guest post - tony westlund

We’ve all heard the saying “One man’s trash, another man’s treasure.” Especially in the artistic world, it is not uncommon to put things to good use that were otherwise destined for a garbage can. Although recycling, or more adventurous upcycling has found a strong foothold in design over the past few years, as an artist, it has been my goal to not only bring new life to old objects in ways astray from their original purpose, but to prevent wastefulness in the process. With this, I have gained an understanding that people are beginning to take more pride in the objects they bring into their home, where purchases are investments, not just the cheapest option. I have often seen folks begin to pack their belongings for a move, and realize that crumbling particle-board bookshelf probably won’t last another year, let alone go back together once disassembled. Off to buy another.

It is with these combined intentions that I approached my latest design idea.



An acquaintance had seen a few of my furniture pieces at a group art show, and noticed my strong use of repurposed, salvaged material. We talked for a while about “dumpster diving” and “big trash days” before he invited me to come take a look at some scrap pallets that were commonly thrown away at his job. When the day came to meet up, I had to laugh a bit because without knowing this was where he worked, I had been pulling a few of these pallet pieces out of the dumpster for weeks prior! Now you may be wondering what is so special about these pallets, so let me explain. They come from a hardwood flooring company, and it seems the wood they use for the pallets may be rejects from flooring material, or some other by-product of manufacture. At any rate, I have been constantly surprised at the unique grain patterns, colors, texture and overall character of these boards that were headed straight to the landfill. I have come across beautiful pieces of Black Walnut, variations of Mahogany, Cherry, and even a 3 ft. long, 4 inch square piece of Purple-heart Wood, which as the name implies, is naturally purple.
Even the more simple boards are effected with rough bandsaw cuts, which when half sanded smooth, creates a great rustic effect.

So now what to do with this new-found, salvaged resource...

My wife has been a long-time, avid jewelry wearer, and when it comes to earrings, only the dangliest will do! I had made her an earring display before, but over time, it began to succumb to overcrowding. When brainstorming about what to design next, she’s always encouraged me to “make more stuff for jewelry,” because apparently my beautiful, and beautifully adorned wife is not the only woman with the dilemma of jewelry storage. Heeding her advice I went about creating a functional, simple yet striking piece, that would not just hold several pairs of earrings, but could possibly hold a few more items like bangles or necklaces as well.

Having made previous displays from found objects ranging from parts of chairs, to bedsprings and car pulleys, I simplified the notion and created this “Z” shaped stand utilizing the bevy lumber I had just acquired. I noticed that it had a ton of surface area to put several eyelets while allowing the earrings to be staggered without overlapping, creating an easy to see display. It was also an easy option to add a few hooks to either end of the top rail to hang a few necklaces, or just slide a few bangles on it.


So there you have it! I urge you to look around you, utilize things that others disregard, and create with the intent of longevity. In this case, what was once destined for the dumpster, has now gained new life and new purpose as a sturdy, heirloom quality jewelry display.