Mr Pieter Botha
Tray stacks that travel
Packing notes for hospitality trays that leave Woodstock by courier.
If you have ever watched our trays leave the Woodstock workshop, you will know there is more to it than slipping them into a box and waving the bakkie off. I am Pieter Botha, and when I see a Veld Tray heading for a Joburg penthouse, Lowveld lodge or a winelands tasting room, I want it arriving as perfect as it left our hands.
Read it alongside the Veld Tray page.
Stacking in the atelier: how we batch trays for travel
At the studio, tray stacks start with a clean bench, no rogue sawdust or glue blobs. Each Veld Tray, cut from our selected South African hardwoods, gets its own layer of newsprint to prevent any oil finish from picking up marks. With the brass inlays set flush, you would think they are safe, but one careless stack and you risk a small dent that will catch the morning sun in a lobby somewhere. It is always hardwood to hardwood, never letting a raw edge press against the next tray’s inlay, we have learnt this the hard way after a batch came back with hairline scratches from a mismatched pile.
We keep groups to no more than five trays before breaking the stack with a thicker buffer, usually a sheet of recycled corrugated board. If the air in Woodstock feels damp or sticky, like before a Cape southeaster, we check that trays are bone dry before wrapping. Any trapped moisture can haze the oil matte finish or, worse, bring out stains where the brass meets the timber.
Packing materials: what actually works on South African roads
Courier trips from Cape Town to Gauteng or KZN are not kind to fragile items. Years back, we tried bubble wrap and soft foam, but both create static that lifts dust onto the oil finish and leaves dull patches. Instead, we wrap each tray in thick newsprint, then a wrap of brown kraft paper, sides taped so nothing can slide out. Trays are set into custom double-wall cartons, cut to fit the tray’s 320 x 220 mm profile closely. Void fill is always shredded paper, never polystyrene: it cushions but does not let trays rattle. Too tight and you will get corner crushes if someone drops the carton, too loose and the trays bounce in transit.
An extra tip from the Highveld: the dry air will shrink hardwoods slightly, so we allow a millimetre or two of play in the box. Too snug in a Cape winter, and it is fine, but in a Joburg August, the timber can pull away from the inlay, showing a hairline crack if packed too tight.
Transit mistakes we have learned from
Not all lessons are kind ones. We once had a courier leave boxes sitting in the back of a bakkie all afternoon in Durban humidity. The trays arrived with faint watermarking on the matte finish, which had to be sanded and oiled again. Now, every box is double-bagged inside a heavy-duty plastic sleeve, especially in summer when storms can sweep in fast.
We avoid using any printed marketing inside the tray wrap itself, as inks and coatings can transfer, especially if left in a hot depot. Labels go outside the paper wrap, never touching the wood. The biggest issue is always the edge corners: these take the knocks. We add an extra corner protector to each tray using offcuts of felt, and if we know the road is rough, say, sending to the Karoo or a rural lodge, we double up on both board and felt.
Unpacking and care tips for your team
Once your trays arrive, the way they are unpacked can make all the difference to their long life. Here’s what I recommend for your hospitality or facilities team:
- Open cartons in a clean, dry space, not on the stoep or in a storeroom with concrete dust.
- Slide trays out horizontally to avoid flexing the hardwood, which can strain the brass inlay.
- Wipe each tray down with a dry, soft cloth before first use. Never use a damp cloth or any spray-on cleaner.
- Stack no more than three trays high when storing, with a sheet of newsprint or unprinted paper between each.
- If moving trays between rooms or buildings, use both hands and carry vertically, brass inlay facing up.
Where to go next
See the Veld Tray specs, then the install notes. For a full room brief, the Hospitality lodge or Cafe objects studio pages walk through a visit week. Finish samples live under finishes, and you can book a sample hour at a showroom.