Well there are several reasons behind this but I would firstly like to say that we do not aim to be the cheapest rattan garden furniture available but more the best quality for the best price.  In other words we want to make sure that you can not buy as good a quality of rattan furniture for a lower price than us.  So from that respect we are the cheapest available for the quality we offer.

There is always someone trying to sneak into a marketplace with a lesser quality product at a cheaper price.  There is a very good reason why these products are cheaper!  They are simply not as good a quality.  These cheaper sets use inferior frames and brittle plastic rattan weaves that do not last the test of time.  Anyway I was meant to be explaining why our cube is still the best value cube available today.

I think the most important thing when buying your rattan cube set is the comfort.  Our chairs are wider, deeper and stronger then the cheap cubes you often see passing them off as the same thing.  This size difference makes a difference when assessing the comfort.  More importantly than the size is the fold up back you get with our cube.  I would strongly advise that you do not purchase a cube set without a fold up back.  The reason for this is simple.  You may have a cushion on the back but as soon as you lean back the cushion just gives way and you are left very uncomfortable.

So, the first thing you need to check is that the cube has a fold up back.  The second thing you need to check is that the cushions are zipped and washable.  I saw a cheap cube the other day that did not have fold up back and did not have washable cushions.  The cushions were white and would therefore pick up the dirt in no time at all.  The set will look dirty and ruined before you know it.  In our case the cushions are zipped and washable and therefore the set will last you for many years.

Having said all that we are selling more rattan cubes sets than ever before so maybe people already know the differences!!

Demand for extra rattan garden chairs over the last few years has always been a bug bear of mine but this year we have the solution.  All of our rattan garden furniture sets come into the country as complete sets and therefore there are never any spares to sell on should the customer want them. 

There is logic to only selling the goods in sets.  Most of the goods can only be purchased in bulk and in sets so we are only able to get complete units.  To break up these units always leaves us with odds and sods we can’t do much with.  It is unlikely that anyone wants to buy a table with an odd set of chairs for example.

It all change this year as we have been able to secure individual rattan chairs for both our sofa sets and our dining sets.  Therefore the way is clear to purchasing emergency chairs for your rattan dining sets.  You are now able to create your own rattan sofa sets by adding additional chairs to our suites.  The Manuka armchair is the best example of this as it goes with so many of our rattan sofa sets.  This chair is not only very versatile but also very comfortable.  The smooth clean design lends itself to a contemporary dwelling and yet does not look out of place in a more traditional house.

As with all of our stock the new chairs will run out.  We never carry any stock over the winter months and it is better for us to sell out then go into winter with too much stock.  Therefore if it is something that you think you may require do let us know so that we can put one or two aside for you.  The individual chairs can be seen in our rattan accessories page as well as on the sets themselves.

You will have seen the Lazy Suzy’s in Chinese restaurants where they are often used to hold the condiments etc.  Well they have been an integral part of our outdoor furniture range for some years now.  They have not been readily available on all our sets but we have just had a large shipment in and have decided to promote there arrival by giving them out for free.  We can’t do this on all sets so again we have selected some of our more popular sets and offered free lazy Suzy’s to try and offer that little bit extra.

Check out our post it notes that are all over the website to see which sets come with a free lazy Suzy.  We only have a limited number of these sets available and when they are gone there will be no more this year.  Therefore is you want to take advantage of the free Lazy Suzy then get in touch as soon as possible.

Don’t forget that you can use the Lazy Suzy at the same time as your parasol as there is a hole cut out of the middle.  The lazy Suzy simply sits on top of your rattan dining table and can be easily removed if necessary.  Snap up the free lazy Suzy’s while you can as they will not last for long.  For more details go to our home page at www.rattanfurnitureuk.co.uk and browse our whole site.

The rain has driven us all barmy over the last few weeks and also driven our customers barmy.  We have lost count of the number of times we get asked, “when is the sun going to shine?”  In an attempt to cheer our customers up a little we have started to through in some free winter covers on selected sets.  The idea is to deliver our quality rattan furniture sets now but give the winter covers so that they can remain nice and dry and ready for the summer sun when it arrives.  I say when it arrives as you have to remain positive!  

Our winter covers come in a few different sizes and are generally meant for use between October and February.  This year seems to be the exception as the winter seems to be dragging on into May!  I keep telling customers that the late start to summer will just mean that the summer doesn’t end until November.  I think this may be pushing the boundaries a little mind you.  The good news is that our rattan garden furniture is designed not only to last in all weathers but also to last for many years.  Therefore you are safely going to get good use out of your set even if it does take a while for the sun to come out.

Check out our rattan garden furniture sale page for our special offers.  Alternatively give us a call and we can let you know what sets come with free covers.  We have highlighted the free covers on the website using post it notes so you can easily see the sets come with what items.  Hopefully all this makes sense but do give us a call or check out our website for details.

Not quite the weather for lounging but nevertheless we are eternal optimists here at Zebrano and to that end we have decided to create a rattan garden sun lounger video.  It is hosted on you tube just like our other videos but you can see it on our website on our rattan lounger’s page.

Despite the recent rain the British public does love a rattan sun lounger.  This year is no different from last year in terms of the popularity of our rattan sun loungers.  Historically the Verona’s have been the most popular and to be honest this year is no different.

We have seen some good interest in the Aqua loungers and also the Manuka sun Loungers but the bulk of sales have once again come from the Verona’s.  Unless of course the customer has already purchased one our tubular weave products in which case the Hamilton rattan sun loungers would have been purchased to keep their set matching.

All that said we are still early on in the summer season and the sun has barely popped his head out yet.  As the season goes on there are sure to be some surprises and the Aqua is not far behind in terms of sales.  It looks like this year will be the last for the California double loungers which seem to have been a good idea, but not a great idea!  Everyone loves them but many more prefer the flexibility of having two separate loungers and not being stuck together.

Personally I think the California’s are great I would love to soak up the sun next to my wife if only we had the time.  In our case we are co owners of Zebrano so barely have time to sit down in the summer never mind soak up the sun.  Even if we did get five minutes I suspect that our two little ones would be jumping all over us!  Hope you enjoy the video and check out our rattan sun lounger page for our full range.

We have been scratching our heads on the subject of customer interaction and Zoe, our creative director has come up with a competition.  We did think of offering money off or a free cover but we ended up agreeing that there is nothing people like more than cold hard cash!  Therefore we have decided to offer a cash prize of £100.  The prize is for the best photo of your furniture in situ.

In other words once you have your furniture in your back garden take a photo and email it into us.  All photos will be used on the website somewhere so you will be able to send your friends a link to our site showing your suite.  When we upload your photo we will email you the link and then you can share it on facebook or email your friends the link.  Just a bit of fun really but the best one gets £100.

The idea is that we can not only see all our furniture in its full glory but it may well inspire future customers to purchase if they can see just how good it all looks in peoples back gardens.  All entries are to be sent to sales@rattanfurnitureuk.co.uk and of course it is only open to real customers   Therefore you will need to include your invoice number when emailing the photo.  There are no other requirements as such apart from that the photos need to be in good taste and you need to be happy for us to use them on the website.

We will be exhibiting the photos on the blog and maybe even on the product page itself.  You can enter as many times as you like so get creative and try a few different angles.  Extra points will be given to creative flair but having said that we do want to see the product so make sure we can see what it is you’ve purchased!

I will be updating the blog as the entries come in and letting you know who is in the running.  Good luck and happy snapping. To see more details go to www.rattanfurnitureuk.co.uk/competitions

In the last five years we have seen the brown rattan weave take centre stage as far as popularity with the British public.  Last year we seen the black improving in sales but still it was quite a way behind the brown.  The black is very contemporary and minimal in design but is often considered a little too stark.  The brown is a two tone and is often considered to have more warmth or depth to it.

This year we have brought in a mixed grey rattan weave which has the contemporary feel that the black rattan has and yet because it is a two tone grey it also has some of the qualities of the brown.  It is still early days as far as being able to tell if the Grey will surpass the black in terms of number of sales but the general consensus thus far is that it looks great!

To be honest the grey has not been implemented throughout the website but if you are interested then just give us a call and we can let you know if your preferred set is available in the grey.  For now the best photo showing the grey rattan is the Cadiz Oval and six chairs.

Coming soon is our latest competition!  Well to be honest it is our first competition.  We wanted to see our furniture in the homes of our happy customers so we have given you an incentive to take some photos and email them into us by handing out a cash prize for the best photo.  I will fill you in with all the details in my next blog.

So here are a few tips on what to look out for…..

1.    What is the frame of the rattan furniture made out of?

The answer is very important and gives you your first clue as to the general quality of the furniture.  You need to make sure that the answer is Aluminum.  You need the frames to be made from Aluminum as this means that the frames will not rust.  There is not much point in having outdoor furniture that rusts.

2.    Does the Rattan fade in the sun?

The answer here should be no.  You don’t want a material that is being passed off as the all weather rattan that then fade when exposed to UV light.

3.    Are the cushions washable?

Clearly we are looking for a big yes to this question.  The cushion are an integral part of the outdoor suite and if they can’t be washed then how long will they last?  Most of the suites on the market are a cream, beige or white colour and over time these colours will get dirty.  The last thing you want is not to able to wash your covers.

Make sure that these three questions are answered correctly and you are off to a reasonable start.  They may only sound like small things but if you are buying something that you want to last then these are three key questions.  To see more on how our furniture is manufactured check out our about rattan garden furniture page for details.

I have never quiet understood the very high end companies in the rattan garden furniture business as I would personally find it difficult to mark a product up for 10 and sometime 20 times more than it costs.  Everyone is different I suppose but for me the only way to go is to be honest and try to provide good value at the same time as good quality.

In a similar way I have never understood the low end of the market that many of the multiples get involved in.  Fast food furniture as my old business partner used to call it.  I understand the principle of selling lots of it for low process but I can never work out why these goods don’t get sent straight back.  I mean some of them are of such low quality it is a wonder that they will last a season never mind more.  That said maybe there are people out there that buy garden furniture every year and therefore don’t want it to last any longer.

So I guess it is no surprise that the market I look to fill is the quality products that are designed to last a lifetime but that are also great value.  If any of our products do not meet the high levels of quality control our customer let us know very quickly so we are always kept on out toes.  This year our quality is the best yet.  I guess after five or so years ironing out any problems it is no surprise that our quality is better then ever before.  We do not have any desire to compete with the low end self assembly sofas with cushions that don’t zip etc.  Our customers do not accept these types of products and we have got to listen to them!  Check out our range of rattan garden furniture to see for yourself.

The same could be said for the furniture itself.  At first we would literally be in the jungles of Java (Indonesia) where we sourced our teak garden furniture from sustainable forests.  We would be having tea with small manufacturers and meeting half the village who were all involved and who all benefited from the industry.  When you are this close to the source you can control the quality very well.  As we grew we ended up going through more middle men as we had less time for travelling.

The bottom line is we have been through some less than efficient couriers and also some less then great middle men but experience and connections has meant that we now work with an excellent team of quality control men and women who ensure that our products are of the highest standards.  We also now have a fantastic delivery team that is not only quick but more importantly polite and friendly.  Nothing is ever perfect but these teams are honest and hard working and as long as any problems are dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible then that is all you can ask for.

We stick to what we are good at in the office and we are good at furniture!  We know when we have the right style or range of furniture and then we stick to it.  The teak garden furniture was great for a time and for the last five years we have focused on the rattan garden furniture.  We know the different qualities and we know that there is nothing worse then sending out bad quality products to the other side of the country.  Not only is it a waste of time for your customer but also a waste of time for us.  Our products are of high quality and the volume of sale it testament to that.  We wouldn’t be where we are today, right at the top of rattan garden furniture on the web if it was not for our experience and our trusted partners.