Local suppliers are an integral part of production too, but while the stainless steel clips and our fabrics do come from various countries like China, India and Taiwan, the key parts of our product are all manufactured locally. The specially designed springs, the door clamps (which were historically designed for world famous Jolly Jumper – a personal favourite product of mine), the natural wool mattresses, and most importantly the 4-legged stands. Each of these components is a story in itself, however for this article I want to focus on the biggest single item: the stands.
Davco in New Lynn are legends, they make our tubular metal, powder-coated stands which hold up to 250kg+ as recent tests have shown. This is old school manufacturing at its best, (I mean do you even know what a swage is?), but when they finally close the doors, the incredible range of machines which bend, press, cut and otherwise shape metal will sadly be only worth their scrap price. Thank goodness Dave refuses to retire and he has picked up a new job with environmental business Hungrybin – he makes the frames for their fabulous new worm farm.
Adding to the story of the 4-legged stands, which are by far the most stable design of any on the market, the latest news is that we have found local wood working family business Black Sands Furniture to make a wooden stand for our hammock. This has been a dream for many years and it is with great pleasure that I can now say it is becoming a reality…watch this space.
And finally, being that I am a homemade kind of person and probably my own worst customer, I have long wondered if some people would rather purchase a kit of the key pieces for a baby hammock like the spring, the mattress and the fittings, with a pattern and instructions on how to sew their own. Do let me know if you are interested…unless the art of home sewing is too far in decline already.
You can contact Kate Hornblow, Founding director at Natures Sway, directly at kate@naturessway.co.nz. You can find more information on their website.
