Seattle based Graypants channels an exuberant work ethic into elegant pieces of sustainable furniture. Their set of Scrap Chairs are composed entirely of upcycled materials ranging from from finely polished plywood to corrugated cardboard and printed publications. Each piece develops out of a fluent process that perfectly encompasses their innovative approach to design: “Consider everything an experiment. Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make”.
Jonathan Junker and Seth Grizzle first met at Kent State University and then later founded Graypants through their common desire to make a difference through design. Their beautifully layered lineup of Scrap Chairs accomplishes this mission by embracing a sustainable approach: “we wanted to do something creative with the trash around us, but wanted to facilitate something more than “recycling.”
The project realizes a slick set of chairs in a variety of disparate materials including recycled cardboard, newspaper, freight pallet slip sheets and salvaged plywood: “Scrap Chairs are the pure result of pillaging trash to create elegant, useful products.”
Beginning with the 3D modeled, laser-cut cardboard chair, each consecutive iteration represents an experiment in materials and manufacture. The newspaper chair (formed from issues of The Stranger) was cast from the cardboard chair and injected with expanding foam. The overarching dynamic of these experiments celebrates the process of creation, tending away from technology and embracing old-world technique: “By the end, we completed the plywood version by hand, cutting and sanding each profile. It was a blast – it is so refreshing to bring back the craft of using one’s hands.”
We’ll be covering more great Graypants projects in the future; in the meantime check out these inspiring videos detailing the duo at work.
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I would check out the possible danger of using wood shipping freight pallets as the recycled wood. Aren\\\’t they treated with insecticide so that there is not a transfer of pests between countries?
[...] we introduced you to Seattle’s Graypants Inc. and their beautiful line of sustainable Scrap Chairs. In the process of fine-tuning their creations, Seth and Jonathan were captivated by the interplay [...]