OUR STORY
SilverOak Dentistry is an extension of my traditional family home, business and values.
‘Grevillea robusta’ or commonly known as Silver oak trees, are grown abundantly in the cool misty hill stations of the southern part of India. The tree gets its name as the underside of the leaves has a white silver colour. It is a fast-growing evergreen tree, and is a popular shade plant in the tea and coffee estates. It serves as a windbreaker and one of the best supporting trees to grow climber plants like pepper on.
After a certain age, these trees have to be cut down and replanted which led to a widespread use of this wood in the timber industry to make furniture and in the manufacture of plywood. In the late 60s, a 22 year old started his business journey in one of these coffee estates. He saw the promise this wood holds and started his trade in Silveroak timber– right from identifying good plantations, sourcing good quality wood from well looked after plantations and quality check at delivery. Over the years this skill was invaluable to customers and he got valuable clients who believed in quality and the business flourished.
A decade later he set up his first retail shop in Mumbai and has never looked back. His love for this wood was so emotional, he named our family home ‘SilverOak Estates’ back in my home town in Southern India which holds many fond memories. I was introduced to this wood at a very young age during my school holidays helping my dad out at the shop. He would give me very small tasks like measuring the cut SilverOak wood for clients and counting pieces in orders ready for delivery. I owe a lot of pocket money to this tree! I always observed him speaking to clients over the phone and face to face with confidence about the product.
Over the years I saw him grow his passion into a successful local business based on honesty, integrity and hard work. I have learnt a lot from him – his love for the product, his belief in it and his sole aim to serve his customers to his best capability with good advice and honest opinions, matured over years of learning about this tree. As all boys do I also wanted to emulate him in my life and now I have got the opportunity.