John Toelken who spends his time running Colaizzo Opticians with his wife, Camille, is getting some buzz around the sustainable bamboo chairs he's been designing. The chair design will be on display today, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., today at Sea-Tac International Airport's Gina Marie Lindsey Arrivals Hall, as part of the Earth Day Environmental Fair & Sustainable Art Exhibit. The exhibit focuses on what designers and architects can create without damaging the planet in the process.
Toelken's chairs, which are formed with bamboo plywood, are considered "green" because they don't contribute to forest clear-cutting as bamboo is a fast-growing, sustainable plant. And the chair is assembled with interlocking tabs, so there's no need for toxic glue or nails.
"It's innovative in its design in that it fits together like puzzle pieces under tension," Toelken said. "It's pleasing to look at and sits well, too."
Bamboo is increasing in popularity as designers and consumers are more cognizant of their carbon footprints, but also in that the wood can be manipulated into several uses.
It's often cut into strips to form zebra wood for flooring or cut to form plywood and from there can be worked into interesting designs. Toelken, a former builder and contractor, has always been a sculptor and designer. He thought up the design for the chairs in 1995 and had made adjustments over the years as more of a pastime. But gradually designing reentered his life.
He designed the interior of the original Colaizzo store on Boston Street and the current location on Queen Anne Avenue. Contacts in the optical profession saw his chairs in the lobby of the shop and immediately started making orders. He's sold about 70 of them, 30 to optical shops in Japan, another 10 to shops in Belgium and the rest spread out internationally.
Toelken's agent, Chris Jarschow, thought the chairs would make a good fit with the Earth Day display. With his work will be everything from green products to recycled clothing and green architecture.
The firms participating in the exhibit include: Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects, GMS Architectural Group, LMN Architects, Miller | Hull Partnership, Olsen Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, Ruffcorn Mott Hinthorne Stine, Sclater Partners Architects, VIA Architecture, Weber Thompson and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects.
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