Functional art by This Into That includes bookshelves and cases made of, well, old books. They're handcrafted by Jim Rosenau who was raised in a house with about 5,000 books. His thematic book furniture idea came after reading an essay called “Books as Furniture†by Nicholson Baker. Some of his creations are truly witty by taking advantage of book titles.
My favourite bookshelf is the “Who Done It?†made out of three books entitled “Who pushed Humpty Dumpty?â€, “All the King's Men†and “Anatomy of a Murderâ€. The egg beater incorporated into the design is a hoot.
His “Myths that Live Today†bookshelf, another clever creation, included books called “Anyone can still make a millionâ€, “I'll quit tomorrowâ€, “Live Forever","Anyone can do anything†and “You are younger than you thinkâ€.
He takes custom orders, one example being the legal thriller bookshelves made for an attorney. Fun furniture for bookaholics!
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Upcycling Furniture
- Opportunity for companies to explore unique materials and approaches to design in order to adopt sustainable practices.
- Thematic Home Decor
- Opportunity for businesses to create specialized home decor items to appeal to a niche market.
- Functional Art
- Opportunity for businesses to offer creative and unique products that serve a dual function as art and functional objects.
Where This Applies
- Furniture Manufacturing
- Manufacturers can adopt the trend of using recycled or upcycled materials to create unique and sustainable furniture designs.
- Home Decor
- Companies can create book-themed decor items to appeal to the book-loving demographic, and provide customization options for customers.
- Artisanal Craft
- Artisans can experiment with creating functional art pieces such as bookshelves made from repurposed books to attract a new audience.
