Check out our Q&A with CommonCreativ ATL

We had a chance to chat with Muriel Vega from CommonCreativ ATL!  The blog focuses on all things creative in Atlanta.   We covered the gamete in our interview-- our beginnings, a bit about our reclaimed furniture, transportation and biking in Atlanta and some tips to direct someone looking to shift from their traditionl 9 to 5.  Read more here: http://commoncreativatlanta.com/?p=3605

Inhabitat write-up on Lego Table

MDC Interiors Creates Awesome LEGO Table With the Help of 3rd Grade Students

 

MDC Interiors was invited to work with The Museum School of Avondale Estates for an art auction to raise money for the school – and they teamed up with a group of talented third graders to assemble this awesome LEGO table! The project is based on an old 80’s thrift store furniture piece that the team dismantled and spray painted orange. All of the wood is reclaimed, and the LEGO bricks are pieced together without glue. The kids initialed their “lego block” so they could leave an imprint of their contribution.

Read more: MDC Interiors Creates Awesome LEGO Table With the Help of 3rd Grade Students | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

Lego Table

MDC Interiors was invited to work with The Museum School of Avondale Estates for an art auction to raise money for the school.  We were one of 6 artists chosen to participate.  The goal was to work with 3^rd graders (about 40 kids) to create a piece of art to be later auctioned off at a finale event at Little Tree Studios in Avondale Estates.

We put on our thinking caps trying to find an intersection between our passion (building) and something that a group of 40 kids would be able to have a hand in (literally).  The result—provide kids with Lego pieces to fit together to create a table top.  We were inspired by a larger piece that was made by ABGC Architecture and Design in Dublin.  We couldn’t match the scale (Legos are more expensive than we remember) but decided to create homage to the piece and put a sustainable spin on it.  We used an old base of an 80’s thrift store furniture piece found at Last Chance Thrift Store; we disassembled it and spray painted it orange.  All of the wood is reclaimed and the Lego pieces are pieced together with no glue.  We also had the kids initial their "lego block" so they could leave an imprint of their contribution.  The photos below and the video capture our process and end result.

While we couldn’t make the final auction due to other obligations, we heard our Lego table created quite a ruckus and bidding war leading to one lucky owner taking it home for $1400.  We couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.  The overall event raised more than $110K—woot!  All for the kids.

Video (we appear at the 3:00 mark): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVFfQuBau_c

Glow Table II Featured in Inhabitat.

Inhabitat featured our Glow Table II today and we're super thrilled. It's a part of our Glow table series which incorporates LED lighting to add ambience in a room or to illuminate objects within the table.  Read the write-up here or below.

MDC Interiors' Steel and Wood Glow Table Provides Dramatic Recessed LED Lighting

Mike Carpenter of Atlanta-based MDC Interiors crafts gorgeous turn of the century-inspired coffee tables which incorporate the rugged beauty of steel and the gentle warmth of LED lights. ‘Glow Table II’ is comprised of plywood and steel, with glass panels recessed into the tabletop to reveal the LED-illuminated contents of its drawers. The piece is part of a collection of tables by MDC Interiors which all incorporate efficient LED accent lights controlled by dimmer switches. The table’s deep tones and warm lighting create a dramatic focal point for any room.

Out There Atlanta

I had a chance to sit down with Lilly Lampe from Out There Atlanta--a weekly podcast covering food, culture, events, and people about town.  See write-up below and/or listen to the podcast to hear about MDC Interiors' beginnings, sustainable design, and more.

Episode 53: The Carpenter (by Lilly Lampe)

Despite his name, Mike Carpenter didn’t always embrace his design leanings. After forays into computer work, Carpenter realized his calling had been there all along. Mike founded MDC Interiors, a sustainable design company that uses unexpected elements like concrete, LED lights, and built-in spaces for succulents(!). He’s also done some sweet Art on the Beltline pieces (including one for this year) and has had smaller pieces in Scoutmob’s Shoppe.
Listen here or download on Itunes (it’s free!)
Topics include:
His first impression of Atlanta, Atlanta as a creative place, working with pallet wood versus concrete, and making the decision to get a graduate degree in design.

Art on the Beltline 2012

Karen Shacham and I collaborated on the Art on the Beltline project this year.  If you recall, I built a reclaimed chess table last year and decided to change it up a bit this year.  Karen is an amazing Atlanta photographer and introduced "The Couple Series" (a series that captures photos of gay and lesbian couples) as a part of her thesis project while at SCAD.  We decided to paint her black and white portraits and the surrounding space in the photo to create a mural that reflects the environment, as if the people in the portraits are trying to "fit in" to the surroundings.  We were thrilled to see that Creative Loafing used our work as the cover photo in their piece, '2012 Art on the Beltline sneak peak'.  Karen also had the opportunity to discuss the work last weekend as part of an artist's panel and collaboration between the Beltline and Wonderroot. 

To get to our installation: On the corridor, it's directly across from Gordon White Park, just south of the Ralph David Abernathy bridge. Check out the map for more details.

 

Scoutmob Shoppe

The folks over at Scoutmob recently launched a "Shoppe" which features awesome local goodness "made from the hands of locals."  You get great custom-made crafts at a sweet deal.  What more could you ask for?  The Shoppe is currently available in Atlanta, New York, and San Francisco.  In Atlanta, find products across the board--from anatomical tees by Accelerated Expansion, duct tape wallets by Strange Bird Designs, homemade sea salt by Beautiful Briny Sea to concrete planters, coasters, and reclaimed coffee tables by yours truly. Curious?  Find more here: https://shoppe.scoutmob.com/atlanta

Screenshot of our page: