The son of a Midwestern preacher, entrepreneur Seth Grizzle always saw things a little differently.
“I remember being bored in church, sketching the people sitting in the pews,” says Grizzle. “Growing up surrounded by cornfields in a small Ohio town, I had to dream up my own world.”
While Grizzle still loves drawing, his subjects have changed over the years. Today they include sleek housewares, streamlined interiors, and, of course, the lighting fixtures that made him and his company famous.
Co-founder of an innovative design and architecture firm called Graypants, Grizzle is intensely passionate about his work. As we wander around his Seattle studio, he points up to the sky-high ceilings hung with pendant lights of his own creation. Called “scraplights,” the fixtures are handmade out of cardboard and other recycled materials.
Built in 1907, the building that holds his studio was originally a manufacturing plant that produced woodworking tools for ships. The space speaks to Seattle’s rich history, preserving its industrial charm with distressed beams and unfinished brick walls. The starkly geometric space seems made for Grizzle’s gently curved fixtures.
Grizzle says he uses a “high-to-low tech process” to design the company’s signature product. After sketching each fixture by hand, he uses a computer to create the dozens of uniquely shaped pieces of cardboard that are trimmed by a laser cutter and assembled by hand. The process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a week, depending on the size of the fixture.
“You can tell when something is made by a machine or a human,” says Grizzle. “When something is made by hand, you can feel the life and soul that went into it. There is a greater sense of care. Maybe it’s not quite perfect, but it’s pretty close. It’s more honest.”
Grizzle has been interested in design since he was a kid. After studying architecture at Ohio’s Kent State University, he moved to Washington, D.C. to work for a design firm. He ultimately relocated to Seattle to pursue his interest in the residential side of the business.
Living in the Pacific Northwest has turned out to be a great fit. Living on a boat that’s anchored in Portage Bay (no surprise it’s a classic wooden model manufactured by Grebe back in 1965), Grizzle says he adores the region’s natural beauty. He counts hiking among his favorite activities.
“I’ve come to miss Seattle when I’m traveling,” Grizzle says. “As soon as I’m on a plane and crossing over the Cascades I think, ‘Wow, this is a magical place, and I’m happy to be home.’ There is such a strong connection to nature here that didn’t exist where I grew up.”
The concept for scraplights came about almost by accident. Grizzle and his partner Jonathan Junker, a friend from architecture school, entered a series of chairs into a design competition back in 2008, creating long pendant lights out of recycled cardboard to compensate for the installation’s tall ceilings. The lighting unintentionally stole the show, attracting attention from writers in design magazines.
“People started talking about us,” Grizzle says, “and soon enough we realized we needed to respond to all the positive reactions we were getting.”
Even though Grizzle and Junker didn’t take home the top prize at the competition, their one-of-a-kind idea would become the bread and butter of the duo’s new business venture. Later that year, they official launched Graypants, named for their matching gray pants.
But there was one problem that cropped up immediately: finding a factory to make their new product.
“It was hard to find someone to manufacture what was in our head,” Grizzle remembers. “No one would take us seriously. So we had to do it ourselves.”
Determined to do their own thing, Grizzle and Junker (roommates at the time) turned their bathroom into a workshop, returning home after their full-time day jobs to work on scraplights on nights and weekends.
With an after-hours beer in hand, Grizzle smiles as he reminisces about the company’s early days, when the co-founders spent their time dumpster diving for cardboard and then sneaking onto the campus of the University of Washington to use a laser cutter. They eventually built up relationships with auto parts dealers who saved the cardboard packaging and passed it along on a regular basis.
But when the business partners noticed how much gas they wasted driving around the city in search of materials for their lighting fixtures, they began looking for sources for recycled cardboard. Although they dislike overused buzzwords like “green,” “sustainable,” and “eco-friendly,” Graypants’ top priority was to create a socially responsible company.
They took their mission seriously, eventually partnering with programs that provide job training and placement to individuals with disabilities.
“It’s not about being part of a movement,” Grizzle said. “It’s just what you should do.”
Nine years after opening its doors, Graypants has expanded globally, with studios in both Seattle and Amsterdam. Its products, which today include much more than lighting fixtures, are distributed in more than 60 different countries.
Who are Grizzle’s design heroes? He says he’s very much influenced by the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Buckminster Fuller, and Ray and Charles Eames. But he also has more than a passing acquaintance with Dr. Seuss.
“It’s important to not let go of your childhood,” says Grizzle. “There is something very pure about it.”