Disabled capitalise on cane furniture boom

Press, 15 July 1982, Page 17

Disabled capitalise on cane furniture boom

By

GARRY ARTHUR

Cane furniture’s rediscovery by interior- decorators has proved a boon to two Christchurch men who were looking for a way to develop their shared interest .in working with natural materials. Dave Whiten and Steve Saunderson already had ■ something else in common - a serious physical disability. Dave Whiten has been a paraplegic for 12 years, ever since he was hurt in a motorcycle accident at the age of 16. Steve Saunderson <was born with osteogenesis imperfecta — brittle ■ bones — and has to get about, very cautiously, on , crutches. They met through paraplegic sports. Both were working in metal trades — Dave Whiten as a silversmith at the Artists’ Quarter, and Steve Saunderson as a ■ welder at a bicycle factory. Both wanted a change, so they looked at several possibilities and decided that working with cane would suit both their disabilities, because it is a light material, and their interest in natural materials. They' started with a footstool, and the third attempt was good enough to be

sold to a shopkeeper. They moved up to bar stools, and now more than three years later, they are supplying about two dozen shops and have no hesitation in tackling entire suites of furniture. Because of their different kinds of disabilities, Dave tends to tackle the heavier work — lounge and dining suites, and bending the thick rattan cane — while Steve makes smaller pieces, such as little coffee tables, and handles the office work and sales.

Another furniture maker, Peter Morgan, showed them some of the tricks of the trade, but mostly they learned as they went along.

They went without wages for the first year of so, putting all their eamings back into the business. The Small Business Agency gave them useful advice, and they have built up their business now to the point where they are planning to open a shop to sell their products. Two or three other cane-

ware firms have started up and closed down in the same period, but Dave Whiten says that he and his partner just take things quietly and “plod

Small tables, plant stands, and other items under $lOO sell best, they find; but they have completed some big jobs as well, including 50 dining chairs for a new restaurant, and furnishings for a beautician’s salon. “We're versatile and adaptable and we don’t turn anything away," Steve Saunderson says. “A lot of other cane outfits won’t look at repairs, but we do anything that comes along.” They have a lot of new design ideas too, but so far they have been too busy with the bread-and-butter lines. They have no desire to become a big business. "We like to keep it small andpersonal, and meet the people we make things for,” Steve explains. Their firm, Cane Furniture Manufacturers, takes up so much of their time that neither man has had a holiday yet. “Our holidays,”

Dave Whiten, says, “are the little stints.we have in hospital. Steve’s had a few stints, and I’ve just come out after eight days.” Dave finds that long hours at his workbench can have a

bad effect on his health, but he enjoys his work. “I don’t get bored,” he says, "there’s always something happening, and we’re making a reasonable living. It’s what we want to do.”