Where have we been? Too busy. Autumn Workshop was partially named for my seasonal obsession with the Fall, but also it’s significance as a period of time each year when we are especially active. This year, October and November were some of our busiest months. We had major fabrication projects, small furniture gigs, and were on a prototyping push for some new skateboard designs. Very little sleep, very productive, and generally overwhelming. We are looking forward to some calmer months ahead and getting some new photos up on the site.

Happy Holidays!

We’ve recently completed a set of 4 chairs and a bench with an ottoman, made entirely from re-purposed hologram storage crates. I’ve posted before about a storage credenza made from the these things. I’ve also made a bed before. But this new set of furniture really morphs the crates into an entirely new and interesting form. The design uses the printed graphics to inform the user how to interact with the storage components of the furniture.

Each chair has a drawer in its base, and a compartment in its back. Plenty of room to keep those books, magazines, cat toys… Whatever you need…

No extra wood was used in the fabrication of these chairs. The original crates were cut down, and the cut-offs were recycled back into the structure. The only new components were a small amount of piano hinge, Masonite for the drawers, and a pin to hold the lid of the back storage in place.

Recently, we’ve devised a new approach to the test tube shelves. This time, without the steel element, which was a drain on labor. We wanted to get the price down on these, so that more people could afford them. The solution, an all wood design, using 3 different profiles which can be cut at varying lengths for varying arrangements.

The design allows you to insert rimless test tubed between strips of felt, which pinch the tubes and hold them in place. This allows you to switch the tubes out or rearrange them based on the flowers you are using. Each shelf comes with small and large test tubes. And of course, you can rest objects on the shelves as well!

All the wood used is scrap material which was lying around the shop. This included walnut, pine, maple, oak, cherry, and mahogany. The shelves are finished with tung oil. And the bright blue, 1/4″ felt is purchased from an artist off of etsy.

These are for sale now, in our etsy store! And maybe some brick and mortar locations to come.

Special thanks to Material for the Arts in Queens where we acquired the steel letterbox cabinet for free! We love that place!

After our first prototype Hanging Garden Lamp, we decided to do a small production run of 4 more lamps. We finally got around to planting one and photographing it! The first lamp was about 20″ long. This one is over double the length at 42″ long. The idea was to show how the design could expand for new applications. Also, the proportions are improved and more soil area is provided for the plants! We can’t wait to sell these and make more! They are fun to build and offer a dramatic addition to a room.

As always, the lamps are made entirely from reclaimed or scrap wood. The pine on this lamp was once old Brooklyn warehouse timbers. The other lamps, of varying sizes are made from Cherry, Teak, and Oak. They are all available for purchase on the Etsy store. We are also interested in expanding this idea for custom installations.

We’ve just finished another round of exploration with the test tube shelves. Like before, the tubes are pinched in place by rows of 1/4″ felt. The custom steel framing has a blackened finish, and the woods we chose were pulled from our hardwood scrap bins. Luckily, a quick walk around the corner from the shop got us some nice thistles and other weedy flowers for the photo shoot. These are for sale now!

Yep, that’s my kitteh Mars, chillin on the Scraps Dining Table.

AW’s sculptural vine-vegetable gowing trellis has been up at Flux Factory for a couple of weeks now. The plants are enjoying the change of seasons and starting to take off. Pretty soon, the structure will be a crazy cornucopia of veggies. The structure is part of Flux Factory’s show ‘Bionic Garden’ which explored the intersection of art, technology, urbanism, and ecology.

Text from the Zip-Eyed project description:

We’re accustomed to understanding vegetable gardens as existing on the ground, rising up and providing beauty from below. Autumn Workshop seeks to cultivate and demonstrate the many possible relationships between humans and plants. A result of it’s own proclaimed BIOPHILIA (a natural bond between humans and other living systems). As such, in Zip-eyed, the traditional vine trellis and the utility of a garden is re-imagined as a space-making sculpture and edible cornucopia. This lasting installation promises to evolve through the seasons and provide Flux Factory residents with some sustenance and an amorphous, signature structure. The structure uses a ‘lo-fi’ connection system of zip-ties and eyehooks to create complex intersections between strips of reclaimed scrap lumber. Featuring pole beans, tomatoes, and cucuzza squash growing from sub-irrigated planters that anchor the structure. Special thanks to M.Fine Lumber in Brooklyn for generously donating the reclaimed lumber.

First Harvest!!! Pole Beans!