Hello
My name is Daniel and I am the owner and founder of Signature Kauri. Helping you create something truly special which captures a moment in time from tens of thousands of years ago is something I do with a passion - together we can bring a beautiful piece of ancient kauri back to life for many years to come.
My Story
My journey with kauri began in 2015 when I relocated to a remote part of Northern New Zealand for a new and exciting challenge as the next step in my career. This is a rugged and wild part of the country with mile after mile of sprawling countryside, golden sand beaches and ancient forests. I have always been fond of the outdoors so naturally my time off on a weekend was spent paddle-boarding the coastline, hiking the hills and taking in the views. It was on these many hikes where as time went by I found myself increasingly intrigued by the giant trees which stood tall and proud all across Northland.
In September of 2016 I took my first drive through Waipoua Forest on Northlands West Coast. The forest is the most famous of them all for the kauri trees and home to Tāne Mahuta (read more about this giant here). Along the very windy road I happened upon several small gift shops, each selling pieces of kauri but with a difference - the wood used to make seemingly normal household objects such as ornaments and bowls was made from wood up to 45,000 years in age
This of course piqued my interest even further. In the years which followed I continued to educate myself on the topic and by the time I was ready to return home to the UK in 2020 I knew I had to bring some back with me. After forging some close relationships with some incredibly talented craftsmen I chose approximately 20 table tops made from the ancient wood and brought it back with me.
A sustainable future has always been something I have aimed for and starting a business for me had to include this at its core. I constantly strive for ways to decrease the impact that the production our products have both with my own business and that of my suppliers. You can read more about our award winning efforts on sustainability here. In this area things will only continue to improve for us.
From this moment Signature Kauri was born. 'Signature' refers to the fact that every single piece of our furniture is truly unique to the customer whose home it eventually lives in. Since 2020 I have worked with a selection of private individuals, store owners and interior designers to bring ancient kauri to the homes of themselves and their clients. The journey these pieces have been on to get to these homes has been long but it certainly hasn't ended.
Contact
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.