Our History: Since 1999

Foundations (1999–2006)

Exotic Woods of the World is built on hands-on experience in the exotic hardwood industry dating back to 1999. Early work focused on sourcing, identifying, and distributing specialty hardwood species. This period established long-term supplier relationships and a strong working knowledge of global material characteristics and grading standards.

Early Online Market Leadership and Industry Growth (2007 to 2020)

During the early growth of online marketplaces, Exotic Woods of the World became one of the first specialty exotic hardwood companies to sell through eBay. The business helped establish and expand the online presence of exotic hardwood products during the platform’s development phase.

Over time, it grew to become the largest seller in its category on the platform for more than fifteen years. This period provided extensive hands-on exposure to a wide range of global hardwood species, customer applications, and evolving market demand trends.

In September 2007, Justin Holden was featured in a recorded testimonial discussing the company’s work in the industry at that time. The commercial includes imagery of the Exotic Woods of the World eBay storefront during its operational years.

Active operations continued through 2020.

Early Contributions to Wood Identification Resources

Exotic Woods of the World also contributed physical wood samples to support the development of online hardwood identification resources during the early growth of the internet woodworking community.

During the early 2000s, the company provided authenticated wood samples to The Wood Database, a project dedicated to documenting hardwood species and helping woodworkers identify wood through grain, color, and physical characteristics.

At the time, accurate samples of many tropical hardwood species were difficult for researchers and educators to obtain. Through its sourcing relationships with suppliers across Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia, Exotic Woods of the World was able to provide verified samples that helped expand the reference material available for lesser-known hardwood species.

These early contributions helped support the documentation of grain patterns, wood characteristics, and species identification information that continue to be used by woodworkers and researchers today.

The Archive Era (2026–Present)

Exotic Woods of the World was relaunched as a structured educational archive designed to document, preserve, and organize information on hardwood species from around the world.

The mission is long term:

• Build a comprehensive global hardwood species reference
• Support collectors and woodworkers
• Preserve material knowledge for future generations

This project represents the evolution of more than two decades of industry experience into a formal educational resource.