The use of rattan goes right back to early civilisations, from baskets in ancient Egypt and privacy screens for the Romans before the Chinese started using rattan in the 14th century for storage bowls and boxes. It finally hit the big time in the Victorian age in both the British colonies and at home.

It was in Hong Kong that Charles first came into contact with rattan furniture, as a fun, cheap way of furnishing his home, when he was starting out in Asia. Later on, Charles started to develop more innovative rattan designs for projects such as the Orient Express boat that travelled down the Ayeyarwady to Mandalay.

Fast forward to today and Charles’ has used this ancient product to create a breath-taking rattan collection, Tales of Design, which is influenced by both Burmese colonial and English traditional designs.