Our Bamboo Story

 

In 1995, designer James Wolf started working with bamboo, noticing its tremendous potential as a green alternative to other less sustainable building materials. 

It became Wolf's passion to design and build furniture and stylish home products as well as structures for resorts, hotels and other boutique projects. James has worked with leading bamboo and eco-architecture firms around the world on some of the planet's largest bamboo architectural projects. 

As the founder of Boohugger, James wants to dispel any perception that bamboo is lesser than other materials and to encourage artisans, creators and companies around the globe to work more with bamboo.

What makes our products unique? 

Boohugger grows all of our own Vietnamese Tam Vong Bamboo, aka Iron Bamboo. Iron bamboo is a particularly sturdy variety of bamboo, it is thick walled and almost entirely solid. Of the nearly 2000 species of bamboo around the world ours is the best of the best.

Tam Vong or Iron bamboo is also extremely resistant to any kind of bugs. Because we use only natural culms of bamboo, and not the processed bamboo plywood, each Boohugger bamboo product is unique and full of character. To ensure quality, every piece is meticulously designed, then handmade by artisans that train and work with James Wolf personally. 

Why Bamboo?

Because bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on earth, replenishing itself annually with new shoots. One plant can live over a hundred years and provides more usable mature poles every year. This makes bamboo more sustainable than wood as a building material, simply because it can grow back so quickly.

Furthermore, one hectare of bamboo can absorb up to 22,000 pounds of carbon from the atmosphere in a year. This captured carbon, the building block of life itself, is what comprises each Boohugger product. This is why Boohugger truly loves working with bamboo. 

“Today’s designers must make ethical decisions on what things are made of and how they’re made. Together with consumers, we can make a difference… and we must”. 

-James Wolf