Our Craftspeople
Quality Works
Quality Works makes long-lasting teak furniture while focusing on the well-being of its employees and a thriving local community.
Teak and teak wood saws at the Quality Works workshop.
Anders Nørgaard has a family heritage of furniture making. After traveling around the world making furniture, completing a wood engineering degree and working for a high-end Danish and Swiss furniture company for a decade, Nørgaard started Quality Works in 2012.
A craftsperson weaves all-weather wicker around a chair frame.
Located in Lamongan, Indonesia, Quality Works focuses primarily on making teak outdoor furniture. They source teak exclusively from forests owned by Perum Perhutani, an Indonesian government agency that meets our sustainable wood sourcing policy through third-party certification. This means the lumber is sustainably harvested, ensuring the material will be available now and into the future. At their factory, Quality Works cuts, kiln dries the teak and builds the furniture, and any unused shavings are converted into kiln fuel, chicken bedding or incense sticks for local places of worship.
“Indonesia has a history of fantastic craftsmanship, and the people at Quality Works exemplify these skills in their expert work. Our intention is to create furniture that will outlive us.”
Anders Nørgaard stands beside drying teak logs.
Nørgaard shares, “In Indonesia, the labor laws are quite protective, but we are trying to go above and beyond in how we treat our people.” A few examples of this include Quality Works offering free healthcare for employees and their families, 13 months of salary paid each year, a leave of absence or part-time work given to employees wishing to further their education, and education grants donated to the children of employees. Furthermore, Quality Works offers employees six months paid maternity leave and teaches stay-at-home mothers how to produce and market hand-crocheted products; this program provides income for over 70 women.
