Burlington's Conant Metal & Light and The Soda Plant sponsored a design/build challenge, timed to coincide with the 2009 Art Hop (September 11 and 12), to benefit two local nonprofits—SEABA (Art Hop's parent organization) and ReCycle North (a second-hand household-goods store, building-materials supply, and job-skills training center). Artists had to design and build a functional chair with recycled or repurposed materials.
With only a few days to complete her project, JDK Designer Allison Ross found her inspiration in cardboard. "I can't cut, let alone lift, wood. I don't own a screwdriver, or even a hammer," she said. "So…I started off just cutting small pieces of paper to figure what form the chair would have. Then I realized, with good mathematics, that I could cut a single piece of cardboard in two pieces that would create what I needed for the seat and arms without any waste."
Allison's chair won "Best Remake" and was quickly snatched up in the charity auction. Congratulations, Allison!
