Out of the (Recycled) Box

What do you get when you combine a big box store with an out-of-the-box designer and a lot of discarded boxes?  Fabulous, inspired, sustainable designs, of course!  And, so it was for the launch of West Elm’s new Upper West Side store last week, featuring the reliably cool and thoughtful work of David Stark Design & Production.

The crowd, including West Elm’s own David DeMattei and Patrick Wade, as well as designers Vern Yip and Gray Miller, packed in tight to get a good look at Stark’s fun, funky sculptures of everyday household items made from West Elm packaging.  The one-of-a-kind furniture and objects were available on auction to raise funds for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.  There were chairs and ottomans made from shredded catalogs, clocks designed with reclaimed hardware and packaging, and huge, cardboard cacti with shredded paper “soil” standing tall in the center of the room.  My favorite was the “smoking” pipe… Ceci n’est pas une pipe!

And, for those guests mingling throughout the rest of West Elm’s sprawling new space, the “Packaging, Repackaged” theme was brought to them.  Creative Edge Catering passed a variety of tasty hors d’oeuvres including shrimp skewers in vessels made from, you guessed it, recycled West Elm packaging. We love to watch as designers, retailers and caterers move towards sustainability while keeping their creative edge.

Stark’s designs will be on display at the new West Elm store on 1870 Broadway (at 62nd Street) in New York through the month of March.  But, be warned….this show may cause you to never throw out another catalog again.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Joe Schildhorn for Patrick McMullan

Contributing green writer Danielle Venokur is the founder of dvGreen, a sustainable event design  and production firm.  She hosts The Green Party on MNN.com, and has  been featured in GOTHAM, The Knot, TreeHugger, Vogue, and Modern Bride as one of their 25 Trendsetters of 2008.