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.

February 05, 2011 by Designsquish

January 04, 2011 by Designsquish

Above: Ben Edwards and Juliet Moore

Made from discarded wood from various sources. Sanded and finished with linseed oil, putty and wax.

-http://edwardsmoore.com/

November 11, 2010 by Designsquish

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. ...

October 29, 2010 by Designsquish

Unconventional artsy birdhouses made from odd objects and milk crates.  I saw them on Reference Library and fell in love with ever since!

- View more…......

September 28, 2010 by Designsquish

Pillows from recycled old wool sweaters, jackets or shirts. (Image from Katy Elliott)

Sofa cover from reused jeans fabric. (Image from Design Milk)

September 19, 2010 by Designsquish

I am drawn to comfortable, soft accessories from reclaimed materials.
Slippers made from recycled, felted 100% lambswool sweater and recycled leather by Wooly Baby as well as this upcycled slouch bag made from the sleeves of a mens wool dress coat by Betsy & Bess...

August 16, 2010 by Designsquish

Cafe America is an upcycled galvanized steel chain-link chair with stainless steel rod and fasteners by Grain. The chair flat-packs for efficient shipping and storage.  Handmade in the Pacific Northwest, USA.

July 07, 2010 by Designsquish

July 06, 2010 by Designsquish

“Man can better set up in a small house than in a huge castle.” - Leo N. Tolstoy

“With the loved ones you can be happy even in the smallest of places.” - Leo N. Tolstoy.

July 03, 2010 by Designsquish

Old workshop seat.

Coffee table from recycled cable drum.

Chair from old sewing factory.

Pillows from vintage produce sacks.

Images from ArtKraft Furniture and Design.

June 28, 2010 by Designsquish

Old bathtubs, shipping crates and barrels are great “upcycle material” for DIY planters.
Above: Old barrels as planters in San Diego, California.

Bathtub garden baskets in Williamsburg, Brooklyn:

Below: Shipping crate as garden planter.

June 25, 2010 by Designsquish

I was excited to find these great “Recycled Banner Golden Mean Messenger Bags”  DIY instructions a la Freitag bike messenger bags.  (Can be made under $5 !!!!!!!!!!!!!). Comfortable, light, tough billboard sign material (waterproof). To view instructions please visit: EEIO Golden Mean messenger bag instructions
In stores, nice bike messenger bags can be $200. Making your own not only saves money but also is good for environment.  I just saw a truck driver discard a big piece of truck tarpaulin and now it is lying on the street waiting to be made into bags.

March 03, 2010 by Designsquish

Above:  Chairs by StudioMama

January 14, 2010 by Designsquish

Recycled map envelopes by DIREKTRECYCLING.
(Good DIY idea too.)

January 04, 2010 by Designsquish

Chair made from recycled , reused fabric pieces /  discarded scraps. By Fernando and Humberto Campana from Brazil.

October 19, 2009 by Designsquish

Reusing old buttons as fridge magnets. By Skin and Tonic Too.



Rings made with old vintage buttons. Found in Red Chair Antiques shop.

October 12, 2009 by Designsquish

An Earthship is a type of home made of natural and recycled materials.  Earthships designed by Earthship Biotecture  and are built from 45% recycled materials - tires, bottles, cans.  Earth-filled tires utilize thermal mass construction to naturally regulate indoor temperature. Earthships also usually incorporate their own special natural ventilation system.



Earthships are built to utilize the available local resources - energy from the sun, rain. For example, windows on the sunny side admit light and heat, and the buildings are often horseshoe-shaped to maximize natural light and solar-gain during winter months. Likewise, the thick, dense outer walls provide effective insulation against summer heat.
Internal, non-load-bearing walls are often made of a honeycomb of recycled cans joined by concrete and are referred to as tin can walls. These walls are usually thickly plastered with stucco.

The Earthship costs next to nothing to operate annually and is independent of all municipal utilities.  Earthship Biotecture has a building prototype that harvests its own electricity and water; contains and treats its own sewage;  and heats and cools itself without fuel and produces a significant amount of food.

August 02, 2009 by Designsquish

I found this old vintage chair - $2, and two frames - $3 on garage sale.  They were falling apart and covered in dust.  I washed them and repainted them. 

June 04, 2009 by Designsquish

Book shelves made from old books - http://www.littlefishfurniture.com/.

May 05, 2009 by Designsquish

Recently I started making my own bags from recycled leather and reused materials. Image above is the first bag I made out of small ripped leather purse and old leather skirt.  I added leather material from old skirt to the bottom of the purse.  The image below is a bag I made from ripped fake leather bag I actually found in the garbage. I fixed the bag I found in the garbage and sewed on white silk flowers that came from old jacket.

February 10, 2009 by Designsquish

Me and Paul did not want to buy a salt and pepper shaker and decided to do-it-yourself one.  We thought it would be an interesting idea to make salt and pepper shakers out of soda bottles.  We used a bottle from ALE 8 1 (pronouncedA LATE ONE) - authentic Kentucky soda available only in Kentucky and JARRITOS - mandarin flavored Mexican soda from the deli in Brooklyn.

December 29, 2008 by Designsquish

I saw this photograph on Sandbox Studio website.  I really like the idea of using wooden shipping platforms and crates as a support for a mattress and as a bed frame.  I always see thrown out shipping pallets and crates in industrial neighborhoods and construction sites and have been wondering about ways of reusing them. 

December 23, 2008 by Designsquish

REPLAYGROUND makes journal notepads from cereal boxes.  They are packed with blank pages of recycled paper and the cover is a reclaimed cereal box cardboard.

December 07, 2008 by Designsquish

Dan of Kreepy Doll Factory have been making dolls out of old t-shirts and fabric scraps.  Every doll is unique.
The one on the left is the Night Man - “Living shadow found roaming in the dark of night” . One on the right is the Flying Red Hot Dog - “Mysterious winged weiner seen in the skies over downtown”. haha.

November 23, 2008 by Designsquish

Great way to restore old chairs!
&MADE is one of the UKs freshest consultancies for ethically conscious contemporary design. Located in a former mid 20th Century doss house overlooking a tributary of the River Thames, they have grown from their birth in 2005 into an award winning studio, working in product, furniture and spatial design. With an extensive knowledge of materials and manufacturing processes and a background of new technologies and engineering , &made demonstrate a unique creative process, with a commitment to conscious design. One that has been recognised by the Design Museum, MoMA and Terrence Conran.

by Designsquish