This rocker is crafted from Bubinga rosewood, a rare and storied hardwood native to the dense forests of Central and West Africa. Once sought after by luthiers and fine furniture makers for its strength, beauty, and workability, Bubinga can no longer be legally imported into the United States due to international conservation protections. That restriction has transformed it from a premium material into a true rarity — every board that exists today is part of a finite legacy, making each piece built from it something you simply cannot reproduce again.
 
Bubinga is celebrated for its rich, reddish-rose tones that shift with the light — from deep burgundy to warm copper, often streaked with violet or chocolate undertones. When cut just right, its grain cascades in mesmerizing patterns known as “waterfall” figuring, giving the surface an almost liquid movement.
 
I still remember the first time I encountered this lumber. I was sitting in a chemistry lecture, but my mind was elsewhere — lost in photos of a waterfall Bubinga rocking chair built by my hero, Hal Taylor, a master chairmaker whose work had set the standard for everything I hoped to achieve. That single moment — the elegance of the wood, the sculpted lines of his chair — sparked the passion that led me to begin building chairs myself.
 
Every curve of this piece is shaped with that same inspiration in mind. The flowing arms, the mirrored grain, the polished glow of aged Bubinga — they’re all part of a story that started long before this chair was built. It’s more than a piece of furniture; it’s a tribute to the craft, to the wood itself, and to the spark that began it all.