Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » 2008 D*S DIY Contest: VOTE! [entries 1-4]

[Note: Today we’ll be posting the top 20 Finalists in the 2008 D*S DIY Contest. Four finalists will be posted an hour from 9 am to 1pm. Once you’ve seen the top 20 click here to cast your vote. Details on today’s voting process are right here]

1. Lauren and Joel’s Subscription Table

Description: Lauren and Joel have a daily subscription to the San Francisco Chronicle and the old newspapers were starting to pile up. Instead of tossing them out they turned them into a side table using newspaper, tape, twine and a clear glass plate.

2. Matthew’s Homemade Coat Hooks

Description: Matthew made his minimalist handmade hooks using a single H-shaped piece of hand cut steel. Bent around and squeezed by a desktop vice to form the hook shape, each steel hook provides 4 spaces for hanging coats, scarfs or whatever else takes your fancy.

3. Maya’s Kids Table and Chairs

Description: Maya’s DIY child’s table and chair set is made from a contractor-grade cardboard tube. Using materials like cardboard, foam, fabric and a pizza pan, Maya created this set than can be broken down and partially recycled/reused (the cardboard and pizza pan) when outgrown.

4. Natasha’s Baby Doll Coat Rack

Description: Natasha’s quirky coat rack made out of doll baby parts was inspired by an episode of “Dexter“. Using a $2 thrift store doll, Natasha took apart the pieces and mounted them onto a piece of wood that she sanded and painted.

these are all great.
i really like the coat hooks.. looks like something from dwr…
the baby doll hands remind me of some expensive coat hooks i’ve seen with molds of adult hands.
i like the table if it were a bit more sturdy.. maybe a bigger flatter glass, and the child table and chairs is cool too, but i don’t have kids, so i guess that’s why it didn’t jump out at me as much! :)

oh my goodness! That babydoll coat rack is a must! Not only will I be borrowing that idea for my kids rooms (though it might spook them a little), if you even start making them, email me, I’ll sell them in my store!

I love the baby doll coat rack, I love that it makes you do a double take…and go, “Huh?” It makes you feel a little uncomfortable and awkward, that’s why it’s great!!
I’d buy one for sure!

i’m a coat rack fan, too - spooky in a very good way! reminds me of margaux lange’s “plastic body series” jewelry made with disembodied barbie parts. and of the random mannequin leg that lived on our fire escape (i’d decorate it for holidays - fishnets for halloween, lights for christmas, and so on) until my mean super confiscated it. lovely work, everyone!

At first I thought the doll coat rack was creepy… but I keep coming back to it laughing. It’s starting to grow on me, As long as the hands and feet don’t move :-)
Lauren and Joel, what a cleaver idea!!! Also, where did you get those pillows on your couch?

Love Maya’s table and chairs, so cleverly designed. The idea of a top made from a pizza
tray was ingenious. Such clean lines, fabric print was a perfect choice! Really does look like an Eames design as stated by
someone named Nancy.

Natasha’s baby doll coat rack is hands down(no pun intended) the most genius design I’ve seen! If you do not get the humor and are actually creeped out about what gave her the idea, then you should really ask yourself, “am I truly an artist?…Do I actually understand the fact that any artist that ever meant anything in the world struggled with that fact that people just don’t “get it?” Seriously…Do you really think Natasha is going to go out slicing and dicing people because she had an idea to make a coat rack?…That’s just plain silly!.. Now, I think it’s time you put on your black turtle neck, grab your cloves, go to an art show and talk a bunch of crap about the meaning of the work you’re looking at…even tho YOU and no one else besides the artist have a clue of what really went through their head when they created something…Basically, everything you know is wrong… At least it’s original…We need some originality in this bleak and boring culture we live in…I’ll let this one slide…this time. ha ha

Love 4. Natasha’s Baby Doll Coat Rack. It gets my vote. I too see the correlation to Margaux Lange’s barbie part work, also to the seller of ‘baby doll hand soap’ (super great, in my wishlist, but the artist’s name slips my mind) that I’ve seen on Etsy.

I also really apprecited the lace bowl, the forest wall mural and the jewelry cabinet.

All quite lovely.

natasha’s baby doll coat rack is so simple yet speaks volumes! that was definitely the only project that made me do a double take, and i definitely appreciate that fact! it is just too cool for school, i can see a whole line of items coming out of this one! great job =)

Alice, are you saying that Sid can’t be a great artist unless he finds a way to escape his cartoon existence? I think a lot of would-be artists feel that way.

I’ve seen exhibited art made from doll parts before that I thought worked really well, but on the whole I don’t usually have a strong affinity for playful dismemberment in decorative objects. (Not that I really have very strong feelings about the doll-parts coat rack, one way or the other. )

I absolutely LOVE Maya’s table and chair set…the colors and design would go in almost any decor..and it looks so fun and child friendly. What a genius idea to have the top out of a pizza pan~so creative and functional!!!

My favorite is Lauren and Joel’s subscription side table– it’s unique and customizable (you can use your own city’s newspaper, and choose to show the part of the paper you like most) and i think the coolest part about it is that you can make it using ONLY things that you have around the house. Who doesn’t have old newspapers and a glass plate lying around? Awesome.

I just had to make a small comment to the kids table a chairs! - Love them by the way ;-)
My mom made some similair for my dollhouse when I was at litle girl, she simply used the cardboard roll inside the toiletpaper, cut it out and paintet it - perfekt for my dolls.
Sorry my english is not perfect, hope you understand though…

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