Though not well understood in modern design circles, palm has been used for interior design applications in tropical environments from the Pacific Islands to India, Africa and the Caribbean for centuries. However, a few western designers as far back as the 1900s have explored this mysterious, unpredictable and curious material.

This aspect of palm had intrigued French designers such as Eugene Printz and Gustave Miklos since the 1920s, an era that celebrated exotic materials. Today, elegant handmade antiques made of palm wood are often expensive.

At a recent Christie’s auction of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergere’s art and furniture collection, a pair of palm wood and leopard skin settees by Miklos sold for $2 million, in part because of their provenance, but also because they are made of the finest examples of palm wood. We believe with advances in knowledge of palm’s unique characteristics, as well as innovative lamination and fabrication techniques, a new era of designing and building with palm is now possible. This is an exciting time for palm resources and an exciting time for those interested in exploring further what initially intrigued Printz, Miklos and other pioneering designers of the past century.