Meet Toi | Furniture Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Toi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Toi, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
My balance is so unbalanced. But, I feel like that’s the true meaning of balance. Unevenness. I find myself constantly trying to stay even on the tight rope. Sometimes I’m a lot or a little ways away from my center. And when I find my center I’m back to being a little ways away from my center point. I’m working on learning ways to work through my ying, or negative cycle. I believe negative cycles are just as important as the light ones. So , yea ! I indulge in overspending my budget sometimes for shopping and I binge watch tv and pig out, when I feel necessary. But, I also take time to study , and workout. I go to work I create in my studio and I try to further progress in my careers. I think managing balance is not staying on one side for too long.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I make furniture and essential home goods that are science based! I am most proud of my progress and growth with my business because it allows me to continuously learn and challenge myself to do things I’d never thought I’d do. Iridescent Laboratory was just going to be a hand made pillow shop with hand embroidered human anatomy parts on them. Then I started to paint anatomy on clear chairs and they sold! After that I was just thinking about building my own furniture. And now I’m here! I literally can’t believe I’m out here cutting wood but I am. And I love it so much. My biggest challenge are my own self doubts most times. I feel unsuccessful when I don’t make sales or when people don’t seem interested, which isn’t all the time, but I can really be my worst enemy. I’m still learning patience. It’s a marathon , not a sprint. That’s just drives me crazy! But, I’m working on it. You know like most of us we put our heart out into the world through our work, and we want big things to just happen. Boom! Just like almost overnight, and that’s sooooo not the case. I have to remind myself that my business is bigger than me. I’ve created this company to put science into homes as a fun thing! A lot of our children stray away from the STEM subject. There are also children who love science. As well as healthcare workers and even people who don’t even know much about the subject love science. We put different lenses on science. We want to create furniture that has never been seen before.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First of all I have to take all of my friends to Junkman’s Daughter to shop around in Little 5 points. That store is the best store in Atlanta! Then we can hang around there go thrifting at Rag-o-Rama and crystal shopping! For food were going to Planet Bombay on Edgewood Avenue for some East Indian cuisine. Then, after all that food we have to turn up of course. The Spinning Pie is always a nice vibe for drinks and music. And to end the night we have to go to the Blue Flame gentleman’s club! It’s not an Atlanta visit unless you visit the strip club.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to give a shoutout to my dad! Hey Daddy ! He was the person to ever put a paint brush into my hands. He used to buy me those little paint kits. The ones with the watercolor ,pastels ,and color pencils throughout my childhood.

Website: www.iridescentlaboratory.com

Instagram: Iridescentlaboratory