TheBuzz
TheBuzz
DENNIS ODA / DODA@ STARBULLETIN.COM
Cody Zelko, 9, sat Friday on one of the handmade koa rockers in King & Zelko Hawaiian Woodworks showroom.
Customers have been coming out of the woodwork to see what's in the new showroom at King & Zelko Hawaiian Woodworks LLC. New showroom on dump
road yields wooden treasuresRelatively few people knew about the shop located just off what locals call "dump road," or Kapaa Quarry Road in Kailua, until newspaper and television advertising for the newly reconfigured company started in the middle of last week. A steady influx of customers has been streaming in since the grand opening Friday.
The showroom is one edge in the company's plan to compete against high-visibility industry big dog Martin & MacArthur. King & Zelko is not located "in a ritzy mall," which the principals say will keep prices lower for customers.
The showroom is a new feature but the shop has been there for some time, run by Tom Zelko of Zelko Woodworks.
After nearly 20 years on his own Zelko decided change might be good and his Kapaa Quarry Road landlord was the agent for that very change.
John King, chief executive of Quarry Road neighbor All Pool & Spa Inc., bought Zelko's company and is listed as the sole officer, according to state business registration records.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@ STARBULLETIN.COM
Paul King, left, and Tom Zelko were all smiles Friday at the opening of their shop and showroom.
Zelko is 25 percent owner while other part-owners bear the King surname; patriarch John, son Paul and daughter Laura.
"She does the book work, John does the business end and Paul helps in the shop," Zelko said.
The new business configuration and financial backing has the bay at 201 Kapaa Quarry Road turning out the same kind of work in exotic woods as its predecessor, on a larger scale, he said.
"We bought close to $1 million worth of machinery and lumber when he bought the company," Zelko said, equating "all the new tools and stuff" to toys for big boys.
Therein lies another step toward competition.
While Zelko may have employed one or two people while on his own, the new operation employs some 15 craftsmen using the new equipment.
"I've known them through the years," Zelko said, as many of them would come in to his shop to get their millwork done. That includes planing, straightening, creating molding and other aspects of woodworking.
"We've got a couple winners of the (Hawaii Forest Industry Association) woodworking show in here."
Martin & MacArthur has built its own woodworkers partially through an apprenticeship program run by the state Department of Labor.
Long the most visible koa furnishings company, Martin & MacArthur's competition comes mostly from a smattering of very small, sometimes sole-proprietor or mom-and-pop operators who make custom furniture.
Martin & MacArthur has "been doing it all for so long and they're good at it," and characterizes King & Zelko as friendly competition.
"Our concept from the beginning," said Paul King, "was to create beautiful, durable furniture designed to withstand generations of enjoyment and appreciation."
The company offers three Hawaiian heirloom-themed lines of furniture from traditional to Asian-inspired to a more modern line named "Lanikai."
For a line of rocking chairs carried over from his solo days, Zelko bases his custom designs on consultation with orthopedic surgeons.
A rocker has to fit each person's okole, he said. "For a rocker we have to measure everything, from ankle to knee, knee to okole, okole to neck and neck to head." Arm length is also measured.
The made-to-fit chairs take about two weeks, "if I get lucky," and cost around $7,000.
"It's all labor," Zelko said.
Using koa, mango and other woods, the company manufactures furnishings as well as custom cabinets, doors, moldings and picture-framing materials for the building industry.
"All of our raw material is carefully selected from dead standing or other environmentally sound means," King said. "We don't harvest and we only deal with ecologically minded mills."
The shop is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday but will also be open for Father's Day on Sunday.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com
