<b>Owners: </b>
Brendan and Loicia Dack
<b>Short Bio: </b>
I was born and educated in Dublin, Ireland, where I lived up until the age of 21. Loicia was born in France. We met and married in Ireland. I have a Bachelors degree in Mathematics and Economics from University College Dublin. After graduating from college in Dublin, I attended the University of Censier in Paris were I studied French.
I later joined a large company based in Paris and with whom I have spent the majority of my professional career. The different professional assignments over a thirty-five-year period have given us the chance to work and live on three different continents and in countries as varied as France, Austria, Hong Kong, United States of America, United Kingdom, Mexico and most recently Brazil where we spent seven years. We have three grown children, two of whom live in the area.
<b>Why did you choose this particular business? </b>
We have both always been admirers of fine furniture and more generally the arts and crafts of the different places and countries we have been fortunate to live in and visit. We fell in love immediately with Brazilian furniture, its design, its quality, the diversity of the wood and the craftsmen who make it. We were also very impressed by the uniqueness of their artifacts. We have been very lucky in being able to ally our passion for arts and crafts and our long time objective of having our own business.
<b>Why did you choose to work for yourself rather than an employee for someone else? </b>
The challenges and the opportunity of starting a business from scratch are exhilarating. We both very much enjoy being involved in all the different aspects associated with a family owned business as well as the possibility to sell products we believe in. The extensive traveling involved throughout Brazil in sourcing the different products we sell, the decision making process in the day to day running of the store, and the contacts made with the customers who visit our showroom, contribute and reinforce us in the belief that we have made the right choice.
<b>What have you learned from being in business? </b>
Our experience to date is very limited, however, probably like most things, to be successful in your own business requires — apart from hard work — a bit of luck, and most importantly a good dose of optimism and an absolute confidence in the product you are selling.
<b>What have been the advantages and/or the disadvantages of operating a business in Alexandria? </b>
We choose to start our business in Old Town because we think that it’s a great place to be and also for the reputation it has in attracting people from near and far because of its cachet and its array of fine stores and restaurants.
<b>Description of services and/or products: </b>
Jacaranda imports furniture and artifacts made in Brazil.
All our furniture is crafted from beautifully grained antique Brazilian hardwood using 18th and 19th century joinery techniques. Each piece is a compilation of individual timbers that have been carefully selected. All of our furniture is hand-cut and hand made.
No mass manufacturing machinery is employed in production.
Each one of a kind piece is either stained or painted in a polychrome finish by a team of artisans. The painting process entails the use of centuries old traditional, family-held techniques. The paint layers are sanded and hand-worked to give each piece a remarkably true aged appearance.
The hardware is designed not only to fit the style of the furniture, but also to handle the weight and density of the hardwoods.
Unfortunately because of limited floor space we are unable to show all the furniture pieces that we have in stock, however we do have a catalog showing the entire line of products available.
Each one of a kind artifact — which include sculptures, figurines and framed works of art — is designed by Antonio Carlos Bech, known as ''Toty.'' A team of sixty artisans working with Toty combine to create works of astounding diversity using reclaimed wood and iron selected from the old Brazilian ranches known as "fazendas." His works attract many admirers including architects, decorators and designers from Brazil and further afield and are very evocative of Brazil’s cultural heritage.