BRC Designs - Benjamin Rollins Caldwell

“Risen in 30 Days” is a furniture collection in which concrete is poured into holes in the ground which serve as the mold for each individual piece.  As the name suggests, each piece remains in its grave for 30 days and then is risen to life.  Each unique acid stained zombie furniture piece stands on stainless steel rods.

Designer Benjamin Rollins Caldwell spent two months in Ghana, Africa apprenticing in a fantasy design coffin workshop during the fall of 2011.  The act of creating intricate, well thought out functional coffins, which were then quickly buried (in concrete lined graves) never to be seen again; ignited the idea for this furniture concept.  Caldwell wanted to create furniture which would be created in the ground, but resurrected and enjoyed and experienced for a lifetime.  Unlike the design coffins, Caldwell sought uncontrollable variables, thus letting the zombies take on a life of their own.  Each zombie grave was dug and lined with plastic sheeting which folded and wrinkled in areas, creating the unique surface textures and variations in the final concrete form.  Once the zombies were risen from the ground with the help of a Bobcat and forklifts, each piece was acid stained creating a surface which resembles a zombie’s rotten and bloody flesh.  In keeping with the experimental nature of the project, each piece is identified as “Test Subject” followed by the first letter or two letters of the furniture piece (Ie: C for chair , S for sofa) followed by the weight of the piece and the julian date of when the zombie came to its final embodiment.

Halide Chandelier - Twenty-six burnt out industrial halide light bulbs have been transformed into this elegant chandelier.  Each large halide bulb has been retrofitted with 4 bright white energy efficient LED lights, suspended with repurposed weaved copper cables from a stainless steel plate.  36”w x 36”d x 60”h

Spineless Side Table -Book spines and brass upholstery nails form the patchwork surface of the Spineless Side Table. The side table features two drawer compartments finished in a red stained oak and high gloss black lacquer.

Approximately 20”h x 24”w x 26”d

The Label Whore Cabinet - Thousands of leather and faux leather jean labels are hand nailed to an abstract cabinet structure making up the patchwork surface of the Label Whore Cabinet. The cabinet features eight internal compartments finished in a red stained oak and high gloss black urethane. All the oak wood used in making up the cabinet is salvaged from defunct pianos. 

71”w x 67”h 22”d

THE BALLISTIC COLLECTION 

The Cellular Chair by mathias bengtsson

composed of light-weight epoxy, ‘cellular chair’ by danish-born, london-based designer mathias bengtsson 
not only adopts the appearance of an organic form but is actually designed based on the growth principles of human bones.

the exterior shape of the chair is pre-set, but the interior geometric structure is determined uniquely for each piece 
by a computer program designed to simulate the regeneration of bone tissue. given the exterior form as its input, 
the program creates the cellular configuration that bone tissue might adopt to create a strong, stable construction.

bengtsson notes, ‘I aim to take my thinking in new directions and to break down established boundaries 
between design, craft, and technology by combining unconventional tools in the creation of my works. 
everything about our time inspires me, especially technology and its evolution.’

The Label Whore Low Table by Benjamin Rollins Caldwell

Thousands of leather and faux leather jean labels are hand nailed to an abstract table structure making up the patchwork surface of the Label Whore Low Table.

The Enignum III Chair by Joseph Walsh

In the Enignum series of work, I have stripped wood into thin layers, manipulating and reconstructing them into free form compositions. I then shape through these layers to reveal not only the honesty of the structure but the sculpted form which is a unique collaboration of man and material. The title derives from the Latin words Enigma (‘mystery’) and Lignum (‘wood’), for me they sum up the series: the mystery of the composition lies in the material.