Still not sure what to do with your left-over Christmas tree? Royal College of Art student Tom Hatfield has turned a few of them into a sledge.
Made from discarded trees Hatfield found around London, the sledge was made using a traditional woodworking technique know as bodging, where wood is worked 'green', without drying or seasoning first.
See also: Christmas Tree Furniture by Fabien Cappello (July 2009)
See more bodging on Dezeen here.
Here's a little text from Hatfield:
Christmas Tree sledge
This Sledge is made from Christmas trees found in on the streets of London. With roughly 1.7 million trees bought for this recent Christmas period, these two-week trees are just discarded every year. With snow in London becoming a more frequent occurrence, it seemed an appropriate item to use for the season.
Using the primitive skills of a bodger, it opens up an inventive feeling of seeing the resources that are around us. People are not as resourceful as they once where. This sledge can give an excitement to a process that can give confidence that appeals to our creative side.
See also:
.
 |
 |
 |
| Bodging Milano at Designersblock |
Inserper-able by Rolf Sachs |
Christmas Tree Furniture by Fabien Cappello |
awesome idea, deelicious
Rosebud?
Another project made of christmas tree ??? The first one by Fabien Capello was Great, but a second time, it's a joke… ( especially when the 2 designers did the same school ).
This project gives a new dimension to "hanging the balls in the tree"… Aouch!
Hello,
This is Morgan Geist,
Santa Claus makes a good point here. But lets expand on this.
Firstly, sledding in London would be like scuba diving in a bath tub.
Secondly, by the time the trees are discarded it is early/mid Jan (now), there is no evidence of snow left.
Most importantly, this projects takes all that has been developed conceptually by Mr Cappello and gives it a quick one-line output. There is no consideration for the system surrounding the xmas trees, and the usability of the object. Furthermore, the aesthetics are disturbingly similar, down to the joints and shaving of the timber.
I also wonder how such an idea was developed at the royal college with all the tutors being well aware of Mr Cappello's remarkable project just a year ago.
I very much look forward to seeing Mr. Cappello's new xmas tree pieces, which I believe are being developed as we speak!
yours,
MG
I like it and I don't mind in this case if someone else did it before. Those ideas should be not copyrighted by stars as an ordinary design like a chair if we talk in terms of ecology and sustainability. Otherwise it is greenwashing which is still very popular on the market since it is another extra value which is actually not helping the Earth, just the bussines.
Again, it is nice approach and everyone should do with his/her tree something afterwards if they didn't have an artificial "green" one.
Hello,
This is Morgan Geist,
oxo, I think you missed the point.
Yes it is great for designers to set an example and 'create' trends that can help the environment, yet keep the 'cool' cred.
However, what is questionable is the similarity in output of an MA course from a world leading design institution within a very short given time. fingers to be pointed to not just tom hatfield, but tutors and the loose net thet create that allows for such similar ideas to come out. An MA course is a space for critical and reflective thinking, resulting in NEW ideas and innovation in design.
Yours,
MG
hmm i replanted mine … i guess i could have done this as well.