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It's not clear exactly how much oil is being salvaged from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico or the seabed gusher below, but for the moment, BP officials are saying the collected crude belongs to the company. On Andy Revkin's always thought-provoking Dot Earth blog, the NY Times writer and eco-thinker poses an excellent question: Why is salvaged oil going to BP instead of U.S. reserves?......read more
Working out of Joshua Tree, California, self-taught sculptor and furniture designer Alma Allen crafts objects of stunning beauty from found and salvaged materials. If you've ever been to the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, you've seen his work in the lobby and rooms. One of Allen's preferred materials is claro walnut, a dark brown wood native to northern California. This one-of-a-kind,......read more
In a converted gym in San Francisco's Sunset district, a collective of four artist-designers have joined together through a shared love of craft, surfing, and sustainability. Under the humble name of Woodshop, the group's workspace and showroom is filled with functional art made from reclaimed wood and landfill-bound objects. The studio is made up of four guys whose individual skills......read more
The work of Bryan Nash Gill is deeply rooted in the physical environment. From his base in rural Connecticut, the artist creates incredibly detailed relief prints of cross-cut trees, which he salvages around his home. After cutting blocks with a chainsaw, Bryan sands, burns, and shellacs them, before applying a sheet of Japanese washi paper over an inked section of tree, then carefully......read more
Using mid-century design as his inspiration, Osaka-born, Montreal-based woodworker Mitz Takahashi breathes new life into discarded wooden offcuts, crafting the pieces of reclaimed lumber into everything from clocks to bookshelfs to guitar amps. With a deft hand and a keen sense for sustainability, Takahashi blends mahogany, walnut, oak and other salvaged woods to create......read more
From their workshop in Woodstock, N.Y., Gray Works crafts handsome homewares from sustainable and salvaged woods, each lovingly hand rubbed in organic olive oil. Their rose-red cherry wood Footed Platte makes the easy transition from kitchen to table, operating doubly as a rustic serving platter and an excellent cutting board. Personalize it with a wood engraving to make a unique gift for that......read more
For Michelle Peterson-Albandoz, dumpster diving is just part of her creative process. The Chicago artist trolls for discarded pieces of wood around her North Side neighborhood, then shapes them into abstract sculptures featuring patterns and textures inspired by nature. The large, striking works reflect Peterson-Albandoz's environmentalist ideas. "I'm involved with a lot of......read more
The way we see it, there's no reason green design shouldn't extend to four-legged friends as well. Savannah, Georgia designer Kristin M. thinks so too. Her award-winning Garden House is an imaginative and sustainable interpretation of the doghouse. Made from wood she salvaged from dumpsters in her 'hood, the structure sports a green roof lined with shower curtain plastic. The rooftop planter......read more
LA Box Collective is a group of SoCal-based furniture designers who are squarely focused on sustainable modes of production. From collective member Casey Dzierlenga comes the Hug Machine Chair, a playful interpretation of the classic Windsor chair made from scrap wood collected from the LA Box studio. The mix of woods includes salvaged pieces of walnut, mahogany, douglas fir, maple, ash, and......read more
Wooden pallets have emerged as a favorite source material for crafty repurposers. And why not? There are an estimated two billion of them floating around the world. Atlanta's Clarke Titus, whose roughsouthhome Etsy shop is chalk full of great repurposed homewares, makes expert use of salvaged pallet wood for these Pallet Chairs. Custom-made for your individual purposes, the......read more
