French designer Ariane Prin has been working on a project called “From Here for Here” as a part of her master’s program at the Royal College of Art. This project produces pencils sustainably by using waste from various departments of the school with the goal of supplying drawing tools for students. Each pencil has a center filled with graphite from the glass department, and its body comprised of sawdust from the wood workshop, clay from the ceramic department, and flour from the cafeteria. Watch a video on how these pencils were made on DesignBoom
Recycled jean fabric necklace by MAGICOVERACID
Above: DIY wooden toy car
Above: DIY scarecrow
Above: DIY sleds
Above: DIY bird feeder
Above: DIY stool
Above: DIY bench
Avoska, translated as “just in case” is a Russian net bag. Avoska collapses to fit inside your fist and expands to hold 12 grapefruits. It is easy to wash and boxes edges do not rip it’s threads. Best of all, it prevents plastic bags from gathering in your kitchen corner or the world’s landfills. With the popularization of plastic bags after the 90’s (after the fall of Soviet Union) avoska bags gradually went into disuse in Russia.
Above: Russia 1959. People carrying avoska bags. Photo: Carl Mydans.
Contemporary Russian folklore: Once upon a time in Russia there lived a simple little net bag - Avoska. Everyone loved her. People took her with them everywhere - to the store, farmers market and even birthdays. But then….plastic bags came and people forgot about Avoska. To see what happens next watch this really adorable 3 minute film on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/avoska
Above: Boy hugging avoska bag from short “Avoska” film (See above)
Read blog dedicated to Avoski: http://avoski.livejournal.com/
more →
Space saving invisible bookshelves. Minimal and simple! Book on the bottom acts as support for every other book on top.
Palm reed (buri) is the matured leaf of the palm. It is a great material for hats, bags, slippers, window blinds, mats, brooms and baskets.
Carefully handcrafted baskets made of palm reed, leather, and metal designed by Brooklyn-based designer from Philippines, Stanley Ruiz.
DIY Panton Chair by Peter Jakubik incites users to make their own original fake famous chair designed by Verner Panton. All what you need is a picture of Panton chair, found log, DIY tools and passion for designer classics.
Great blog from Vancouver, BC - http://www.old-chum.com/
Autumn Workshop is a design and fabrication studio started by Brooklyn based designer Daniel Goers. The workshop designs products and furniture inspired by natural and found materials, often integrating plant and animal habitats. Autumn workshop lamps are now on display until May 11 at Saffron* flower shop(31 Hanson Place, Brooklyn, NY)
-http://www.autumn-workshop.com
*Saffron is a boutique flower, vintage and handcrafted goods shop in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. They regularly present work by local artists amongst an exciting assortment of exotic plants and handmade items.
“The project deals with giving new life to damaged, out-of-use furniture. over the past year, I practiced furniture-healing through design. The cultural and personal history of each piece of damaged furniture served as a starting point for the treatment, which attempted to preserve each one of their stories. the intention was to explore with joy, the multiple personalities, and the defects that exist in old products, and to create a human and hybrid aesthetic language[...] I started exploring a visual language that deals with imperfections, and giving objects human-like gestures.” - Noam Tabenkin
Read more about noam Tabenkin’s furniture on Visual Syntex
I love this extra shabby, homemade wardrobe. Found on http://www.kabinettandkammer.com/
Gamper Martino has been collecting discarded old/broken chairs from London streets over a period of two years and then spending 100 days reconfiguring the design of each in an attempt to transform its character and function.
I have a bunch of dead light bulbs that are waiting to be recycled. While they are waiting they can be turned into beautiful art! P.S (Keep away from children) Read about it on Family Chic: http://cfabbridesigns.com
Note from ehow: A simple household light bulb can be deceptively difficult to recycle. Some light bulbs feature filaments and other parts made of mercury, contributing to the inclusion of toxins in the environment. You should collect all of your light bulbs and recycle them.
Stump stools by the Cumulus Project.
(The wood for these three stools was harvested from a fallen maple tree)
“Log Stools” by Kevin Heisner.
P.S (It is better than bad it is good!)
“Vladimir” or “Pallet Mirror” by Karl Zahn is made using two partially destroyed shipping pallets. “The scars on the lumber tell a story of its travels. While the form is reminiscent of old victorian french mirrors, its origin is far from gold leaf” -Karl Zahn
at Cog & Pearl in Park Slope, Brooklyn
Sandcomb seat from reused cotton by DKSD, Dutch interior and product design studio. A lightweight, yet windproof seat when filled with sand. Part of ‘portable’ furniture series. - http://www.wraf.nl
Beautiful exterior cladding panel design by DKSD inspired by…herring!
Below is a new exterior cladding panel designed to protect buildings from rainwater and also retain it. This slightly bowl-shaped panel harvests rainwater and funnels it to tanks for internal storage. The water is then used for the building’s heating, cooling and sanitary installations. The scale-like surface and pearly colours give the panels their nickname ‘Hollandse Nieuwe’, referring to Dutch fresh herring and two brand new Dutch designers!
Above: Moth from various leaves, acorn, rose hip, sticks.
It is autumn and acorns, pine cones, sticks and various seeds are available outside. These are some wonderful illustrations instructing on how to make toys from found natural materials. (Поделки из природных материалов)
Some materials to think about:
Snake from acorns, string and acorn caps:
Cat from deergrass, sticks and maple seeds:
Above: Bear from pine cones. (ha-ha)
DIY hedgehog from pine needles and pine cone.
Donkey from acorn, sticke, peaunut, maple seeds.
Goldfish from acorn, oak leaves, maple seeds.
Owls from pine cones.
Bags from reclaimed tractor inner tubes by Chicago based company Defy Bags. Old materials. New ideas.
I found these beautiful greenhouses made from upcycled old windows on HAUTE NATURE. I recently have seen a bunch of gorgeous old windows in the garbage. ...
Handmade snowballs made from rubber and seeds by Everyday Design.
Above: Artist David Hammons selling real(100% snow)
snowballs on the streets of New York.
‘Whatever’ flower pots are a terracotta pots by brooklyn designer Jason Miller. The pots are made out of clay but are inspired by plastic bottles, metal cans or coffee cups people often use when they do not have a regular flower pot at hand.
Unconventional artsy birdhouses made from odd objects and milk crates. I saw them on Reference Library and fell in love with ever since!
This mug by lenni08 reminds me of where I grew up. There are many birch trees in Russia — it’s considered the national tree.
This necklace made of birch bark by bettula is inspired by the discarded and unusual. You don’t have to think very hard to figure out which tree is my favorite.
When I was growing up, people in Russia did not have a lot of money to buy new wares, so they made belongings out of other objects. To this day I think it is pretty cool to see objects and materials being reused, like this rotating bike wheel pot rack by plaidclad
These beautiful and valuable bits and pieces almost disappeared into the garbage pile forever! Get inspired to recycle by the digit recycled leather necklace by mainichi and shift key typewriter vintage pendant necklace by PreciousPastimes.
This neglected dresser was salvaged and restored by rubyrhino1 and made into a vintage masterpiece. It reminds me of our summer dacha in Russia.
Read full Design Squish guest Curator post on Etsy:
- Earth Tones: Design Squish’s Eco Picks
Above: Shelving/vase system displaying thistles, dried plants and exotic flowers.
Daniel Goers is a local Brooklyn designer, architect and artist who has a show right now called Scrap Ecology at Brooklyn coffee shop K-Dog in Lefferts Gardens. All pieces are made from reclaimed materials except some lighting components. Daniel has been collecting scrap materials and remaking them into beautiful designs and sculptures for some time now. His other great project is in collaboration with artist Jennifer Wong called Birdtown. Fifty birdhouses were built from recycled materials and installed in Fort Greene:
http://myrtleavenuebirdtown.com/
Above: Daniel Goers and Jennifer Wong.
Above: Birdhouse from Birdtown.
Scrap Ecology aims to rearrange the raw materials of our urban and natural environments into objects with new meaning and purpose. These materials include abandoned shipping pallets from Red Hook, wood cutoffs from carpentry projects, recycled packaging, discarded architectural samples, donated plant stems and foraged specimens from Prospect Park and the mountains of Harriman State Park.
Why reclaimed materials?
New York is a great place to find raw materials to build with. every day the streets are filled with “trash” that can be so much more. But maybe the best reason is that material is free. The reclaimed material also tends to have more character.
Do you enjoy living in New York? Would you if you had an opportunity move somewhere where there are more trees and less garbage?
Of course, New York is a great place to be a designer but my sculptures do hint at the desire to be closer to nature. I would love to live in a barn in the mountains but in the meantime I will work to bring nature to people’s homes here.
Above: Lamp made from glass jar moss terrariums.
Why do you think using reclaimed materials is popular today?
It’s just marketing for many people. I like to believe that myself and many other designers simply see some intrinsic value and potential in the waste around us. What was once a shipping pallet can become a hundred new things, so why cut down another tree? More people come to this realization and the ‘green’ movement will become less about marketing & more a part of the collective conscience.