Guerilla furniture design : how to build lean, modern furniture with salvaged materials

193 Pages·2015·24.391 MB·English

by  Holman, Will

GUERILLA
FURNITURE
DESIGN
How to Build Lean, Modern Furniture
with Salvaged Materials
will holman
Photography by Kip Dawkins
ß
Storey Publishing
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The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment.
Edited by Philip Schmidt and Sarah Guare
Art direction by Alethea Morrison
Book design by Kelley Galbreath
Photo styling by Neely Dykshorn
Indexed by Christine R. Lindemer, Boston Road Communications
Cover and interior photography by © Kip Dawkins Photography, except © Alfonso Elia, 2;
© Daniel Wicke, 3; © Ryan LeCluyse, 100, 103, and 179 (second row, far right)
Illustrations by © Koren Shadmi
© 2015 by William C. Holman
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the
publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review
with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other —
without written permission from the publisher.
The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All
recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The
author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information.
Storey books are available for special premium and promotional uses and for customized
editions. For further information, please call 1-800-793-9396.
Storey Publishing
210 MASS MoCA Way
North Adams, MA 01247
www.storey.com
Printed in China by R.R. Donnelley
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Holman, Will.
  Guerilla furniture design : how to build lean, modern furniture with
  salvaged materials / by Will Holman.
       pages cm
  Includes index.
  ISBN 978-1-61212-303-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
  ISBN 978-1-61212-304-2 (ebook)  1.  Lean manufacturing—Management. 
2.  Furniture industry and trade.  I. Title.
HD58.9.H653 2015
684.1—dc23
                                                            2014033718
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii Two-Tone Table 94
Preface viii Scrap Table 99
Bracket Chair 104
1 INTRODUCTION
108 PLASTIC
Guerilla History 4
Guerilla Sustainability 7 Campaign Lamp 117
Guerilla Philosophy 8 Traffic Cone Lamp 120
The Guerilla Workshop 10 Milk Crate Credenza 125
Design Fundamentals 14 5-Gallon Stool 128
Inner Tube Stool 132
20 PAPER
Pill Bottle Pendant Lamp 135
Milk Crate Wall Storage 139
Hex Stool 28
Yogurt Lamp 142
Cube Lamp 31
Book Table 34
146 METAL
Cardboard Tube Screens 38
Cardboard Cantilever Chair 42 Conduit Coatrack 154
Cardboard Shell Chair 46 License Plate Bowl 157
Clamp Table 160
50 WOOD
Conduit Lamp 163
Wheelbarrow Chair 167
Un-TrashCan 64
Road Sign Chair 170
Guerilla Roof Rack 67
Flat-Pack Sawhorses 70
Recommended Reading 175
Door Desk 74
Standard/Metric Conversion
Break-Down Table 78
Formulas 177
Flat-Pack Shelves 82
Projects by Use 178
Bedside Table 86
Index 180
Scrap Lamp 90
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THIS ‘COUNTER- CULTURE’
REVELATION OF SLACK
OR REDUNDANCY IN OUR
PRESENT SOCIETY PROVES
THAT ONE CAN LIVE
OFF THE WASTE OF AN
AFFLUENT MAJORITY.”
CHARLES JENCKS
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THIS ‘COUNTER- CULTURE’
REVELATION OF SLACK
OR REDUNDANCY IN OUR
PRESENT SOCIETY PROVES
THAT ONE CAN LIVE
OFF THE WASTE OF AN
AFFLUENT MAJORITY.”
CHARLES JENCKS
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank Amanda, for putting up with also to Kip Dawkins and his assistant Marcie
Saturdays in the shop, sawdust in the living for the beautiful photographs, and to Kelley
room, and life with a guerilla. You are my first Galbreath for designing the book. A special
reader, my best design critic, my inspiration, thanks to Philip Schmidt, who first contacted
and my support. me to feature one of my designs in his book,
Thank you to my parents, Fran and John, PlyDesign, and went on to e-mail editors on
for supporting my education, teaching me my behalf and to edit this book for clarity,
responsibility, instilling a solid Protestant content, and coherence.
work ethic, and selling me that Corolla for a And last, thank you to all the teachers
comically good price. Thank you especially I have had over the years. They taught me
to my mother for her persistent lessons in about writing, aesthetics, art, architecture,
grammar, however fitfully they may have design, carpentry, and ethics. In chronological
been absorbed. order: William Jones, Juan Castro, Albert
Thanks to my siblings and siblings-in-law Knight, Robert Goll, Salahuddin Choudhury,
(Spence, Ellie, Sara, James, and Jane) for their Timothy Castine, Hunter Pittman, Christopher
encouragement, legal assistance, design Pritchett, Eugene Egger, Paolo Soleri, David
help, copyediting, material donations, and Tollas, Mark Melonas, Seth Scott, Andrew
absorption of various discarded furniture Freear, Daniel Wicke, Johnny Parker, Steven
prototypes over the years. Long, John Marusich, Sara Williamson,
Thanks to the fine editors, designers, and Cynthia Main, Blake Sloane, John Preus,
staff at Storey Publishing for believing in my Tadd Cowen, and Theaster Gates Jr.
story and making this book a reality. Thanks
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PREFACE
GUERILLA DESIGN
IS A SET OF TACTICS
FOR BUILDING LEAN,
MODERN FURNITURE
OUT OF SALVAGED
MATERIALS.
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GUERILLA DESIGN
IS A SET OF TACTICS
FOR BUILDING LEAN,
MODERN FURNITURE
OUT OF SALVAGED
MATERIALS.
U.S. ARMY FIELD MANUALS THE TERM GUERILLA — GUERILLA DESIGN, as
are handbooks for military person- Spanish for “little war” — was invented described in this manual, is a set
nel, published by the Department of in the early nineteenth century. In mod- of tactics for building lean, modern
Defense. Since World War II, hun- ern usage, guerilla describes both furniture out of salvaged materials.
dreds of titles have been published, insurrectionary warfare and insurgent These techniques are explained
including civilian-friendly topics like fighters themselves. Such fighters are generally and then illustrated with
first aid and wilderness survival. tough, resourceful, and adept at living a series of case studies, sorted by
Each manual breaks down complex off the land. material: paper, wood, plastic, and
concepts into manageable pieces, metal. Each project is presented
illustrated with simple black-and- in detail, with the assumption that
white diagrams. materials and methods will be
adapted to conditions in the field.
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