanship while adapting it for modern living. With an eye on global platforms, the studio continues to refine its approach, combining artistry, sustainability, and precision manufacturing to present Indian design to the world.
Each creation is more than a piece of furniture; it is a conversation between hand and wood, tradition and tomorrow.
