From construction trash to bespoke furniture pieces, Formr believes in second chances for both material goods and people.
This mission-driven company empowers disadvantaged communities, including formerly incarcerated people, veterans, immigrants, previous gang members, and other traditionally marginalized groups. Formr provides them with the tools needed to become skilled craftsmen and woodworkers.
Using reclaimed wood from construction sites, these artisans meticulously select, restore, and combine wood pieces to create one-of-a-kind furniture and wood pieces for sale.
Specifically, through its Donation Collection initiative, Formr's craftsmen work with industry architects and designers to create and produce bespoke side tables for sale.
The cool part is that each designer selects a charity to receive 55% of the proceeds from their pieces.
The side tables available in June were specially designed by architects from Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, a California-based nonprofit architectural firm that aims to end mass incarceration.
According to Nice News, DJDS created a Japanese-style end table in two sizes with two leg options. The round tabletop was made using yakisugi, a traditional Japanese charring method that helps preserve wood, which produced a beautifully darkened edge that emphasized the wood's patterns. The smaller side table featured metal hairpin legs, whereas the larger side table showcased wooden ones.
Last month's charity of choice was A New Way of Life — a reentry program helping formerly incarcerated women transition back into the community as an empowered version of themselves.
Formr's mission in empowering traditionally marginalized communities through woodworking and furniture making, using reclaimed construction materials, carries an understated significance — the end products of these projects, produced by traditionally marginalized people, are meant to take up and redefine spaces.
At the same time, these woodworking projects use reclaimed wood from construction sites, which helps conserve natural resources and reduce landfill waste while creating limited, one-of-a-kind furniture pieces you can't find in big-box retail stores.
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I'll do whatever it takes 👍 These pieces are a "powerful symbol of transformation," said Deanna Van Buren, founder of DJDS, per Nice News. "It's a beautiful cycle of renewal."
"Each piece is a testament to what's possible when we invest in both sustainability and social equity," said Sasha Plotitsa, founder of Formr, per Nice News.
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