Metal wall art, made from recycled aluminum cans by Transcendant Treasure.  These pin up onto the wall in any configuration you want.

Love Pillow sewn from recycled plastic bottle felt by Personal Pillow.  The heart is a pocket you can hide a little note or treat in.

Light a torch in your loved one’s heart with this red current scented, 100% soy wax candle from Torch Illumination.

A heart you can step on and not feel guilty!  This heart shaped rug is made of recycled t-shirts by Talking Squid (you just have to love that shop name!).

Simple and sweet, these scrap wood blocks from Uniquely Different Too spell it out for all to see.  And hey, if things don’t work out, you can always switch them around and claim you have an unabashed fondness for voles.

A bit over the top, but maybe that’s why it looks so fun.  This refurbished vanity chair is by Picks4U.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, this is for the narcissist in us all…  Made by Upcountry Design in Hawaii from old, corrugated iron roofing, this mirror can also be fitted with a light kit that really makes it glow.

“My love is like a read, read rose” (my apologies to Robert Burns – well, his ghost anyway).  This pretty, recycled book page rose is by The Mad Recycler.

Lastly, we have this sweet little distressed wood frame by Katie Herman Designs.  Made from reclaimed oak flooring, it has oodles of old fashioned charm.  Yes, I said “oodles”.  We all have our favorite words…

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

John Stein is into demolitions, but not in the way one might think.  The founder and president of California-based Kirei USA has a knack for finding the possibilities inherent in the unwanted.

This vision shows clearly in every Kirei product, including the newest line, Windfall.  These engineered panels are produced in partnership with Windfall Lumber, which takes Douglas & Hemlock Fir from deconstructed buildings in the Pacific Northwest and brings the reclaimed wood to fresh, new life.

“It’s great to reuse demolition material that would otherwise take up space in the landfill,” says Mr. Stein.  “Having it become beautiful wood panels is even better.  This is old-growth wood that just can’t be found any more, and we get to bring it to designers.”

Windfall is manufactured in the United States using low-VOC adhesives.  The reclaimed wood is milled into strips of differing width, which are then randomly stacked to form the panels and cut to size.  Panels are available either solid or 3-ply with a NUAF/FSC-certified core.  They may come unfinished, with a clear coat that shows off the natural grain, or stained and prefinished in Anthracite, Mocha, Ivory, and Leather colors.  The result adds to any interior.

And as Windfall gives stylish new life to reclaimed wood, so the other Kirei lines bring new purpose to certain types of agricultural waste.  Kirei Board, Kirei Coco Tiles, and Kirei Wheatboard use reclaimed agricultural fiber from plants commonly grown for food around the world.

After harvest, waste from sorghum (an edible grass), coconut, and wheat plants is usually thrown into landfills or burned.  Now much of this unused material is removed from the waste stream, reducing landfill use and air pollution while giving rural farmers a new source of revenue.  Rapidly renewable or FSC-certified wood are used as bonding strips, greatly reducing the need for newly harvested wood for building.

Manufacture can be more involved than with particle board.  For example, with Kirei Board the sorghum stalks are compressed, washed, and woven into sheets.  The latter are then stacked and heat-pressed with a formaldehyde-free adhesive to create blocks, which are cut to desired size.

Kirei offers a similar product made of Moso bamboo.  The plantations from which this fiber is taken are generally reclaimed farmland, which helps to preserve uncut habitat.  Panels are available in a wide variety of colorways, including the luscious looking new Chocolate, probably the favorite out of all the bamboo treatments that I’ve yet seen.

These four products are suitable for architectural millwork, cabinetry, flooring (though not in high traffic areas), wall displays or covering, furniture, and decorative objects – in short, any application where one would normally think of using wood.

To round out this versatility Kirei came out with their Canamo Hemp Panels.  These are made with a no-added-formaldehyde resin and reclaimed hemp hurd fiber left over from fabric & seed oil manufacture: over 70% post-industrial recycled content.  The panels are produced in 48”x96” size and are offered in a variety of thicknesses, all left unfinished so that designers may best tailor the product to individual need.  According to Kirei, the hemp panels may be used for the purposes above.  Ceiling panels are also available.

Collectively, the Kirei philosophy may yield several LEED credits for one’s project, which in itself is wonderful, but there’s much more to it that that.

The word kirei is a Japanese adjective signifying many meanings, including Clean, Pure, Beautiful, and Truthful.  Under John Stein’s direction the company strives to embody its namesake as an ideal.  His business aims to stimulate the economic activity of its source regions by providing new jobs at fair market wages.  By using recycled products and efficient, sustainable practices, Kirei works to lessen humanity’s impact on natural resources while contributing to clean, healthy, and aesthetically pleasing indoor environments… with a eye to the latter quality.

“Green has to be beautiful,” says Mr. Stein.

“If you’re going to do green for green’s sake you’re going to have a very limited market – people who have health issues or people with a conscience.  If you have beautiful materials that happen to be green, then really they’re open to everybody.  I regard it almost as a gateway drug to other green activities.”

With the visual appeal of the Kirei product, perhaps we’ll see many new converts to the sustainable ethic.  Let’s hope so.

~ Emerald

Images courtesy of Kirei USA.

Vigor, the seriously awesome, recycled, drag racing steampunk dragon sculpture by Etsy artisans Reclaim2Fame.

Just look at that face!

And look at that attention to detail.  Love!

The Year of the Dragon is considered the luckiest of the twelve years in the Chinese zodiac.  Whoever snaps up this amazing little guy will be lucky indeed.

By the way, if the price tag for Vigor has you spitting your coffee out on the screen, take heart.  Reclaim2Fame also makes more affordable sculptures, like this adorable robot dog.

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

I love tile.

I LOVE this.

Created by Everitt and Schilling of reclaimed wood from barns or building scrap, these tiles are both beautiful and functional.

Wood can lend such warmth and texture to a wall – even when it is just a small section.

Of course, you can go for the whole enchilada too!

Focusing on the DIY contingent, Everitt & Schilling sells by the square foot through their Etsy store.  Might be fun to order a couple of square feet to play with…

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

Jacob Ruch has a knack for bringing out both characteristics in his work.  Curbside cast-offs, salvage yard finds, construction refuse – all find a place at Reason Furniture Design, where the proverbial sow’s ear is transformed into… you know.

The company is named for Jacob’s great-uncle, Reason Ruch, who was, according to the artist, “extremely independent and self-sufficient, an excellent craftsman who could make wonderful things with very limited resources.”  Jacob strives to make his business emulate those qualities.

“Having limited resources eliminates the option to be wasteful,” he said.  “The inspiration I see in salvaged materials stems from an inherent aversion to waste.  For years in the construction industry, this instinct led me to drag old materials home from job sites.  Urban backyards and basements saw my own limited resources transformed into furnishings for the shabby apartments that I called home.”

What he calls his “first successful design” came in 2005, when he took some scrap wood on hand and combined it with salvaged glass to create a table for his apartment.  Its assembly took place literally in his own backyard.

Materials and inspiration come from the oddest – and most humble – of sources.  One piece, the Windfall Table, was gleaned from a fallen claro walnut tree.

“The termites got to it before the sawyer though,” he recalled.  “It was pretty far gone, but I’m not easily discouraged.  I filled the tunneling with resin and created a curved base to complement the slab’s gentle bend.”

Such adaptability is typical of Jacob’s work.  He has learned to not simply make do with what others throw away, but to do very well.

Most of his material comes from New York City construction salvage.  In his projects he has used reclaimed wood from water towers, floor joists, planking, doors, plywood, and even furniture cast onto the street.  This willingness to experiment has also led to dipping his hand in the “Pandora’s box” of upholstery work.

The artist’s creativity is showcased by three tables pictured on his blog: one fashioned from a found redwood garden gate, a second topped with old formica countertop samples, and a third project where weathered redwood decking was reborn as a set of matching table and benches.

That thoughtful excellence carries through into all his custom work.

“I design simple, honest and useful forms that celebrate often modest materials, and favor natural finishes that need not be protected and preserved in order to endure.  To me, objects that show the wear of good use are often more beautiful than their virgin counterparts.”

And although environmental concern is not spoken aloud on Jacob’s blog, the latter features links to organizations such as the salvage surplus building supplier Build It Green! NYC and San Francisco community resource The Bike Kitchen, both of which are actively working towards bettering life in their home cities.  His philosophy and the sourcing of the materials created by his company proclaim where his heart lies.

Jabob’s work is constantly evolving.  And what does he have in mind for the future?

“While pursuing new forms, whether independently or through collaborative commissions, I continue to arrive at designs worth duplicating,” he asserts.  “Through the production of these ideas, I hope I can keep REASON accessible to the modest folks and lifestyles that inspire my work.”

~ Emerald

the execution is most definitely not!   This is the Mood Rocking Bed by Shiner International, and it has style!

I just have to say, I don’t know whether it’s the pastoral setting, the pretty draping of the netting above, or simply that I need a nap, but that bed looks awfully tempting, don’t you think?

Created from discarded and reclaimed materials, the Mood Rocking Bed is suitable for inside and outside use, and can be made in any size, from twin to king.  It can also be allowed to rock in place, or it can be locked in any position using rubber stoppers.

Visit Shiner International’s Etsy store and see more great furniture and lighting creations.

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel

The little wooden robot sits there, head cocked, arms outstretched, vacant drilled eyes staring into space.  Its expression is puzzled and innocent.  It looks like it wants a hug.  It’s cute.

Sometimes, in the earnest seriousness of striving to live green, we forget our sense of humor.  Marjolaine Poulin of M Design hasn’t forgotten… and she loves nothing better than to make other people smile, hence the little army of wooden robots marching out of her workshop in El Salvador.

Marjolaine (“Mao”) has taken scrap wood & discarded furniture and raised them both into art.

A native of Quebec, Canada, Mao splits her time between Montreal and El Salvador, always looking for inspiration.  Her introduction to woodworking came in 2004 in Guatemala, where she learned classical bamboo carpentry from a Taiwanese master.  Shortly afterward she began crafting her own designs hoping to promote bamboo’s many advantages as a building material in Central America.

Bamboo, a fast-growing, imminently sustainable crop, grows in diverse climates and after treatment is strong, durable, yet lightweight.  Discoveries of its usefulness and applications continue to expand.

“In the United States and France,” Mao said, “It is possible to get houses made entirely of bamboo, which are earthquake and cyclone-resistant and internationally certified.”

Her own work with the material is on a more modest scale, consisting of beautiful furniture crafted from bamboo and tropical wood.

Mao has recently turned her attention to a problem local to Montreal: unwanted furniture abandoned on the city streets.  As though collecting lost puppies, she rescues the unloved, discarded furniture and gathers it in her workshop, where it waits to be transformed.

“I walk around my workshop and try to mix and match,” she explained.  “To repair or repurpose old things with more old things.  To be able to sell my pieces at a reasonable price, I try to buy as little new material as possible, which means I need to be really creative and reuse as much as possible.”

This pastime blossomed in 2010 with the Scrap Project, an exhibition of Mao-transformed furniture, the second edition of which took place this past August.  The positive feedback from the show’s first run freed her this year to explore new techniques and let herself slip into the creative process.  And what are her plans for 2012?

“My Montréal’s workshop is full of amazing abandoned pieces of furniture and I can’t wait to start working on them next summer,” the artist said.  “I still have a lot of concepts in my head that I haven’t had time to bring to life, so that’s what the Scrap project 2012 will be about: making it real.”

For Mao, new is overrated.

“It makes me so angry to see how much stuff people in the first world are throwing away,” she said.  “It’s unbelievable how much a human can buy and send to the dump every year.  I wanted to do my part and feel better about the issue.”

Despite that anger – or perhaps as a salve upon it – there is a deliberate lightness to her work, which is full of opposites and contradictions, whimsical robots, clean lines next to old textures.  The unexpected often brings a smile, and it is that smile that opens doors in the mind to new ideas, like sustainability.

More information about Scrap Project 2011 is available on Mao’s blog.

~ Emerald

You decide.

There’s simplicity in these glass and steel designs, a clean look, one that’s versatile enough to be used in any number of decoration schemes.  I think they would complement just about any setting.

As much as possible, the materials are reclaimed objects.  Old glass & ceramic insulators, traffic light lenses, and hardened steel parts – the clips, spikes, and random hardware so abundant along unused rail lines – all hand-gathered by the artist and repurposed into lighting, door & cabinet hardware, and home furnishings.

The disparate parts are cut, drilled, sanded, ground, and bent where needed before being given their new purpose.  Although the creations are thoroughly cleaned the rust remains and is, according to the artist, an “essential part of the look.”  Even the new sections of steel are purposefully rusted so that the entire is whole.  Then comes a steel sealer and hand-rubbed oil finish.

So what was once abandoned is again made functional.

The business sprang, almost by chance, from Tim’s long-term interest in lighting and a collection that started with the purchase of a single glass insulator back in 2004.  Now he crafts a full line… as well as custom work, some of which can be seen here.

There’s much more to the story than this, however.  To learn it, please stop by the RailroadWare website.

~ Emerald

~Henry David Thoreau

"Seconds Count" by Jason Wilbur

In the face of natural disaster, where others see devastation, Joy Feuer – and the many artists & volunteers who work with her – see opportunity for transformation and renewal.  Life is often about new beginnings.  Since 2008 Joy’s non-profit organization, ART From the Ashes, has been helping communities and individuals rebuild from the ashes of their former lives.

The concept for ART From the Ashes came to life autumn of 2007, during one of the most destructive fire seasons in the history of California.  AFTA was created to use the cathartic properties of art as a means of supporting the renewal of lives devastated by wildfire.  Members travel to a disaster site and from it reclaim materials – burnt wood, ruined household goods, architectural elements, anything that inspires – to be transformed into works of art and later sold at an exhibition-auction benefitting the effected community.

Joy Feuer, photo by James Carbone

The process is deeply meaningful for Joy.

“We have seen up close and personal the powerful connection and healing properties that our art programming has on communities in Southern and Central California,” she said.  “In the wake of disaster…watching what occurs to people and places, in that moment, you are there as well.  Its human nature to want to help in any way possible. In the actions of ART from the ashes, we can provide resource and support to communities in need.  Art provides a connection, provokes inspiration and invites hope.  There are no boundaries geographically or creatively.  Our desire is to honor this and expand our mission to help as many people as possible.”

Since its founding, AFTA has held exhibitions on behalf of META (Making Education the Answer), the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Deukmejian Wilderness Park, and the Japan Society Earthquake Relief Fund.

Currently it is involved with local Texas artists, residents, businesses and community organizations in planning art-based fundraising initiatives designed to benefit those affected by the Bastrop County Complex Fire.  (This series of wildfires has destroyed over 34,000 acres of land, 1,649 homes, and claimed two lives.)  The effort involves more than a hundred artists and will include a benefit exhibition to be held March 2012 in Austin, Texas.  Proceeds will be used to aid the community of Bastrop and support the volunteer firefighters which battled the blazes.

The use and re-use of what lies at hand epitomizes the philosophy of sustainability.  In its work AFTA embraces that ideal, not only using reclaimed items for the foundation of art but also using repurposed materials in the creation of each chosen exhibition space.

"Dreamland" by Jennifer Davis

“We seek out reclaimed wood, glass, fabric, corrugated metal, windows and furnishings for design elements so the gallery environment supports the body of works…and also rings true with AFTA’s philosophy of practice (waste not, have more),” said Joy.  “The complimentary energy between art and the environment of the space,  seems to resonate as people usually remain at our exhibitions for hours on end, it seems to beckon interaction.”

As a non-profit the organization has championed opportunities for artists, including media exposure and private & public commission work.  Joy hopes to continue to break new ground in this respect.  She would also like to broaden AFTA’s geographical impact, ideally by enabling additional “chapters” to form as they are needed for community disaster relief.

To learn more, including how to help, please visit the ART From the Ashes website.

~ Emerald

Crafted in New Orleans by Matthew Holdren – whose gorgeous beds I featured back in May – the Kerlerec Desk is a pitch perfect piece of salvaged wood furniture.

Without hiding the history and character of the wood, Holdren manages to give it new life and new form.  Here, the desk top is made from 100 year old heart pine floorboards, salvaged from an old New Orleans shotgun house.  Imagine the dancing and toe tapping that must have gone in that jazz soaked atmosphere!  I think this desk would be the perfect inspiration for a writer.

I love the rich color of the heart pine coupled with the light green patina of the trim and beadboard drawer fronts.  Oh, and check out those drawer pulls!  You’ll often see them in the attics of old homes (like mine), with electrical wire strung between them.  Yep, those are the knobs from “knob and tube” wiring.  Terrific re-use idea!

Despite being made of salvaged materials, the desk itself is nicely detailed, right down to the contrasting color plugs on the legs.  Lovely!

To see more of Matthew Holdren’s terrific work visit his Etsy shop.

Thanks for visiting!

Rachel