Emily Speed

In a world where we are increasingly exposed to constant demands and scrutiny Emily Speed is busy creating dens, private spaces, pods and areas for isolation and contemplation dens.
These sculptures are created from salvaged cardboard wood and plastic and they touch on a very basic need that humans have from when they are children . . . the need to hide.

Benno Simma II

Lately Benno Simma's designs have focused on simple components that are light, portable and involve no fixings such as glue, joints or screws. In Bonded loose waffle cardboard is sandwiched between ply and brought together using basic ratchet strapping.

Christian Renonciat II

"Cardboard is a fascinating material that cats, children and the homeless have always been recognized: it is the best body mirrors, which it refers, intact, its heat; it has the sweetness of bis papers which it is made, and soft and warm color of light wood.

This is not all: these properties, combined with a miraculous strength, resulting from the successful marriage of material and geometry: the paper and waving (sinusoid). This is a unique material, a pure product of human genius, half flesh half idea. The industry has made us all the subtleties, choosing varieties of paper for each layer of cardboard (inside softer, stronger outside, etc..), Varying the wavelength waves superimposed paper for that no weakness resulting from repetition.

And me, I delight, I lose myself in this subtlety that I discovered in the transcribing, I understand in the dissecting. Because of the time that is an order moment, and slip by which one is lost, out of scale in a piece of cardboard, there is sometimes even in these moments of the workshop (in because of the music, too), great joys of travel to Lewis Carroll. The carton is then like a little Chinese lacquer: it fits in the hand, but holds the ingredients of the world: a mountain, a heron, a waterfall, a philosopher ...

The carton has an infinite number of ways to resist tearing, to yield to it if necessary, to heal wounds, to finally sing this undulations partition that looks suspiciously like a modern musical score.

Cardboard is a world where everyone recognizes." Christian Renonciat

Tobias Putrih

Slovenian artist Tobais Putrih builds objects, structures and installations from everyday materials such as cardboard. His explorations show that vision and experimentation are vital in the production of functional structures and objects. Tobias's inspiration is not confined to fine art but embraces physics, science fiction and anthropology. he is interesting as an artist and his obsession with process throws up interesting questions and solutions to designers.

Yaron Steinberg

This is artist Yaron Steinburg's brain, or how he visualises it, a shanty town of houses all with lights and windows, a tightly packed neighbourhood with all its complex interactions and relationships. An eight foot wide cardboard box of a brain, fantastic!

Ann Weber

Originally a ceramicist Ann Wood makes these fantastic organic forms from cardboard, the question in her mind being "How far can I build this before it collapses?". Ann was inspired by Frank Gehry's cardbaord furniture, she uses her sculpture as a metaphor for life experiences, such as the balancing acts that define our lives.

Cardboard Forests Eva Jospin

Some of the works I post on this 'Furniture blog' (in fact probably more than half) are not furniture. This work by Eva Jospin is typically that, not furniture. However it is still relevant, in that so many furniture designers are now using cardboard to design furniture, that I feel it is vital to include work by artists who might make you view certain materials in different ways, and think about using diverse materials, approaches and techniques.

Adi Chambers

Adi Chambers has taken a very traditional, historic Chippendale form and rendered it using laser cut, recycled cardboard. Adi graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in 3D design. Adi is interested in how things are made and likes to deconstruct through her design and reveal the hidden structure.

Cardboard Challenge I

The day did not work out as expected . . .

The brief was for children's furniture, in its loosest of interpretations could be a chair, chest of draws, den etc. So the students worked together as a team to produce a castle, complete with cannons, stone cladding, portcullis, secret passage and drawbridge. As well as producing; armour, crowns, curtains and vast amounts of energy and fun, a wonderful day.

They are planning to completely finish it, probably painting it with blackboard paint to facilitate the castles new owners (a near by children's centre) some leeway in the interior design.

Cardboard challenge mark two coming soon in March or April. (More pics soon)

Bibi Carton

It is cardboard week on this furniture blog. Here is the work of Melbourne based designer Sarah Mouchot of Bibicarton. You can see the structural construction of Sarah's work from the photographs above, Sarah then coats the exterior of her creations with gum strip to make her furniture even more sturdy.

Foldschool

Foldschool was designed by Swiss architect Nicola Enrico Staubli. It is free down-loadable furniture for children.

"The concept of Foldschool is based on sustainably playing out the qualities of a recycled material: folding a flat piece of cardboard according to ergonomic and formal considerations enhances its substandard value generating a spatial structure. Cardboard is a highly suitable material for kids furniture: it is lightweight, it has soft warm properties and the kids can paint on it. Once it has served its time it can be disposed of with a clear conscience."

Richard Sweeny II

A modular Cardboard Sofa also designed by Richard Sweeny in collaboration with Liam Hopkins of Lazerian Studio and John Hargreaves cardboard factory. "The design process involved experimentation with columnar forms, inspired by structural forms in nature, including a wasp nest and the crystalline bone structure of microscopic sea organisms known as Radiolaria." Lazerian Studio is a progressive company of designers working in furniture and product design, they have also have a great blog.

Richard Sweeny I

The second entry for Cardboard challenge week, is the Bravais chair by master paper crafter, Richard Sweeny, in collaboration with Lazerian. Richard Sweeny's website is a rich source of inspiration.

Susan Giles

A structural installation piece by Susan Giles constructed of cardboard for an exhibition in Chicago, at the Kavi Gupta Gallery. Susan Giles often makes such structures to house her video installations.

Beanstalk Project

Four days to 'grow' a beanstalk.

A group of international students attending a SESAM10 workshop produced this amazing work as a response to a construction brief using repeat, folded, cardboard and paper modules to build structures. (source Dudecraft).

Giles Miller I

The wall covering above can be hand fluted into any design. This concept has since been developed into Miranda a surface of hairs that can be brushed (or shaded) to create images that can be changed as often as you like.Giles Miller has created furniture and wall coverings made from corrugated cardboard and utilized its structure to create surface pattern.

Mafoomby, A Cardboard Accoustic Space

Designed by Architects Martti Kalliala and Esa Ruskeepaa, Mafoomby is an award winning cardboard space for listening to music, like the yeshop, it has a wonderful ergonomic, organic form. (images from my design fix)

Cardboard Interiors

This interior was created for yeshop Athens, Greece by dARCH studio, by designers; Elina Drossou, Nikos Karkatselas and Chrisa Konsta using 1500 sheets of corrugated cardboard glued and cut into wonderful soft organic flowing shapes.