About

Zambezi Exotics is owned by Keith Larrett. I was born in Zimbabwe and moved to South Africa to attend University in my late teens. After graduating from University I spent a couple of years working in Transkei before the travel bug bit me. I toured Europe for about a year before finding my way to America in 1992. On September 15th, 2005 I became a proud USA citizen.

I have been working with wood since 2000, primarily flat work. In 2006 I got a mini lathe and started turning pens. One thing led to another, and like so many others before me I found myself getting addicted to wood turning. Bigger lathe, more tools, I'm sure you are familiar with the cycle.

One of the things I really enjoy about wood turning is the ability to work with so many different types of wood. Whether it is a pen blank or a bowl blank the amount of wood one needs for a wood turning project is normally far smaller than needed for a flat work project. Because of this I found I was able to work with and experience a wide variety of both domestic and exotic woods.

I developed some contacts in South Africa and imported a small quantity of pen blanks. It was exciting to be able to work with wood from the land I was born in and I wanted to share the beauty of that wood with others. My relationship with my supplier in South Africa grew and before long a section of a container with pen blanks, bowl blanks and spindle stock was crossing the Atlantic on it's way to me. Zambezi Exotics was born!

All of the wood supplied here at Zambezi Exotics comes either from trees that have been pushed over by elephants or from instances where people have obtained legitimate permits to fell trees for mining, agriculture or other developments. These trees would otherwise be burnt or chopped up into small pieces and discarded.