Five frames from the Ahmedabad workshop: a carver at the chisel, carved pillars against the wall, an unpolished temple on the floor, a carver fitting a drawer, and the workshop from the door

The workshop · Ahmedabad, Gujarat

One workshop. Every piece passes through it.

A family workshop in Ahmedabad carves everything we sell. Solid saag and sevan, cut, carved and finished under one roof, then crated and shipped to Australia.

Temples (mandirs), carved by hand in Gujarat.

How a piece is made

Five stages, eight to ten weeks for a home piece. You get a photograph at the end of each one. Shown here: one piece, The Haridwar, from the board to the finished temple.

Saag and sevan boards stacked on battens in the workshop yard, each end chalked with its wood and measurements

The wood

The Haridwar is saag (teak), bought as seasoned boards and rested again in the yard. Every board in the piece is solid. No plywood, no MDF, no veneer over a core.

The peacock and leaf pattern for the Haridwar's crest drawn in pencil on a planed teak board, with the paper template and three chisels beside it

The drawing

The pattern is drawn onto the board by hand, from the workshop's own templates: the peacock on the crest, the elephant heads at the corners, the lattice on the doors. The same drawing is used for every Haridwar, so what you saw is what gets cut.

Hands at the chisel: a pillar capital being carved on the workshop floor

The carving

Domes, pillars and lattice are cut with chisel and mallet on the workshop floor. Here, a pillar capital at the chisel. Some pieces are carved fully by hand; some are shaped by machine and finished by hand. Each product page says which.

A carved temple from the same workshop standing on the floor, sanded and waiting for its polish

Sanded, before the finish

Assembled and sanded, the piece stands on the floor in bare wood. This is the last photograph before the polish goes on, and the one where you check the carving against the drawing. Shown: a temple from the same workshop; the Haridwar's frame to come.

The Haridwar finished in natural gloss, with espresso stand set, red velvet curtains and the LED on

The finish and the crate

Polished in the finish you chose, LED and fittings installed, then photographed from every side before it is wrapped and crated. Those photographs come to you before it ships.

The Haridwar shown here is in natural gloss, with the stand set in espresso, curtains, and the LED on. 94 × 183 cm, saag.

See the Haridwar

What we can say, and what we can't yet

We have worked with this workshop since 2026. We have not yet agreed with the family how much of their story to put on our site — their name, how long they have carved, who leads the bench. Until they say yes, we say only what we have seen: solid wood, hand carving, a clean floor and finished pieces that match their drawings.

When they agree, this page will carry their name and their photographs. If they would rather not, it stays as it is.

A tall plywood export crate on the workshop floor, with a carved crest wrapped in cotton and card beside it, ready to go in

The sailing

From Mundra to Adelaide, by sea.

Finished pieces travel by road from Ahmedabad to the port at Mundra and sail together on a booked departure. Six to eight weeks at sea, then customs, then two people carry it into your room.

We tell you the sailing date when your order is confirmed, and again when your crate is on board.

How buying works