Description

The full suite SOLD to Kim in the first few days it was listed for significantly more than the offers over price.

We have a few reasons to believe this Pacific Green suite was never put into production and is actually a prototype. I’ve not seen this design after 20 years in this business. (That is obviously NOT the main reason I think it’s a prototype). There were 3 different sized chairs in one suite! Look at the photos carefully. (I’ve never come across this before.) One of the backs was set at a completely different angle to all the other chairs and two chairs were bigger than the other 4.

I wanted to pull this suite out again and re-photograph it showing more clearly how various chairs differed but it sold so quickly that this ended up escaping me. Also the chair where one back looks “wrong” we fiddled with that back and made a new part so that it looked way better (but we never got it looking “perfect”. When you looked very closely at that chair it still wasn’t right- if I now remember rightly one of the upright posts was actually longer than the other! Even though both of the posts were identical in every other way!) This was a fascinating suite to work with. All the materials used are identical to what was used on other Pacific Green furniture from the late-1990’s / very early 2000’s- ie. the timber and all the hardware. I guarantee this suite is Pacific Green and about 20 years old, even though the design is VERY rare.

Will be FOR SALE from our Northside Brisbane depot in Morayfield shortly. Keep following this listing. Sorry SOLD before the full listing was done. 

I doubt you’ll ever see this design again. I’ve now had it in storage for a year (paying storage costs for it) because I’m certain it’s special and exceptional. I get the feeling this design was never put into production due to excessive production costs. The previous owners told us this suite is 20 years old. (They had no other information about it.) Pacific Green have no information on this suite as well because their records were lost when their factory in Fiji burnt down around 2010.

The price at the moment is an estimate (for the 6 CHAIRS ONLY- the table will be priced separately). I don’t even know how to put a value on this suite to be honest. The quality is exceptional, the design is exceptional and it’s not like anyone will be readily getting another one.

This suite is about 20 years old but presents incredibly well due to the exceptional quality of the craftsmanship, design and leather-upholstery. (There will be more photos to follow. I’ll pull the chairs out again to photograph a smaller quantity of the chairs closer-up.)

Provenance and Background Information

(Written in 2019).

The best second-hand Pacific Green Furniture is being tightly held onto at the moment and with good reason. In my opinion it’s the most exceptional furniture brand to ever emerge from Australia. The construction quality exceeds virtually all furniture found in Australia including virtually all Danish furniture, Parker, Tessa and most Coco Republic pieces. The quality of Pacific Green Furniture is easily inline with the best FLER pieces from the 1950’s such as the highly-awarded SC55 chair.

Most designer items today are clinical and sterile-looking- this suite has an earthy tribal feel with a modern designer twist. I love the comfort of these chairs too- beautifully soft and sumptuous in the seat plus the backrest is at the perfect angle. The castors make these chairs easy to move around too- they’re HEAVY chairs.

Pacific Green Furniture is exceptionally well built- the whole sub-structure is solid steel. And to top it off this is an outstanding investment- I doubt that Pacific Green could even make this design for this listing price.

Information About Pacific Green

Pacific Green is not as obscure as I first imagined. Their business originated from the Post & Rail brand which started in Sydney in the 1970’s. I’ve stocked Post & Rail furniture before and would stock the right designs again (the quality of P & R is exceptional). Post & Rail grew into an international brand and in the late 1980’s they did the unthinkable. With a highly successful brand they changed tack completely. With the world’s new concern with deforestation and ecological threats, Post & Rail closed and re-branded as Pacific Green Furniture. Pacific Green searched the world for a sustainable quality timber for their future furniture production- the solution? Coconut wood. In the South Pacific, they found vast abandoned plantations of coconut palm trees, which were commercially planted in the early-1900’s but had reached the end of productive fruiting. The best part? Coconut wood is more resilient than virtually any timber- it thrives in areas battered by tropical cyclones.

After I’d found out that I not only did I wanted that suite in a second, I wanted to start stocking new Pacific Green furniture in iNVISeDGE (which would be a first for us because we only sell used furniture). But there’s more. Pacific Green set a benchmark for modern, sustainable business in the Pacific. In the late-1980’s land was leased, not bought, to respect indigenous ownership. Their factory was built in consultation with the surrounding villages and employed only local people. Business and skills training programmes were established. The majority of the business is owned by Fijians- the drive and designing arm still happens here in Australia.

Pacific Green today has grown from that little furniture-making firm that started in the Rocks, Sydney back in 1973 (as Post & Rail). I am inspired and heartened they changed tack back in the late 1980’s when ecological threats were barely discussed. I can write nothing critical about this suite or Pacific Green- if I wasn’t busy with iNVISeDGE I’d want a job with them.

The best thing about Pacific Green is the inspiration it evokes- Pacific Green ticks every box and proves that businesses can be successful, ecologically responsible and socially-aware. This suite is already about 20 years old, in full original condition, so it’s obvious to anyone it has been built to last. It will certainly continue to tell stories for generations to come- just like Post & Rail furniture already has. Mark my words, Pacific Green Furniture will be the antiques of tomorrow. There’s no better way to invest in your home, reduce landfill and your carbon footprint.

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