What the fibre does

01 — It cracks in dry air

Rattan and bamboo hold water. In a heated room in winter, or a room that is air-conditioned all summer, they give that water up and the strand splits along its length. It usually starts at a rim or at a cut end.

Keep the room between roughly 40% and 65% relative humidity. A humidity card in the room tells you where you are; if you are under 40% for weeks at a time, a small humidifier or simply keeping the piece away from a radiator and a vent will do more than anything you can put on the fibre.

02 — It deforms under load and over time

A woven wall is not a rigid wall. Loaded heavily, or hung, or leaned on, it dishes and the rim goes out of round. Handles are the first thing to go, because all the load runs through two small areas of binding.

Every container on this site publishes a carrying figure in kilograms and, where it matters, a separate standing figure. The carrying figure is lower because lifting concentrates the load. Those are numbers, not adjectives, and we do not describe anything here as strong, sturdy or hard-wearing instead of giving them.

03 — It darkens in daylight

Undyed plant fibre in daylight goes deeper and then greyer. This is oxidation of the surface, not the fading of a dye, and it does not reverse. A piece kept in a bright window will be noticeably darker within a year, and unevenly so if one side faces the light.

If you want it even, turn the piece occasionally. If you want it slowed, keep it out of direct sun. There is no finish we will sell you that stops it.

04 — It grows mould above about 75% humidity

Damp air plus dust sitting in the weave is what starts it. Bathrooms, basements, unheated rooms in a wet season, and any piece stored in a sealed plastic bag are the usual cases.

Brush the piece dry, get it into moving air, and treat spotting early with an alcohol-based wipe — test on the underside first, because on undyed fibre it can lighten the surface. Store pieces in a breathable cotton bag, never in plastic. We do not describe any piece here as resistant to mould, because none of them is.

05 — It can be bored by insects

Dried plant material is food for several beetle species. You see small round exit holes and a fine powder beneath the piece.

We make no claim that any piece is proof against insects, and where a piece has had a quarantine treatment we say what the treatment was rather than describing the result as protection. If you find holes and powder, isolate the piece from other natural material and get advice locally — this is one where a general note on a website is not enough.

06 — Strands lift and break

A burr is a fibre that has lifted along a strand. A broken strand is a strand that has gone. Both happen in normal use, and both are the reason the care line exists.

Trim a burr flush with curved scissors rather than pulling it, because pulling takes the strand with it. Splice a break with repair cord run back through two or three rows either side of the gap. Neither repair will be invisible, and neither is meant to be.

Words we will not use about any of this

The build refuses any claim that a piece will not crack, that it resists mould or insects, that it outlasts everything, or that it asks nothing of you. Nothing woven from a plant does any of that, and saying otherwise in Hong Kong is not a puff — it is a false trade description.

The care line — wax, repair cord, a humidity card, curved scissors, brushes, a breathable storage bag — exists because these six things happen. The eight care items are here.