The Indonesian design community are currently enjoying the spotlight with a growing profile exemplified by the impressive Indonesia Design Week and the sprawling 12-hectare Design District in Jakarta. At the heart of this upswing is significant use of internationally sourced materials including timber. A solid foundation for any enduring design, American hardwood in particular is bringing natural grains to durable, yet delicately silhouetted, designs.
American hardwoods are harvested from naturally regenerating forests, which grow in volume beyond annual harvest rates. With carbon stored within the material outweighing the emissions of its harvest, processing and transport, it’s become a responsible choice for conscientious designers in Indonesia
Studio Hendro Hadinata’s practice expresses Indonesian heritage through contemporary furniture and objects. Launched in 2025 at Indonesian Design Week, the AHEC x Studio Hendro Hadinata’s KARANA Collection marked the first time Hadinata had used American hardwoods. The collection encapsulated the Balinese philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, speaking to harmony between people, nature and spirit, as well as drawing on Balinese sculptor Ida Bagus Nyana’s expressive 1930s wood carvings. American red oak and cherry were coaxed into three curvaceous forms: the Kuta Bench, the folding Sanur Lounge Chair, and the intertwined Ubud floor lamp.
For manufacturer Omega Mas, the engineering challenge was bending the material to Hadinata’s design will. Creating the bench tested the limits of a curve’s continuum through bent lamination even more so than the infinity-like shape of the snaking Ubud lamp. The process prompted an appreciation for the possibilities and parameters of the solid material
Now, KARANA Habitat expands the collection to include four dining and living essentials, adapting the curved language into furnishings that encourage everyday ease. In red oak, the Negara dining table, Negara dining chair and a Negara armchair, hold warm, pinkish-toned grains that cascade over each form’s precise joinery. The manufacturing focus emphasised robustness. The nuanced detail of Hadinata’s design is translated into braced forms that can support quotidian dining and living experiences, despite appearing fluid and soft. Like tree branches reaching skyward, a lightly-grained maple framework hugs the burnt orange cushioning. In August, the seven-piece collection was the main feature in the Lintang Pavilion at Jia Curated. Bali’s highly regarded design event.
“By combining the unique qualities of American hardwoods with the craftsmen’s skills, the result was more than just finished products. It became a new design approach that could expand how Indonesian design engages with global materials and techniques,” Hadinata reflects.
The most recent in a series of AHEC collaborations, KARANA Habitat exemplifies an ongoing commitment to encouraging the use of sustainable American hardwood internationally; an approach that ensures the fruits of sharing collective knowledge and material resources advance local cultural expression.
American Hardwood Export Council
americanhardwood.org
