Paper trimmings
Designers, artisans find inspiration in material’s many forms
Many of us dispatch our used paper to a bin, the first step on the way to Recycle Land. These household accumulations of paper and cardboard are just one more thing to get rid of.
But there are those who see possibilities in all that wood pulp. They’re busy using it to create art, decorative accessories, even furniture.
So what you sent to the recycling centre just might find its way back, in some form, to your home.
Trent Mayol’s company, SmartDeco ( smartdecofurniture.com), designs and makes heavy-duty cardboard furniture that’s simple, stylish and easy to put together without tools.
The idea came to him when he was a University of Southern California neuroscience major dealing with the packing and logistical hassles of his fifth college housing move.
“Nobody likes dealing with furniture. Especially those living what we’ve deemed the ‘one-year-lease lifestyle,’ ” Mayol says. “These people are young, economically savvy and never in the same place for too long.”
SmartDeco’s pieces, which include a desk, bedside table and dressers, are engineered to hold up to 180 kilograms, with multiple layers of fibre and a centre-arched reinforcing panel. Yet they’re lightweight and easy to move.
Available in kraft finish (the natural brown of cardboard) or white, the Modesto, Calif.-made furniture might appeal particularly to college students, but it has enough of a hip look for a wider audience, too. Customize the pieces if you want; a plastic snap-on protective shelf cover comes with each one.
Seattle design studio Graypants ( graypants.com) makes striking light fixtures out of repurposed cardboard boxes in a series called Scraplights. The corrugated cardboard allows light to play dramatically through the fixtures, and it’s treated with a non-toxic fire retardant.
And there are others: Israeli artist Ruti Ben Dror offers functional bowls made of origami folded paper; San Antonio, Texas-based Shannon Ruby crafts clocks out of recycled magazines and paper. If paper decor intrigues you, visit other Etsy.com stores for items or inspiration.