What do we fancy and what not? Often it is the subtle differences to determine this. Sometimes it is a colour that is appealing to us, or a shape, and usually it is a combination of both. Often it is the details that make a product attractive to us.

Last spring I joined my son in looking for new trainers. I thought that we had found a pair that exactly matched his wishes, but he thought quite different about it. “Then why don’t you like these trainers?”, I asked him. “They are your favourite brand and it is the colour you were looking for, so what is wrong with them?”. He replied in a typically adolescent way: “I just don’t like them”. So, we looked further trying to find “great” trainers. In the next shop, he came to me, presenting a suitable pair and I was quite surprised, because in my opinion they were exactly the same as the pair we had seen earlier and I asked him what made him like these. My son totally disagreed; these looked much better! I was gobsmacked … I was pretty certain that they were the same trainers and I asked why he preferred these. “Because they have straight laces”, he replied. Apparently, the shopkeeper had parallelly laced round shoelaces in the shoe. In the previous sneaker store, flat laces had been laced transversely in the shoe.A subtle different that was seemingly irrelevant, but meant a significant difference to my 15 year-old son. The “straight laces” made the shoes great and worth buying!

Why am I telling you this story? Firstly, it illustrates that often details determine the beauty of a product. I too usually add subtle details to my designs that enhance the furniture and increase the attractiveness. Hoping that you, just as my son, will get a good feeling by what you are observing. For instance, the wooden detail that keeps the back cushion of the new Mix & Match collection in place. Or the bead that is part of the new Menton collection. In both cases, it is a subtle difference that would largely affect the general image when omitted. Secondly, this trainer story inspired me to initiate our new La Croix collection. This teak collection is not “just” interwoven using rope, but using “straight round laces”. The rope was intentionally woven through the frame; just as the shoe laces that were laced parallelly. It is this subtle detail that makes the La Croix so attractive. And, in my opinion, exactly that is the power of Apple Bee. Accessible design that distinguishes by carefully applied subtle details that elevate the product from “just nice” to a balanced “marvellous”.

We would like to show our collections for 2021 and ask you to pay special attention to the details. I think you will agree that it is specifically these details that make the furniture appealing to you.

Originally teak comes from the South East of Asia. Apple Bee manufactures all its outdoor furniture in Indonesia. The best quality comes from the East of Java, where the goldenbrown flamed hardwood is also known as ‘djati’. Nowadays the teak tree (tectona grandis) is planted on large scale in the tropics all over the world. This results in differences in color, weight and hardness of the wood.

Teak has been used for decades in outdoor furniture and is also acclaimed for its high weather resistance. Teak contains many natural oils, which serves as a natural protective layer on the wood. Moreover teak doesn’t rust and there won’t arise corrosion on the wood when it is in contact with metal. The lifetime of teakwood is generally much higher than the lifetime of other types of wood. All these benefits together explain why this type of wood is perfect to use for outdoor furniture.

Tropical hardwood
Teak is a tropical hardwood with a beautiful golden /honey brown color when it is new. Over time, as natural teak is exposed to the elements, it gradually changes color from the honey color of new teak to a silver-gray patina which distinguishes finely aged, outdoor teak. After a while this silver-gray patina deteriorates to a dark-gray and greenish look if it remains untreated.

Climate and care
Teak is a tropical hardwood with a beautiful golden /honey brown color when it is new. Over time, as natural teak is exposed to the elements, it gradually changes color from the honey color of new teak to a silver-gray patina which distinguishes finely aged, outdoor teak. After a while this silver-gray patina deteriorates to a dark-gray and greenish look if it remains untreated. Teak is a natural product, which can cause differences in color and/or small cracks in the wood. These differences only represent the authenticity of your product. For outdoor use of your furniture teak will be exposed to rain, sunlight, dirt, moisture and fungi, and therefore taking care of your outdoor furniture is important.

Apple Bee furniture is made of the highest quality materials. The same certainly applies to the cushions. Our BEE WETT range consists of special weather-resistant cushions that you can simply leave outside. The removable cover is made of the best possible materials, which are all washable. As well as being waterproof, the material is also guaranteed to be UV-resistant. Unlike normal foam, the unique BEE WETT filling does not absorb moisture. The open fabric structure on the bottom of the cushion drains all moisture perfectly. This ensures that your BEE WETT cushion dries incredibly quickly compared to other cushions. The Bee Wett cushion is upholstered with a Olefin material that is resistant to rot and fungus, but is also UV-proof, soft, comfortable and damp-proof.

Care
For many years we have been supplying Apple Bee furniture together with the highest-quality, care-friendly BEE WETT cushions. One of the surest ways to extend the life of these attractive cushions is to maintain the fabric correctly. This can be done simply by brushing off dirt before it becomes embedded in the fabric fibres and to immediately remove spilled liquids and other substances. Do not use any caustic cleaning agents or chlorine. You can leave the cushion covers to soak in a soap and water solution and/or wash them in a delicate fabrics programme at a maximum of 30 degrees. NB: always rinse out the covers thoroughly!

In order to retain the cushions’ water-repellent layer you can add a little Harmisol or similar to the last rinsing. Do not put the cushion covers in a spin dryer or dryer and do not iron them. As soon as the washing machine programme is finished, immediately replace the wet cover around the cushion filling so that the natural elasticity of the fibres will pull the cover nice and tight around the filling as it dries.