The Rhode Island designer/craftsman, Jamison Sellers salvages old wooden pallets, turning them into furniture and shelving that are modern and textural. The many colored scrap wood gives a modern take to recycling. Materials he incorporates into each piece would otherwise be destined for the fireplace or landfill.

Sellers is mindful of environmental responsibility and additionally uses only natural finishes, free of VOCs and solvents.

 Very cool adaptive reuse project in Brooklyn of an old water tower by Messana O’Rourke Architects.

Photos NYDaily News

Derek Diedricksen makes micro shelters out of junk salvaged materials: shipping pallets, used windows and kitchen cabinets or whatever materials turn up.

Made of scavenged materials, these tiny hang outs cost on average less than $200 to build. They often have transparent roofing, which allows a fine view of the treetops, particularly in the smallest ones, where the most comfortable position: relaxing.

more at Relax Shacks

Source: NY Times

Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art invited Boulder-based artist Jessica Moon Bernstein to transform its Union Works Gallery with a site-specific installation. Bernstein works with recycled materials and non-decomposing waste such as mass-produced plastics to create intricately textured sculptures and reliefs. She frequently uses bicycle inner tubes–a material that is as common and abundant as it is environmentally problematic. Bernstein comments on the ubiquitous effects of mass production and uncontained consumerism on our landscapes and expresses concern over the increased loss of ethnic diversity and unique cultures through globalization.

Born in 1968, Jessica Moon Bernstein, was raised in Ohio by a Nicaraguan Arab mother and an Irish German Jewish father. She received a BA in International Affairs and Visual Arts (1991) and an MA in Bilingual and Multicultural Education (1995) from the University of Colorado, Boulder. In 1989 she studied art history and studio arts at the Instituto Internacional in Madrid, Spain. Following her undergraduate degree she lived in Mongolia for three years, working for the Peace Corps and the United Nations Biodiversity Project. She has traveled extensively in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. She has received numerous educational grants and was offered an artist residency at Anderson Ranch Art Center in Snowmass, CO in 2007. Recent exhibitions include Artists Footprints at Redline during the Biennial of the Americas in Denver, CO (2010) and Detritus, which showed at the Houston Art League, TX and at the Dairy Center for the Arts, Boulder, CO (2009).

Previously on HauteNature here.

Exhibition: February 24-June 5 2011

Artist Talk Thursday April 7th, 7pm



San Diego Urban Timber is a design/build studio and woodshop specializing in reclaimed locally harvested wood material, formed into unique furniture and serving pieces.

The wood originates from within San Diego County. The majority is harvested by Urban Timber themselves, typically from urban settings, and then milled and dried in a solar kiln. In addition to being local and sustainable, the material has unique character that is unlike the more traditional furniture woods. Bold colors and figuration, as well as non-structural checks and knots, combine to create vibrant and visually exciting surfaces. Many slabs also have unusual shapes and live edges that can contribute to the individual look of furniture and cutting boards.

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Italian company Marama constructs furniture by repurposing materials from shipping crates & old wood.

Bennett Goodman of The Inner Peace, reassembles vintage pieces for nice salvage furniture. His reuse is accessible, retro and fun. Such a smart way to reuse old stylish suitcases! He art is as he puts it: one part carpentry, two parts artist, and a splash of mad scientist.

Fontenay Mills’ Vintage Barrel Collection offers discarded wine barrels in three distinct wood flooring products. The Stave is taken from the outside of the barrel where the hoops have been removed and features horizontal striations. Wine Infusion is acquired from the inside of the barrel and is characterized by a natural staining left by the wine. However, the most distinguished is the Cooperage, which represents the outside of the barrel head including its patina, cooper’s stamps and special markings.

A sustainable option for remodeling, the Vintage Barrel Collection gives your floor a special loft character or steam punk appeal.

Jeanne Connolly is the Indie Furniture Re-designer for Vintage Renewal. Vintage Renewal is a green furniture boutique that reinvigorates classic and modern pieces into create one-of-a-kind functional pieces for your home, studio or office.

The furniture and art objects created for Vintage Renewal are inspired by past decades, fashion styles, different cultures, antique furniture, and vintage craft books. The frames covered are found or existing objects that are given a new lease on life. The redesigns are commonly covered in vintage fabrics and upcycled fabrics. They accept special orders, so I think I’ll be on the hunt for nice lines.