upcycled

source: upcycledzine

Etienne Reijnders designed a collection by upcycling a shopping carts into original furniture.

An object that is quit familiar is a shopping cart. An object that was invented 1937 by a resident of Oklahoma City | USA, named Sylvan N. Goldman. Maybe in the future we don’t use them any more because of home delivery and places where you can pick up your online grocery list. But until then lots and lots of shopping carts are used. In the USA about 40 million shopping carts are used and almost 1.5 million new ones are manufactured each year.

Etienne Reijnders designed a collection by upcycling a shopping carts into original furniture.

A well known problem is that of abandoned shopping carts. These things turn up in the oddest places. Luckily there are companies that deal with this problem and designers who see possibilities in creating something cool out of a discarded shopping cart.

Etienne Reinders who transforms discarded shopping carts into luxury furniture. After cutting, bending and welding the object gets galvanized and refitted with some new plastic parts.

Etienne is a designer with a strong opinion who isn’t mainstream and loves challenges. “I believe that a work should be simple. The design and materials must suit the idea. So don’t make it prettier or uglier than it needs to be. I work very concise and pure.”

If you look at this exclusive furniture collection you wouldn’t think it was made out of upcycling an everyday object like a shopping cart.
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source: artemisamsterdam

He gained experience at Atelier van Lieshout and Studio Job and worked as a freelance designer for a number of established design studios. In particular working for Atelier van Lieshout proved to be a unique and valuable experience. Here they work with polyester, a nowadays rare material requiring very special skills. Reijnders has used polyester to design and create a number of interesting furniture prototypes.

‘I’m a headstrong designer, who especially loves to walk the sidetracks and loves challenges. But I also believe in simple work. The design and material must fit in with the thought process, so don’t make it prettier or uglier than it needs to be. I work very crisp and pure.’

Etiënne is focused on Upcycle series. Upcycling means adjusting an existing product into a durable product on a higher functional level. This implies that the product is not completely dismantled into raw materials, since this would hardly give any ecological gain. Aiming to keep the original product visible in its new function adds an extra dimension to the design process. The designer needs to take a transformation point of view and must recognize the essence of the previous function.

Etiënne transformed run-down shopping carts into comfortable chairs. The process involves sawing, cutting, folding, forging and welding the steel. Once finished, the pieces are galvanized and fitted with new plastic parts. The end-product is an extremely strong and very usable piece of furniture that is both airy and original. It will easily find its destination in your house as a piece of art that you can actually use.

The shopping cart chair loses a minimum of material: only the wheels and 0.5 kg of metal. The shopping cart receives a new function, and becomes an elegant chair. The armrests carry the tub and make the connection to the chassis. It transfers an everyday object to a luxury exclusive design chair, and because of the new function and status an eternal life lays ahead.
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source: etiennereijndersblogspot

Ik ben een eigenwijze ontwerper, die vooral de zijpaden probeert te belopen en houdt van uitdagingen. Ik gelooft dat een werk simpel moet zijn. Het ontwerp en materiaal moet passen bij de gedachtegang, dus maak het niet mooier of lelijker dan het hoeft te zijn. Ik werk heel kernachtig, en puur. Daag me uit, en laat je verassen!.