Local entrepreneur launches a new line of furniture

June 2021

You never know where the next big trend in design will come from, but for one local entrepreneur, his Scandinavian inspired furniture line could just be the one.

Tok Tok Home recently launched a collection of furniture manufactured right here in Thunder Bay. President Matej Rodela, says it’s been a one and a half year long journey of development, prototyping and setting up production.

With some help from the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre, Rodela strived to create designs that were comfortable, aesthetically appealing and built from quality materials. The furniture comes disassembled in a box and is designed to be put together with ease using only one provided L-key. Their first line of furniture is dedicated for the living room and Rodela plans to follow with the production of additional pieces for the bedroom, office and shelving units.

Still in the start-up phase, the company is focused on servicing Northwestern Ontario and later plans to expand into North America, primarily through internet sales. “As a location for production, Thunder Bay makes sense as it is the center of Canada with good access to bigger cities via shipping routes. Thunder Bay also has a very skilled talented work force”, says Rodela.

When looking to produce his new line of products, Rodela turned to Cory Bagdon of Port Arthur Woodcraft, a shop that has been in business since 2014. “It’s been refreshing to work with someone that is skilled and passionate about his designs”, says Bagdon. “Rodela provides the technical drafts, we work on adjustments and then do a production run – it’s been an exciting project to be a part of”, explains Bagdon.

Rodela agrees, “Cory has been a great contractor due to the quality and consistency of his work. Using his company has allowed us to add value by manufacturing locally – a big cost saving versus manufacturing in other cities such as Vancouver,” says Rodela.

Tok Tok Home is an excellent example of how two entrepreneurs can collaborate to create high quality products that could have a worldwide impact and a positive local economic impact for years to come.

For more about Tok Tok Home, go to toktokhome.ca For more on Port Arthur Woodcraft go to, www.pawoodcraft.ca

Bill Wrightsell is a marketing consultant and regular contributor to Bayview Magazine. Email him at wrightselladto@rogers.com

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