New Designers 08: graduate designer Laura Cahill presented vases and furniture made from unwanted books at New Designers in London earlier this year.
Cahill cuts profiles from the books using a band saw, then wraps the spines around test tubes to form waterproof vases.
She sources the books from local second hand shops. “I discovered that the glue in old books make them extremely difficult to recycle,” she explains.
Cahill has also developed a lamp using the technique and a stool made by bolting books together.
Here’s some text from the designer:
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My idea of using second hand books came around after doing research into common unwanted objects. One of the most common unwanted objects that can be found at either charity shops, car boot sales and sometimes on the streets are books. I discovered that the glue in old books make them extremely difficult to recycle. Aware of this I challenged myself to turn the second hand books that I had been collecting, into desirable objects such as furniture, lighting and ornaments.
I took a hands-on approach and started experimenting with the possibilities in which books can be used in other ways; I developed a number of delicate yet practical designs. Using traditional methods of book binding I transformed them into valued objects. My designs transform local waste, not only adding value but also creating art forms which are aesthetically pleasing.
I first made a stool called ‘Heavy Read’ by fixing a lot of old books together. Continuing with the book theme I developed a way of creating 3D forms by profiling the edge of the whole thickness of a book, so when opened, the shape follows around into a cylinder shape. I designed a range of ‘book vases’, using test tubes as the central water container, and then stretched the concept to form the upright of this floor standing lamp. In the ‘Reading Light’ I have used traditional elegant curvaceous shapes on the base of the light creating a soft and ghostly effect, which is relatively durable.
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Posted by Rose Etherington
September 5th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Looks ok, but she’s for sure not the first designer that comes up with this idea…
September 5th, 2008 at 8:40 am
some good concepts BUT book paper and water (or may be a vase for plastic flower ) and book paper and (hot) light are not the best friends…
September 5th, 2008 at 9:29 am
How Novel.
September 5th, 2008 at 10:04 am
its not important how functional the desinge,but the most significant matter about this idea is that we could get function from old books and papars that we used to read them ,and these days these are getting fade!
September 5th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Har-de-har, Will!!
September 5th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Look nice, but it already exists and it’s sold in a few shops…. Why people never try to see if there idea has been made before or not.
September 5th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Plankton, show us a photo of this existing product ’sold in a few shops’, or its not true
September 5th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
That’s quite a neat idea using books to make chair!! Another way of recycling!
September 5th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Interesting Idea, and it is always nice to see old discarded objects being used in new ways. One thing that does disturb me are comments like “its not important how functional the design”. Function is important in design. The act of design is to solve problems. That doesn’t mean the function can’t simply be to look at a book as more than a book, but to imply function isn’t important is undermining the foundation of design. And another thing, before making comments about paper not mixing with water or heat, read the text. The books are wrapped around test tubes. And Compact Fluorescent bulbs wouldn’t produce enough heat to be a fire hazard in the lamp. The designs function fine both at the basic level as objects, and as points of discussion.
September 5th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I swear.. u dont read huh!
September 5th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
in the same vein as the work of brian dettmer; slightly less sculptural and more applicable to everyday life, but good none the less.
September 6th, 2008 at 12:04 am
The big lamp is great. Too bad the top is crap…
Nice work
September 6th, 2008 at 1:50 am
very clever! It could catch on.
September 6th, 2008 at 10:48 am
commies and nazis hated books too.
September 6th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Xit: check this out:
http://www.designboom.com/snapshot/gallery.php?SNAPSHOT_ID=12&GALLERY_ID=706&PHOTO_IDX=0
widely published
September 6th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Books should be read. Not burned. Not thrown away. Not made into gimmicks. But passed on to someone willing to read.
September 6th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
good work, like it. Its not perfect, some people point out the lamp shade or else but its a good start. Love the way the leg of the lamp was made with the various books to build the shape. Also of course water doesnt work well with paper but vases a also often used just as a decorative object and I think this one has a very nice decorative potential. good stuff
September 7th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Tough to fill a vase with water without getting the outside of the vase wet - so that is a problem for the book vases (maybe use a funnel?). Nevertheless, I like the design and I’m going to give it a try with some ruined books laying around.
Also, I like the end table, but the bolts sticking out on one end is poor, sloppy, design. In fairness it looks like a crude prototype, but I like the spirit. These could look great as home library decor if done well. Thanks for the ideas.
September 7th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Rala and Plankton are right.
There is a lady in the philipines or thailand who’s famous for her paper vases and other shapes. She uses old and new paper to make shapes in a simular way.
I saw the pieces at the ambiente in Frankfurt at the beginning of 2007.
I even bought a few decorative pieces after the show.
But that doesn’t mean she is not an innovative designer. We are all influenced by what we see, and we can’t keep track of everything that somebody somewhere invented.
September 8th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Got any pics Bud ?
September 8th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Definitely not a new idea. I bought a collection of vases exactly the same as these 4 years ago as a gift for someone. How do they regulate plagiarism in art colleges?
September 8th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
http://www.mindmastersinc.ph/ here you go bud
September 9th, 2008 at 3:57 am
Urban Outfitters furniture catagory.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Thanks smartass sadly exactly the same concept, but to Laura Cahill’s credit they don’t appear to be made from recycled books.
@Ryu, I think this generation of design/art students have their eyes too much on the media (wanabee syndrome) and not on the immense creative freedom they have in their laps.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:59 am
Lovely simple idea. Could the designer please post a video of herself cutting the books with a bandsaw? I’m interested in her technique of getting such a smooth cut finish.
September 10th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
paper cut city!
September 10th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
This has been around for a while. Vases with the same style made out of newspaper have been sold at SFMOMA for at least 4 years.
Want some other examples? Go to Target.
http://www.target.com/Recycled-Newspaper-Vase-Small/dp/B000V70TZS
September 10th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Thanks for doing my job for me and burning those books.
Why not also set yourself on fire, Fire Chief Beatty?
WHY NOT READ THE GODDAMNED THINGS.
WE DON’T NEED MORE VASES - WE NEED MORE BOOKS, YOU DUMB CUNT.
September 10th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
I had one about 7 years ago…. I don’t think its a new concept at all.
September 10th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
I just closed my bookshop and have about 15 thousand “vases” sitting in storage…I just hope they will be read and loved not cut up.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
When I was a child, my grandmother would take Readers-Digest magazines and fold the entire book, like dog-earing a page but fold it in as far as possible, one page at a time, into the shape of a Christmas tree, then, open it all the way, glue the backing together, then decorate it with spray-paint, glitter, etc. Hadn’t thought of that in many years.
September 12th, 2008 at 1:33 am
Amazing. Chic design while be a subtle difference from the normal. Recycling is fabulous and you just make it artistic, not too bold, and useful. If these went on sale, i would totally buy them
September 13th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Please advise where I can view and possibly buy Cahill’s work.
Thank you, MJ Spelman
September 15th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
You can find lauras work at http://www.finalcrit.com/design/cahill
September 18th, 2008 at 8:23 am
For all of you who bemoan the fate of these books - just what do you think should be done with outdated books such as old textbooks, old computer books, etc.? Not all old books “should be read and loved”. Many are simply obsolete. I think this is a brilliant idea for recycling outdated books.
September 20th, 2008 at 8:11 am
I agree that not all books can still be loved, especially since those university textbooks get updated every year just so students have to buy new instead of passing them on. Pretty cool looking art. A lamp like this would inspire me to get back to my novel-in-progress.
September 20th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Yes, not new, my friend in Botswana has been doing this for years. She is using obsolete phone books - they are easy to bend, then also spray-paints them.
September 27th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
i didn’t understand the meaning of ‘UNWANTED BOOKS’…
could you please make me understand?
how can a book be unwanted?
October 3rd, 2008 at 11:45 am
very clever you should colur the book paper XD
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Love these ideas!! I can’t believe the number of negative comments regarding using books for something besides reading. Let’s face it: there are lots of books out there that are just not worth reading. Why not turn them into art? It’ll keep them out of the landfill sites and give people something interesting to look at.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:00 am
same here as “i didn’t understand the meaning of ‘UNWANTED BOOKS’…
could you please make me understand?
how can a book be unwanted?”