The Reconstruct Furniture project from my senior thesis last year was an interesting project to work on. During the Design Does senior show, Reconstruct received a lot of feedback, both positive and negative.
Reconstruct Furniture at the Design Does exhibition last April. Photos of the exhibition taken by Lou Caltabiano and Amy Li
In order to further push the line, I knew I needed to recruit a team member who had skills and knowledge that would benefit the furniture most. For that, I looked to Matthew Malesky, who is also a University of the Arts alumni. Malesky was a woodworking major and now practices his art professionally in the Philadelphia area.
In order for us to make this project successful, we are trying to garner help from a lot of our contacts around the city and its outskirts. Our material is waste from a local Pennsylvania-based panel manufacturer with a keen eye for sustainability and responsible industry practices. We’re planning on devising better marketing techniques and entirely rebranding the project. Branding and marketing aren’t our strong points, so we’re going to Brolik Productions in Manayunk for that. Brolik is an interactive marketing agency that has built a reputation for top-notch service and hugely successful projects. Our friends over at Postgreen are helping with consultation and advice, as well as providing a setting for photographs in their beautiful homes. Production of the furniture is going to be done at NextFab Studio. NextFab is an awesome place in the city that not enough people know about. It’s a high-tech, efficient “gym for innovators.” Their equipment ranges from plasma cutters, laser cutters, CNCs, and 3D printers to traditional shop tools like table saws, miter saws, and various bandsaws.
Our experimentation and development of this project wouldn’t be possible without funding help from The Corzo Center for the Creative Economy. Their Creative Incubator program offers a chance to compete for various grants to be used to grow creative ideas into both non-profit and for-profit businesses. Senior fellow of the Corzo Center, Neil Kleinman, is extremely helpful in both advising and expanding contacts for more particular advice.
Please stay tuned, as we’re ironing out the branding/domain/hosting now as we finalize designs. We’re both very excited to be working on this project, and we hope that some people out there may be too.
