One of the benefits of upcycle design is that less waste goes to waste. Of course there’s waste and waste. Not every material that gets thrown away has the same impact on the environment. There’s a big difference in what happens to discarded materials. Some get downcycled and others recycled. Both using lots of energy, but always better than ending up in landfill. Tons of fire hoses can’t be recycled because they’re old and/or damaged or just too sturdy. I’m not aware of any new material that they can be downcycled or recycled into.
And that’s where upcycling comes into play and proves it’s growing popularity. Several upcycle designers use fire hoses in beautiful upcycle design pieces. Three design companies that have been featured on upcycleDZINE some time ago are: Rescue Threads, Elvis & Kresse and Oxgut Hose Co. And now I want to show you another design by Oxgut.
Stool part of growing fire hose furniture collection
Fire hoses are among my favorite upcycle objects. The look & feel and character of these used objects is just stunning. So whenever I see upcycle design made out of this amazing object I want to share it with upcycleDZINE visitors. And that’s why you’re seeing this new post. It’s about a piece of upcycle design furniture called ‘Griffith Stool‘ by Oxgut Hose Co.. This creative and sustainable company is based in Emeryville, CA | United States and founded by LauraLe Wunsch.
Griffith Stool, just like the Bronson Chair, is a minimalist design piece that’s part of a colorful furniture collection made out of fire hoses. Each piece of furniture is unique, thanks to authentic fire hose stenciling. Oxgut designs and creates handmade in- and outdoor furniture, accessories and mats using genuine retired fire hoses salvaged from fire departments across the country. All their products are crafted in the U.S. with 100% domestic production.
Oxgut Hose Co.:
“We pick the most interesting decommissioned fire hose to put into the hands of local designers and artisans, who help give the hose a whole new purpose. They’re always coming up with new ways to integrate this amazing, resilient material into beautiful, handmade pieces.”
The company is driven by three goals: keeping fire hoses out of landfill, incorporating them into authentic product design and giving back to our community. The latter is done by giving a portion of every sale to helping the kids at the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation. According to Oxgut fire hoses are about saving lives and so is the Foundation that they support.
Photos © Oxgut Hose co.
Oxgut does not only create unique products but, maybe best of all, is also a do-good company.
Design by Oxgut Hose Co. | Photograpy by Sean Dagen Photography
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