When we went to Lauderdale, Eltjo greeted us. First, he showed us a yew log. Usually, logs come without their branches, but yews come with branches still intact. All of Lauderdale's wood is Irish.

We then went to a huge barn where the air-drying takes place. This takes up to 3 years, where as if the 'cooking' technique-Kiln' Drying is used it takes from 3 days to 3 months, but-results in the wood cracking sometimes.

Yew is the most attractive wood, but it is stubborn and awkward to work with. Beech is the nicest and easiest to handle.

The batch of 68 chairs we saw was made from ash, elm, beech and oak, took 3 weeks to make.
Only two people work full time, Eltjo and his wife. His daughter and son work part-time.

Lauderdale has a lot of beautiful furniture and use about 30 trees (on average) a year.

It was very interesting and educational; Eltjo told us all about tree smells. For example-pine smells refreshing, yew smells delicious, but elm smells…. disgusting-all when the trees are fresh.

Eltjo and his family seem to love working with wood. It is actually a hobby, not a job of Eltjo's. It has a very friendly environment, and everyone there is pleasant.