Life at TGF: Where craft is culture, and every day begins with creation
9 May 2025, 11:21AM
Life at TGF: Where craft is culture, and every day begins with creation
The Pulse of the Workshop
The workshop is where the heart of TGF beats the loudest. It is a space alive with the rhythm of hand tools and the focus of master craftsmen who have worked together for years. Some have spent decades perfecting the art of joinery, shaping teak into forms that are as strong as they are soulful.
Every corner of the workshop carries a different sound: the rasp of sanding, the thud of carving, the hush of oil brushing over grain. Here, heritage techniques meet modern precision, and every creation becomes an intimate collaboration between mind, material, and maker.
Designing with Purpose
Before the first cut is made, the design team leads the journey. Composed of experienced professionals with years of expertise in furniture design, this team lays the foundation for every piece that leaves the TGF studio. They sketch, model, and prototype with a deep understanding of proportion, ergonomics, and purpose.
Every design begins with a question, not of appearance but of intent. How will this chair provide comfort? How will this table invite gathering? How can form and function coexist without compromise? These reflections guide the creative process, ensuring that beauty always serves a purpose.
Each creation is not just furniture; it is a response to how people live, move, and belong in their spaces. The design team’s clarity of thought ensures that TGF’s work is as meaningful as it is meticulous.
Crafted by Passionate Hands
The craftsmen at TGF are more than skilled workers; they are custodians of tradition and storytellers in their own right. Many have been with the studio for years, their expertise evolving alongside the brand. Together, they turn raw teakwood into lasting works of design through steady hands, practised patience, and shared pride.
Each day begins with focus and ends with fulfilment. Whether it is the perfect dovetail joint or the smoothness of a hand-polished finish, every task is treated as a ritual of respect for the material. This harmony between human touch and timeless craft is what defines life at TGF.
Thread of Empowerment
Beyond the walls of the workshop, TGF’s belief in craft extends into the community. The initiative called Thread of Empowerment reflects the brand’s commitment to inclusivity and shared growth. Through this programme, women are trained in furniture-making, upholstery, and textile application, skills that allow them to participate in and shape the world of design.
From learning to weave natural fibres into teakwood frames to understanding fabrics and textures in furniture, the initiative empowers women to build their own creative identities. What begins as training often transforms into long-term collaboration, weaving social impact into the fabric of craft.
At Tectona Grandis Furniture, craft is more than creation — it’s connection. Thread of Empowerment grew from this belief, extending our workshop’s spirit into the hands of women from nearby communities.
Through this initiative, women are trained in stitching, surface ornamentation, and upholstery — learning to work with textures, fabrics, and natural materials. What began as an introduction to craftsmanship soon evolved into creativity without boundaries. Using surplus textiles from our upholstery studio, they now upcycle and transform these materials into soft furnishings and expressive wall art, giving fabric a renewed form and purpose.
Each piece they create carries the essence of empowerment — skill woven with dignity, and design shaped by human hands and shared growth.
