Felt is an extremely versatile material. It’s non-woven, which means it has no warp, no weft, and no bias; it doesn’t unravel, which makes it an ideal material for intricate garments. However, because it is thick and relatively unforgiving, cutting intricate patterns and structures into felt is difficult to do by hand. Precise cutting is usually done by means of an industrial die cutter, which is costly when producing things in small quantities. Because of the cost of die cutting, using a laser to cut felt is great for prototyping and experimentation. The only downside to this method is the burnt smell.

But do not be too concerned of becoming a ‘mad hatter’ The United States Public Health Service banned the use of mercury in the felt industry in December 1941.

Felt is the oldest form of fabric known to humankind. It predates weaving and knitting, although there is archaeological evidence from the British Museum that the first known thread was made by winding vegetable fibers on the thigh. In Turkey, the remains of felt have been found dating back at least to 6,500 BC. Highly sophisticated felted artifacts were found preserved in permafrost in a tomb in Siberia and dated to 600 AD.

Use 95-100% Wool Felt. This is a good idea for the laser cutter in order to avoid the release of toxins into the air, but it’s also a good idea in general, as the material quality of 100% wool felt makes a huge difference in any project.
There are two types of high-grade wool felt you can buy. Industrial/SAE felt is fabricated to standards set by the Society of Automotive Engineers and comes in cream (new wool) and grey (a mottled recycling of old wool and other materials). There is also 100% wool felt that is usually sold for doll making which comes in a multitude of colors. Stick with the plant-based dyes. Don’t get the craft-store felt — that’s mostly acrylic and is just really low quality in general.

They’re using a Universal X-660 60W laser cutter with a compressed-air assist. Here are the settings he used for cutting 1/8″ F10 wool felt:

Raster Engraving: 18% Power, 80% Speed, 200PPI, Single Pass, Low Gas
Vector Engraving: 10% Power, 8% Speed, 200PPI, Single Pass, High Gas
Vector Cutting: 11% Power, 3% Speed, 200PPI, Single Pass, High Gas

Keep an eye on the Rainbowlazer site as it has some interesting tips on laser cutting, 3D printing and 3D scanning.

Rainbowlazer is an online repository of scripts, tutorials, and information from art/tech projects by Chris Reilly. Chris works and teaches for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, at the Advanced Output Center, and the Design department where he runs the laser cutter, rapid prototyper, and large-format printers and scanners.

AS220 Labs is a teaching space, workspace and community junk pile for supporting open hardware and software projects. They help build new technically literate audiences and communities of artists by running workshops and providing access to tools such as those of the Providence Fab Lab. AS220 Labs is physically located on the second floor of the Empire Street Complex as part of the Broad Street Studio space but emotionally located at the center of our collective hearts….

If anyone knows of any other collectives such as this creating community around design, experimentation and consumer empowerment please let me know.

via cnet

Though the form is unlike Marc’s usual style the move to jewellery harks back to his original studies at Sydney College of the Arts in the 1980’s.

To compare this work to other designers using algorithmic formulas such as Nervous System and Arthur Hash which seem to have a much more rigerous and sophisticated.

Dendrite by Nervous System

Julia image Copyright Xavier Reboud 2008
Via The Moment

I have to include part of their description here..

The sound by itself (meaning no body parts in the cutter), is probably the easiest thing to deal with. It is just the normal whine of gears, belts and cooling fans. When that sound is mixed in with the sensation of burning flesh, it turns the laser cutter from a simple machine shop tool to a futuristic torture device.
The sight is not too bad, just a light tracing its way back and fourth across the body. As long as you don’t think about the fact that the small wisp of smoke trailing the light, is actually vaporized skin, everything will be fine.
The smell is bad. It does not travel far, but when you catch a whiff of the burnt flesh stench, it is quite nauseating. The thought that you have just inhaled some of those vaporized skin flakes, and they have settled on the bottom of your lungs, is the worst.

and of course the harsh lessons learnt..

I have a failed space invader attempt on my left arm.
I stoopidly forgot that the laser beam was completely exposed on the left side before it hit the final mirror.
Shortly after the space invader etch started, I noticed a lot of smoke. This smoke was not coming from the etch, but from the left side of the cutter, where the upper part of my left arm was resting. When I looked over, I saw that my shirt was smoldering.
I was so focused on keeping my forearm in place (as to not ruin the tattoo), I did not notice that the laser was no longer etching it, but rather cutting a gash into my upper left arm.
Needless to say, I only etched my right arm from that point on.

I love the fact that he kept on going after this incident…

ah the brave folly of youth.

The undulating functional object was crafted from assembled layers of diecut cardboard and Koskisen plywood. Seeking to affect the white cube space of the gallery with the minimum of materials, Ball-Nogues utilized the surging repetition and pattern created with stacking two shapes of pre-cut cardboard designed and calibrated on computational software. Suggesting movement and vitality, the reception counter acts as a fluid yet intermediary object between the public space of the gallery and the gallery’s workspace. Fabricated by the architectural firm’s collective team, the workstation reflects the gallery’s emphasis on craftsmanship and execution. Embracing the post-gilded age economy, the design’s humble materials does not shy from seeking new, dynamic forms.

Ball-Nogues Studio is an integrated design and fabrication practice that creates experimental built environments to enhance and celebrate the potential for social interaction through sensation, spectacle and physical engagement while striving to infuse the matter of the built environment with a downstream purpose.
The team of Benjamin Ball, Gaston Nogues and Andrew Lyon have quite a pedigree of experience working with/for the likes of Gehry Partners, Shirdel Zago Kipnis and Boyarsky Murphy Associates from projects such as the Disney Concert Hall and set and production designer for films including the Matrix series. This set design and sense of theatre is evident in their edgy and sexy muted set design for Janet Jackson’s clip (RIP Michael) and the Audi A6 commercial.

via the contemporist

“A new undefined human personality needs in my mind objects that own a variable adjusting and transformable character. thereby i developed this kit based chair whose connections are fixed with adjustable zip-ties. because of these uneasy connections, this chair tends to be loose and wobbly, but this is part of “a new way of sitting” idea.”


Viktormatic’s “new way of sitting” may be read as experimental and uncomfortable, but this is an interesting idea to rethink the materials and processes used to assemble and fasten furniture/objects together. It is also great to see the aesthetic is not compromised by the concept (especially if the ergonomics are).

I also like his 15mb of fame, with a nod to Warhol via MySpace…

via designspotter

Why?


In the words of the human printer team…
Technology is an integral aspect of modern day life, so much so that without it we may not be able to function. We have constructed these machines to aid our lives, making simple productions/tasks easier to accomplish. Though these developments were intiated to benefit us they have also constricted and restrained not only the outcome of our productions but also the process we take to obtain the final result. Our environment is now scattered with machine made artefacts, computer developed images and autonomous interactions – which are all constructed under a set of rules and standards. We are losing the essence of human production and craft to the machine, resulting in a souless utilitarianism.
Unlike any other printer thehumanprinter creates unique, individual images each time it prints. Following the same process as a digital printer, thehumanprinter generates the printed product by hand. Throughout the printing process thehumanprinter assumes the role of the machine and is therefore controlled and restricted by the process of using CMYK halftones created on the computer.

check out the printers specs here… You will be relieved to see they are not exactly working in a sweatshop setting, more like a student kitchen table..

via today and tomorrow

Click on Images for links but includes Khai Liew, Flexible Love, Brikolör, Michael Brussein, and unnamed designer with a great work desk to keep the blood flowing on a cold friday in the Southern Hemisphere…..

Hello owners of laser cutters, CNC routers, 3D printers etc

In just a little bit, we’ll be releasing something we think is pretty big. We’ve been working on it for more than 2 years now. And we’re gunning for a launch in Q4 this year.

You could call it Digitalmake – an online Ponoko account designed especially for owners of digital making technology (eg, laser cutters, CNCs, 3D printers).

Digitalmake springs from our desire to create a digital making network that enables products to be made as close to the point of consumption as possible.

With Digitalmake you can manage and download product designs and materials for digital making. You can also offer your fabricator to Ponoko users (and get pre-paid jobs).

But before we launch, we need to make sure we have covered everything.

Can you help us out?

We really want to get this right. So can you let us know what you think about this?

So, if you want access to more making jobs, to grow your making community, or you want an online system to manage all of your design files and materials, or anything else you think would be a cool way to link your fabber to the Internet creative community - please let us know your thoughts - you can find out more here.

Just wanted to direct Ponoko readers to a great collection of 23 incredible laser-cutting projects at the Instructables site. No matter what it is you want to do, chances are there is a laser-cut solution.

Love machines more than people? Exponentially increase your circle of friends by building these “autonomous, self-assembling robots“.

Miss your family while on summer vacation? Say hello to those back home with an etched acrylic postcard.

Want your nails to stand-out from all those other airbrushed and bejeweled fools? Get them laser-etched!

all images © By Karen Ryan
via Dezeen

I would love to know what your favorite post were and what you would like to see more of in the future?

Also big thanks to the Ponoko team for giving us loose reigns to ramble, it has been an absolute pleasure….

cheers

Thomas Thwaites, a design student at the Royal College of Art in London has made a toaster - literally from the ground up. Thomas Thwaites has travelled to mines across the country to get the raw materials for his toaster. Processing these raw materials at home, (for example he smelted iron ore with a leafblower and in a microwave).


He has produced a ‘kind of half-baked, handmade pastiche’ of a toaster you can buy in Argos for less than five pounds (for those non-UK readers, Argos is like walmart). Thwaites’ toaster has cost 1187.54 ounds and has taken him on a 9 month quest around Great Britain. The project web-site is here.

“Left to his own devices he couldn’t build a toaster. He could just about make a sandwich and that was it.”
Mostly Harmless, Douglas Adams, 1992

“The point at which it stopped being possible for us to make the things that surround us is long past. To redress the balance I’m making a mass produced object by hand - creating a domestic product on a domestic scale….This faintly ridiculous quest to make a toaster from the ‘ground up’ serves as a vehicle through which questions about economics, helplessness and life as a consumer can be investigated. The outcome will be a toaster that I imagine will bear a very imperfect likeness to the ones that we buy - a kind of half-baked, hand made pastiche of a consumer appliance.”
The Toaster Project, Thomas Thwaites

Great work Thomas

via develop 3d and we make money not art

If you want to see a video of the app in action check out this post on youtube, and if you are interested in iTracer it is now available via iTunes Store.

iTracer is a 3D modeling and rendering application for the iPhone. With it you can build full 3D scenes and render images. The rendered images can then be saved to your Photos Library for later use by other applications. The multi-touch interface allows view scaling and panning at any time with simple pinch gestures. Translate, rotate and scale objects with simple touch movements that snap to an adaptative grid. Includes a full material editor with diffuse and specular components, opacity, refraction, reflection and self illumination. Shadows are cast from multiple lights and support transparent objects. Use procedural objects like spheres and boxes for infinite precision and faster rendering. Also supports generic triangle meshes with per-vertex normals. The included modeling interface allows you to create custom 3D meshes using extrusion and revolution surfaces. A full feature 2D curve editor makes it easy to create 2D shapes and fine tune its vertices by moving, adding and deleting vertices as needed.

via 3D Perspectives and SolidSmack via Develop 3D via Google

There is always a design zeitgeist that emerges from the various styles, methods of production, and materials that are popular at any given time. So, I decided to compare what I saw at NeoCon with what I am seeing  from independent designers using rapid manufacturing.

LIGHTING
Laser-cutting is being used to create interesting forms as well as graphic patterns that work with the light to cast intricate shadows.

Boyd Lighting’s NeoCon award winning laser-cut pendant design.

Labyrinth pendant in felt and laser-cut acrylic by Random Walk Design Lab.

Tulip Flick fixture flat-pack acrylic design by rraadd.

Bloom Lamp in Italian poplar ply by Alienology Design.

Zen Table Lamp 3D asterisk from laser-cut MDF and Japanese rice paper by Squirrels with Hammers.

FURNITURE
Seating mimics the form of the sitter with designs reflecting the curves, skeletal alignment, and muscular support of the human body. Tables tell a story; some tell a story of sustainability, others graphically communicate their functions, and others reveal their process and construction.

IOS airin chair at NeoCon.

Slice Chair V01 by Utzi Design.

Davies re-manufactured office furniture at NeoCon.

Directives: Work Desk by Carla Diana.

Metaverse Table with engraved wood and acrylic by Labeling Theory.

Ponoko Shelf in laser-cut Cherry veneer by Steve Watson.

Serving Table in Italian poplar by Wood Marvels.

KIDS DESIGN
Design for children is social and interactive.

GreenPlay furniture at NeoCon.

Hands Corner Shelf by Studio Wun.

Spelling 101 laser-cut game by rraadd.

Crocodile Ball by Hammer.

DIGITAL PRINTING
This technology is making one-off fabric projects possible in everything from fashion and accessories to upholstery and quilting.

Perspectives in Print at NeoCon.

Below are a variety of projects developed by designers using independent digital printers Spoonflower.

(above: portrait from MetropolisMag.com)

Stephanie Forsythe, along with Todd MacAllen and Robert Pasut, make up molo—a collaborative studio that approaches product design from an architect’s perspective. The outcomes are wonderful, multi-functional structures that can be interpretted for use as furniture, lighting, space dilineation, or custom installations. The molo aesthetic is strikingly unique yet versatile enough for a range of interior styles: residential, educational, corporate, or commercial.

(above: the very popular molo booth at NeoCon 2009)

Most people favor the deluxe permanent showrooms of to-the-trade-only manufacturers and their champaign and hors d’œuvre afternoon hours, but I have to say that the molo booth was my absolute favorite at NeoCon. They were really the freshest company at the event, and their products spoke most to what I think is the artistic vision, environmental outlook, and indie philosophy of today’s young designers.

Keep reading for the story on how molo came about, circumventing the traditional A+D route, and how their amazing designs were inspired by dollar store trinkets.

(above: award winning float tea lantern and cup set)

KLT: Starting an independent design company is a daunting dream for many creatives. How did molo start out?

SF: We were sitting in our apartment making things and designing things. We went through a very fortuitous streak of winning a number of the competitions we entered; so, we had people calling us and saying they would really like to buy our stuff. And we really hadn’t thought it through that far! So we said, let’s do this. And literally in ten minutes, we decided we were going to figure it out and make a company.

(above: softwall modular system in kraft paper and LED lighting)

KLT: Is there an overall ethos behind your company?

SF: Both my husband and I have a fine arts background, and we realized that the typical architectural model didn’t suit the way we wanted to work. We wanted to work in our own realm and then put it out into the world.

(above: softseating which was also at the Designer Pages booth and will be in the new Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago until January 2010)

KLT: Your products are very material focused. Do you set out to explore a certain material when you design?

SF:  We were both in school for architecture, and we actually sold all of our metal and wood-working tools to finish our last year. So we didn’t have any tools and not very much money, and we started playing with these wedding bells and little tissue-paper ornaments we got at the dollar store. We were thinking about flexibility and urban living, which made us think about things that can fold. We started cutting up and folding these ornaments and thought, “Wow. This is not only making a structure from the most delicate of materials, it also has this incredible three-dimensional, transformational ability.”

(above: urchin softlights)

Incredible indeed. Much appreciation to Stephanie for taking the time to answer a few questions for Ponoko, and best of luck to molo!

via unbeige and Designboom and etc….

Founded in 2008 in Riga, the capital of Latvia, by the designer named Stanislav Katz and marketeer Dmitry Holomyov, the brand Katz quickly gained international recognition working in two main directions: interior and industrial design. Their goal is to deliver creative and provocative ideas in the form of attractive objects that could make our life a bit more colorful and less boring. They consider the main problem of today’s society to be patterned thinking which holds people from broadening their horizons and leads to all sorts of oppression. They therefore try to change the situation by creating objects and interiors that are able to inspire people making them see the usual imagery in some new perspectives.
They believe that good design apart from everything else should not leave one unconcerned.

More images via Contemporist

Here is what my translator said….
“archaos - behind this name is that Berlin Designer Philippe krzyzek. preferred with the materials wood, stone and metal he implements his idea: in the arranged form the nature as close as possible to come. the monumental, the open heavy and erdhaftigkeit (???) its objects is artistic intention. the origin is always the form, only from it develops the function. the often surprising surface organization receives and”

Cool

This international day of observance is celebrated in order to raise awareness about the benefits of industrial design in improving our quality of life.

First declared in 2007 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Icsid, World Industrial Design Day received considerable attention following a successful series of international events held during the inaugural year in 2008. This year, designers and design enthusiasts are once again encouraged to mark the day by coordinating events within their region. World Industrial Design Day aims to provide designers with a collective outlet to acknowledge the merits of the profession of industrial design, as well as provide the general public with an opportunity to appreciate design not just as an abstract, but also as a tangible expression of everyday life.

Share your World Industrial Design Day event plans by posting a comment in the Icsid Blog. Be sure to include the name of the organisers, location of the event and any relevant links.

Congratulations to Carla Sapiain who was the winner of the first student poster competition for World Industrial Design Day, designed to represent nature’s essential role in the imagination, design and creation of products.

I wonder how long before we celebrate Post-Industrial Design day??
Ponoko users unite…

The Bean Rocker series (Winner of the 2009 iF Product Design Award) is an exploration in dynamic and flexible ways of inhabiting our spaces. The lightweight design of the bean rockers makes them easy to move, store, and use in a variety of applications. The rocking seats are adaptable to many body types and shapes with four different models.

Also check out their useful resource page on eco design..

Discovering sustainable materials.

The Ecolect mission is to create an online resource for sustainable materials available to anyone for free. While checking out the Materials PettingZoo, I spoke with co-founder Joe Gebbia about the various ways Ecolect can assist designers in discovering, selecting, and ordering sustainable materials.

Anyone can browse the curated materials library. Each material has its own entry including information on the manufacturer, possible applications, how and from what the materials is made, and also user submitted reviews. Eventually, each material will be rated on a sustainability scale considering various factors such as recycled and renewable content, toxicity, energy costs, and carbon footprint.

Ecolect recognizes that while an online materials database is a great tool, designers need to be able to look at physical swatches. So, they have introduced GreenBox™ as the first annual subscription to eco-friendly material samples. Eight to twelve different materials are mailed quarterly so designers and companies can build their own materials library. A one year subscripton costs $849, but there is a NeoCon special for $749 going on until 26 June.

The event tips it’s discarded hat to the institution that once was Woolworths, via ironic references throughout the installation space. A team of Pollocks creatives worked continually throughout the week on transforming items into works of art. The experience cumulated for the customer, when on collection of their item, they were asked to pay how much they feel the new item is worth (think Radiohead’s In Rainbows sans digital)

A pick’n’mix of ‘worthless to priceless’ creations was exhibited in the store from 1st – 5th June, with several items being auctioned at Octave Jazz Bar on behalf of the ‘MS Society’.

Born out of the ferocity of youth – a desire to run before one can crawl, rolling out of bed against the back drop of your mothers imperatives, and walking down the street to hyper bass lines and expletives – Pollocks is a dynamic fusion of Art, Music and Life.

“Our objective is to empower, inspire, and promote the creativity of the freethinking individual. The evolution of youth has resulted in a coup d’etat on stereotypical revolts against the establishment, breeding a brand of youth that are ready to take over the reins of the creative, social and political. Invite your lover to a Francoise Nielly exhibition, two-step to Skream, pop bottles whilst throwing up your peace sign.”

The Pollocks revolution will be digitalised, and it would be a pleasure to have your company.

via PSFK

3form is a design and manufacturing company that fabricates cutting-edge materials in the greenest way possible. The company formed in 1991 with a commitment to the environment, and their Path to Zero strategy will lead 3form to carbon neutrality by 2017. Their extensive collection of customizable materials contain a growing percentage of post consumer reycled content, and their reclaim program ensures that no 3form products will ever see a landfill.

Parametre is 3form’s range of 3D textiles. These flexible expanses of non-woven polyester come in three different cuts to add graphic dimension.

Read about 3form’s most extensive line of materials and take a look at their stunning surfaces after the jump.

The Varia line is an ecoresin® made of multiple layers. This layering results in endless possibilities of colors, graphics, and textures. Below is a selection of the truly beautiful surfaces available in Varia including embedded organic matter like flowers and crushed shells, interlayers of fabric, molded textures, trompe-l’oeil effects, and laser-cut patterns.

Paint companies Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams recently released color applications for the iPhone. So, which one is the best?

ben® Color Capture™ from Benjamin Moore starts off with a splashy blue screen. There are four features: capture, color wheel, favorites, and retail locator. Capture allows you to take a photo or retrieve one from your library, and then a gradient of Benjamin Moore paint chips appear below. You can select ‘harmony’ to generate a palette. I thought the palettes were weak, because each swatch was the same value.

What took me a couple minutes to figure out is that when you touch different parts of the photo, a different gradient of swatches appears. That’s kind of cool, but if you plan on having paint mixed to match whatever you took a photo of, don’t count on it being very close. You can add a swatch to your favorites by double tapping on it. Within favorites, you can type in information about the color you saved. You can also do that when exploring the RGB colorwheel. The retail locator has a nice layout which allows you to scroll through stores and dial directly.

ColorSnap™ from Sherwin Williams has only three key features: color snap, saved colors, and find store. My first impressions are of the relatively poor graphic design. Benji’s logo and icons are way cooler looking. This app has similar problems with identifying a specific paint color. However, the generated palette is actually a decent one with variety in hue and value. Plus, the chips not only give you the Sherwin Williams id number, you also get RGB values. So if you are working on an interior design project or just want to go home and print out a similar color, you could put those values right into your program. More information makes it a more useful app. You can save your favorite swatches and look up a retailer by zip code.

Conclusions: First of all, neither application can be blamed for lack of color accuracy. The iPhone camera is simply not sophisticated enough for that. What they can be blamed for is perpetuating the stereotype that beauty and brains are incompatible. Benjamin Moore had a great graphic designer on their side. The splash screen is exciting, the icons are effective, and the interface is clean. But those mono-value palettes are ugly and useless! The Sherwin Williams layout is super boring and conservative. Yet the palettes generated by their app are actually inspirational and translated to RGB values.

The results: It’s a tough call, but I am one to favor brains over beauty if I have to. ben® Color Capture™ may have better graphics, but ColorSnap™ is the better app. The winner is Sherwin Williams. OH(color)SNAP!

(above: Perspectives in Print booth at NeoCon)

Textile design is gradually gaining the sort of respect and recognition given to architecture, furniture, and product design. The field of fibers and textiles has experienced a surge of innovation and experimentation as a result of technological advances and cross disciplinary practice. While it may take awhile for NeoCon textile exhibitors like Maharam, Mohawk, and Shaw to offer LED embedded felt flooring, rasterized rugs, or laser-cut leather room dividers, there were a couple of companies showcasing their digital printing capabilities.

Perspectives in Print offers custom design and both digital and traditional printing for fabric, carpet, wallpaper, and even plastics like acrylic and styrene. The advantage of digital printing, similar to other methods of rapid manufacture, means no minimum orders, on-demand production, and fewer design limitations. Below is a selection of different projects ranging from pop-up store displays to drapes and custom props to limited edition products.

Canvas On Demand is using digital printing to turn personal photos into artwork. Photo canvases can be ordered by uploading digital photographs or scanning or mailing in traditional prints.  Below are some of the canvases submitted to the gallery by Canvas On Demand customers.

Chicago based Skyline Design exhibited their Greenplay Furniture line of eco-friendly living and learning environments for kids. Designer Joe Fiacchino’s twenty-eight years in exhibition design comes across in Greenplay’s unique approach to creating a stimulating and playful world with their furniture. In addition to the recycled components, FSC-certified woods, and low-VOC coatings, Skyline offers a take-back program for the repurposing or donating of Greenplay products, similar to the services offered by previously mentioned furniture refurbishing company Davies.

Jonti-Craft serves the primary school and daycare markets with sturdy, kid-friendly furnishings. The Minnesota based manufacturer rounds all edges, reinforces material thickness, and installs piano hinges to minimize pinching little fingers. I would love to have that locker shelf.

Check out these recent posts for more kid-focused design.
• Kids have Arduino Fun Using Ponoko
• ontwerpduo—fun studio
• DIY Decorating for Kids from Elia

Whether you attended NeoCon physically or virtually this year, you probably noticed that Green/Eco/Sustainability was crucial. LEED certification has become both a badge of honor and a badge of cool in the world of architecture; so attendees were all looking for environmentally friendly products.

Davies Office Refurbishing started as an eco-conscious company in 1948—about sixty years before today’s Green Scene. As I inspected the giant wooden signs for laser-cutting burns and observed the rotating platforms at Davies booth, company President William Davies offered to give me a bit of background on his products and services.

(above: cool CNC table part of Davies display at NeoCon)

A 300,000 square foot warehouse in Albany, New York houses Davies continuously recycled inventory of work space furnishings from companies like Steelcase, Haworth, Herman Miller, and Knoll. This furniture has been retired from corporate offices across the country. Davies remanufactures these desks, chairs, shelves, cabinets, tables, etc into like-new products that meet their clients latest standards and needs.

They have people to help clients assess those needs, plan out space, work within a givin budget, and recycle existing inventory. A design team can work with an interior designer for desired colors, finishes, and upholstery. A logistics team will work out delivery and installation. And the bottom line is significant savings: anywhere from 40–70% of the pecuniary costs of buying new and 6.9 million pounds of CO2 per year compared with manufacturing new.