* Photo: Bernd Wichmann * Your next piece of designer furniture could cost less than an Ikea chair—as long as you're willing to make it yourself. Taking a cue from the Linux community and file-sharing services, Berlin-based design guru Ronen Kadushin has started a furniture free-for-all he calls Open Design. It allows crafty consumers to download the instructions, photos, and AutoCAD files needed to knock off his work.
Kadushin's tables, chairs, and shelves sell for upwards of $5,000 each, but he's as interested in sharing ideas as in making a profit. Everything on Kadushin's Web site (ronen-kadushin.com) is free for use under a Creative Commons license. And far from being an artistic tyrant, he hopes you'll customize his pieces. You'll just need access to a large computer-controlled router or laser cutter (depending on what you're building) to realize the digital forms in wood or metal. All Kadushin asks is that you be creative with your mods—oh, and maybe send him a picture of the finished product.
- __1 // __Download the AutoCAD file and the instructions for the Square Dance Table.
- __2 // __Customize the AutoCAD file (perhaps your family crest would look good in the center) and source the necessary materials.
- __3 // __Locate the nearest laser cutter. If you don't have one at work or at school, find a local machine shop—they're in the book. Cut the basic ninja-star form (shown at left) from 2-mm-thick stainless steel (Kadushin prefers a mirror finish).
- __4 // __Put on gloves and kneel in the center of the cut sheet.
- __5 // __Gradually bend the legs up toward you until they can be slotted together—like making a metal basket.
- __6 // __Using padded pliers, bend down the rounded, precut feet and stick on felt glides to protect your floor.
- __7 // __Flip the table over and press down on the top to lock in the arms.
- __8 // __Top with your favorite cocktail glasses.
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