Woodworking is the practice of creating, designing or carving various kinds of objects using wood. Wood is essentially used in the making of shelters; today wood is used to make a wide variety of things such as boats, buildings, furniture, art works, home decor, tools, and weapons among others. The Egyptians and the Chinese were among the first to exploit the many possibilities of utilizing wood.

Different woods have different textures, strengths, colors, purposes and beauty. Regular wood types such as hard wood and soft wood are used in creating durable items. Exotic wood on the other hand is mostly used to create artifacts and decors. These woods come in vibrant bright colors and intricate grain patterns. Widely used while designing striking pieces of furniture, exotic wood comes in a wide variety of colors and strengths. However, it is needless to say that the rarer the species of wood, the higher its asking price, especially in this age of environmental conservationism.

The most popular exotic wood types are African mahogany, Ebony, Teak, and Granadillo. Other more rare types include Bloodwood, Spanish Cedar, Cocobolo, Fishtail Oak, Ironbark, Ipe, Jarrah, Kingwood, Lignum Vitae, Narra, Purpleheart, Brazilian Rosewood, Snakewood, Zebrawood. Excellent for building furniture, chairs and cabinets, exotic wood adds great appeal to any article created from it.