A Secret History Of The Tolix Chair – The Chair That Nearly Wasn’t

blog01By the mid 1950’s the classic Tolix chair became the favoured seating of choice for thousands of café’s all over the world. At it’s height (between 1956 and 1974) the factory based in France employed 80 workers and produced some 60,000 chairs a year. Despite a bit of a wane through the 1980’s and 1990’s when bolder designs were the order of the day, the humble Tolix chair is once again a popular addition in many café’s and bars. That said, it’s success nearly didn’t happen.

Born in 1880 in Le Morvan, France Xavier Pauchard was brought up in the green heart of France where forests and woodlands were abundant. Even though wood was the most obvious choice for construction materials, Pauchard trained as a zinc roofer, just like his father and grandfather before him.

By 1907 Pauchard had perfected a way of protecting sheet metal from rusting. By dipping it in molten zinc he become one of the forerunners of the galvanisation process and ten years later (in 1927) Pauchard had set up a factory selling galvanised steel products for households. It was here that he first set up the trademark name ‘Tolix’.

When the first Tolix chair was created in 1934 it wasn’t really a hit. Even though it was a regular sight in cafes around Paris the truth was that cafe owners hated it. Although it was made of sturdy construction, was weatherproof (hence the holes in the seat to let rainwater through), and was lightweight enough to be picked up and moved easily, Pauchard’s chairs had a fundamental design flaw. They didn’t stack! In fact in the first five years or so, he got almost as many chairs back as he sold and as a result nearly went out of business.

However, he persevered and after much tweaking and many years later, in 1956 Pauchard finally brought out the first fully stackable Tolix chair. With a slimmer frame it was said that the chair could be stacked 25 high up to a height of 2.3 metres. Suddenly the demand for them was huge and almost over night they became an ever present feature in hospitals, offices, and factories as well as café’s and restaurants all over the world.

At Cafe Furniture Melbourne, we’re stockists of some of the best commercial grade furniture for café’s, restaurants, and bistro’s. We also stock a wide range of replica Tolix stools and chairs in a multitude of vibrant colours including our new matte varieties. Why not visit our website at www.cafwfurnituremelbourne.com.au to see what we have to offer. If you’d prefer to see things first hand we also have a fully stocked warehouse located in Campbellfield Victoria or alternatively if you need any advice or help locating products, then contact our friendly team directly on 03 9357 9688 today.

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