apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

He gets some cred for the penguin.

this guy made a whole city out of FedEx boxes

oops - I tried to post a url:

http://www.fabricworkshop.org/shop/aitken-multiple.php

If I was FedEx I would do like Absolut vodka and invite artists/ designers to make things out of the boxes to express how strong and durable they are so you can trust the package will get there- blah blah blah. Fed Ex can make themselves seem cooler than the competition, esp. since new companies are popping up...But what do I know after years of art education.

A little frightened to click on stayfreemagazine.com... not sure what they are building furniture out of over there...!

I don't think I much care for this 'Digital Millennium Copyright Act'

This kid is incredibly cool, and FedEx incredibly stupid for not realizing that.

I wonder if the mattress part of the bed is made of FedEx envelopes with bubble wrap inside...

Oh good god, FedEx is making themselves look like 1) idiots and 2) an evil corporation. Smart move on their part.

Yes, of course FedEx is overreacting, and at least some of its legal claims sound pretty silly. (The DMCA claim especially, since there doesn't appear to be any real copyright claim -- as alluded to in the Wired story. And also the fedex.com terms of service claim.) Granick's a smart cookie, an no doubt she'll sort it out.

But here's the thing that seems left out of the story. Where is he getting those boxes? Now maybe it's because gets lots of packages from other people, or maybe het gets them from offices that receive lots of FedEx packages, and would otherwise toss the boxes or recycle them. But I'm guessing (and more importantly, FedEx is probably guessing) that he gets new, fresh boxes from FedEx themselves. One nice thing about FedEx is they actually provide these nice boxes for free, with the understanding (and I'm not sure how explicit that understanding is made, on signage, contracts, etc.) that you're going to use it to ship packages via FedEx. So it sounds as though this guys may have gotten hundreds(?) of bucks worth of FedEx boxes from them, and is encouraging similar behavior by others. Now, it may be good advertising for FedEx to welcome this behavior -- it might spur lots and lots of design aficionados to switch to FedEx, or something. But it still seems like FedEx might have a legitimate gripe with the guy, if only because he's (probably)taking a ton of their stuff (intended for use in shipping) for free and not using it for shipping. Kind of like someone who 's making biodiesel out of McDonald's ketchup packets. That'd sure be cool, but it's not like they're meant (by McDonald's) to be free for the taking, no matter how many you want.

I think you're right about the origin of the boxes, except we can measure their cost to the company in hundreds of pennies or quarters, not hundreds of dollars. At least for that suite shown on the site. It would be nicer if there was a recycling thing going on...

Margaret
LOVE that link to fabric workshop museum -- it'd really complete this guy's design vision . . .

This guy is free advertising, and great advertising at that. Are the people in Fed-Ex's marketing department dead or what? How can they let the morons in the legal department do something so stupid?

I agree with Guido. Wonderful idea for recycling, but I too suspect the creator is getting new boxes for free.

FedEx furniture - interesting as art, but would you really want this stuff in your house? Not the type of stuff I would think the AT crowd would go for.
Although FedEx is being a bit shortsighted re: the potential marketing/ad campaigns, FedEx's arguments re: the DCMA are pretty strong. (Alas, I am a lawyer. Reading AT at work. Sigh.) Wired mag is notoriously anti-DCMA and pro-free use of intellectual property -- they're the Mother Jones of the computer set. The Wired article is pretty typical of the stuff they publish (I'm not saying its bad, just that there are 2 or more sides to every set of facts)
I'm guessing FedEx also has concerns re: every college kid in the US furnishing their apt with FedEx boxes -- which could add up and affect the company. Let's face it, the free boxes are pretty tempting.

Since I think that the stuff makes furniture that is kind of ugly, I think it's not really that interesting aesthetically.

Legally, FedEx can probably make the case, and really, considering how most college kids are probably too spoiled to WANT something that unattractive even if they're broke, I would say it wouldn't be copied all that much. But those boxes have GOT to be expensive, so I'm sure I'd be upset if I were FedEx. It does help make them look very Evil Empire to go after a little guy, though.

But, seriously, any college art student worth his salt would probably NOT copy this, he'd probably try to figure out some OTHER clever design that he could call his own, and make a name for him-own-dang-self on the web.

And I am still busting a gut over P2's hauntingly harrowing vision of the furniture on that site.

Yeah, I really don't think this is going to be copied across the land by more than a handful of people, and quite frankly, if FedEx provides boxes with the "understanding" that you will use them for shipping, how could that ever be enforced? I mean, it's not like you sign something when you go to FedEx and get a box, and he didn't use all that many making this furniture.

Yes, this is pretty ugly, but it's also ingenious. FedEx should really handle this much better.

He ordered the boxes online through fedex.com through a screen titled "shipping supplies" but before doing so he had agreed to fedex terms of use which state "fedex.com is provided solely for the use of current and potential FedEx customers to interact with FedEx and may not be used by any other person or entity, or for any other purpose". I'm no lawyer but to me it's pretty clear that he's in the wrong and if he wanted to build furniture from free fedex boxes he should have kept it to himself.

It's like the free fabric/wood/leather swatches some of us order from companies and then use in artwork knowing full well we don't plan on ordering or paying for any of the items from said company. We all know it's not really allowed but we're smart enough not to create a website advertising our misdeeds. Just my two cents.

Reef

I'd have so much more respect for this guy if his hair were one of the FedEx colors.

I love it. I have delivered thousands of these boxes.
This is the best use since R.E.M appeaered on Saturday Night Live
with a suit made out of FEDEX packs.

I don't understand why FedEx has to be so uptight about this. It really is showing an evil side of them. Whether he gets the boxes purposely for furniture, or if he is recycling them after already being shipped, FedEx is getting free advertising. It just goes to show how durable they are. Besides why pick on a college guy just trying to make ends meet. I am sure that there isn't going to be a huge outbreak of students/people who are going to put FedEx furniture in their house. I mean really it isn't that attractive and most students/people are not that care free to have furniture like that. FedEx says that the boxes are only for shipping.....so does that mean we can't turn the damn box upside down and use it as a mini table? Or how about storing your kids toys in them? FedEx needs to relax.

I absolutely love it and no I would not want it. I love it because this guy has shown total ingenuity and proved once more that "need is the mother of invention". I would not worry about this guy if he ended up homeless, he would find a way to live better than most of us with shelter. As far as the Fed Ex law suit..how short sighted can they get? Like all of us are going to run out and get free Fed Ex boxes to make furniture with...ha ha ha. I don't think so. Fed Ex should hire this guy, his creativity alone has got to be priceless. And I too vote for the penquin. What a great touch!