Second Lives
A ROUNDUP OF RESOURCEFUL CRAFTERS
WHO REVIVE ALL MANNER OF OBJECTS.
BY LAURA KINIRY
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1. JUNK SEAT
Mulling what to do with a heap of old newspapers
littering their Seattle apartment, Graypants founders Jonathan Junker and Seth Grizzle decided to
sit on it. Literally. Since their first foray into crafting
Scrap Chairs from dumped corrugated cardboard,
these boys have salvaged plywood scraps, plastic
freight pallet slip sheets, and yes, newsprint, molding them into a series of seats cast from a slightly
slumped papier-mâché model.
graypants.com
2. ELEGAN T WASTE
With help from her students, Rio de Janeiro-based
artist Mana Bernardes transforms discarded
plastic, perfume vials, and PET bottles into works
of wearable art. Bamboo toothpicks, tipped with
pearls and strung from nylon, become a luxe necklace; a wire mesh sleeve morphs into a stylish
bracelet with touches of tiny Swarovski crystals.
mana.cx
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3. ECO-BOWL
Interstate 287 wasn’t around in the 1950s, but that
doesn’t mean New York’s vintage road maps are
useless. Pica Pica designer Liz Grotyohann collects
them from antique stores and yard sales to line
decorative paper bowls she crafts from junk mail,
brown bags, and packing material. She recently
switched to no-VOC soy “acrylic” to seal each
bowl’s interior.
picapicadesign.net
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4. NATURAL LOOP
Inspired by our cyclical connections with nature
and each other, Philadelphia artist Elissa Barbieri
founded Loop LLC, a one-woman sustainable
stationery company. Barbieri’s organic, flowing
drawings and paintings come printed on 100%
post-consumer recycled or kraft paper notecard,
using only soy-based inks. Loop is also home to
subsidiary Doodlespark, a collaborative card
series designed by Barbieri and her mother.
welcometoloop.com
