Newspaper wood by Vij5 – creative recycling ideas and innovative designs

What is newspaper wood? We are used to think that wood is a source for paper manufacturing and not the other way around. But what if the usual model is turned around? Could you, actually, make wood from paper?

How much paper is thrown away during the day by just one family? A simple experiment can be done – without even leaving your home, just watching the amount of paper that goes to the wastebasket. Add the growing amount of leaflets, advertisements and catalogue which all of us finds in the mailbox. What are the ways to effectively use all this paper? Many people are searching for an answer to this question. Despite the efforts to minimize the printing of often unnecessary and useless products, the fact remains – tons of paper go to waste every day. Luckily, there are people with bold and creative vision, with innovative ideas who come up with interesting solutions and we will show you one of these ideas – newspaper wood.

 

Innovative furniture collection based on Newspaper wood by Vij5

 

The brilliant idea of turning around the process and make wood from paper waste came from young Danish designers Mieke Meijer and Arjan van Raadshooven who presented stylish interior items, made of newspapers under the label of studio Vij5 and, naturally, the attention of the green-minded public was immediately attracted.

While still a student at Design Academy Eindhoven, Mieke Meijer was looking for ways of application of urban waste paper and the sight of piles of unsold newspapers lies at the bottom of the idea for newspaper wood. Having in mind the number of trees that had been cut and the impact that this has on the natural environment, just for the sake of printing news which nobody needs on the next day, the young inventor started a series of experiments with a stack of newspapers – he was looking for the best way to fasten them together in such a way as to get wood-like material.

The team of designers used a special glue to create a material from old newspapers which has the structure of wood – the material that paper is made of. Despite the fact that this seems a simple thing to do, Newspaper wood proved to be a very time consuming process, because the designers wanted to create not just some solid boards, but an aesthetic material imitating the characteristics of wood.

Newspapers were stuck together not as a pile, but under bizarre bends, and then put under pressure. The glue, used by the young designers, is organic, without solvents and harmful components. This, however, makes the processing of such “wood” more complex, but having in mind that newspaper wood is exceptionally innovative, we believe that in the long term, we shall see more and more unique ways how to use this product.

 

Newspaper wood – environmentally friendly material for home furniture

 

Newspaper wood is not only environmentally friendly and safe for humans, but can also be used as any other type of wood: it can be cut, milled, sanded or stained, if desired. However, the most interesting pieces of furniture made from Newspaper wood are not stained – after all, the main accent the designers make is on the texture and the original appearance of the innovative material. When you cut a slice from a board, the hundreds of layers of newspaper waste that went into creating a brand new building material are clearly seen. This strongly resembles the rings which are typical for natural wood and gives the remarkable texture and unique look of this innovative material.

A group of talented designers were invited to become a part of the project and they created a number of original products – not only furniture, unusual interior items, but also lamps – which were included in the collections of the studio – cabinets, wall frames, lamps, reading light, a display cabinet, a desk, stool, etc. One of the collections, called “The Sample Series”, presents unusual and really eye catching jewelry which is designed and made from the innovative material and the focus is on the unique appearance and impressive look.

When you look at the products of Vij5, you will notice that the brand creates collections of interior items that are characterized by their simplicity and the use of existing elements. Their products are not uniform in character, as each designer has his own style of expression, but they work together to create concepts.