Timber Descriptions
Every Lights by Mac piece is shaped from genuine New Zealand native timber. These woods are rare — many can no longer be milled from the wild — which is exactly what makes each light one of a kind. Here are the timbers I love to work with.
Rimu
New Zealand's most recognisable native timber — a warm red-brown conifer with a fine, tight, even grain. New rimu can no longer be cut from the wild, so every piece I use is reclaimed or salvaged, then finished to show off its true colour.
Kauri
Our most iconic native timber — pale honey-gold with a satin sheen and a clear, straight grain. Strictly protected today, so all kauri is reclaimed or salvaged. I'll often blond it to lighten the colour and lift the grain.
Swamp Kauri
Ancient kauri, buried and preserved in swampland for thousands — sometimes tens of thousands — of years. Rare, deeply characterful and impossible to replicate: a genuine piece of New Zealand's distant past.
Kahikatea
Native white pine — creamy, light and bright, once milled almost to extinction for butter boxes in the early 1900s. Occasionally it reveals rare spalted green and orange figure. I often blond it for an even fresher, lighter look.
Matai
Black pine — a rich, warm brown with a silky satin sheen and a fine, tight grain. Hard-wearing and beautiful, it takes a hard wax oil finish wonderfully.
Miro
Brown pine — a fine-grained, reddish-brown native timber, rare and protected. Tougher to work, but its depth and grain make it well worth the effort.
Pukatea
A pale, rare native hardwood — light, strong and stable, with a subtle greenish cast that's often mistaken for swamp kauri. A genuine prize of nature.
Rewarewa
New Zealand honeysuckle — instantly recognisable for its striking lacy, speckled 'snakeskin' figure. A bold, characterful timber that makes a real statement.