What's a sculptor to do when she can't find shelves large enough to house her mammoth Leonardo de Vinci volumes? Create her own. That's how Laura Woodward, one half of Melbourne design and fabrication duo Like Butter, came up with her ingenious shelves that can be fashioned into numerous shapes, sizes, and configurations.
Likewise, her creative partner, industrial designer Jem Selig Freeman, devised the Ply Milk Crates to satisfy his need for a bed with storage. Now he sleeps atop 16 of them. Like Butter solves everyday problems by designing practical yet original pieces that are as good looking as they are inventive. Their lightweight Stalker Stands are clothes rails that look like smooth sticks magically fused together.
Another claim to fame? Selig Freeman created the contraptions featured in Temper Trap's music video Sweet Disposition (with Like Butter associate Simon Boucher) and came up with the beautifully minimalist Bike Rack, shaped like a bicycle, for a Melbourne city council.
Above: Like Butter’s Laura Woodward and Jem Selig Freeman.
Above: The Shelves can be constructed to fit snugly into strange-shaped spaces; prices start at $580 AU.
Above: Woodward’s prototype of The Shelves, accompanied by her Ply Milk Crates.
Above: The Ply Milk Crates can be used as bed bases, as stools, or stacked into shelves.
Above: Every Ply Milk Crate is stamped with a limited-edition number; they come in two different sizes, starting at $22 AU each.
Above: The Stalker Stands, pictured in Melbourne’s Dagma Rousset boutique, have a 6-foot hang rail and are priced at $244 AU per pair.
Above: The Stalker Stand is made of dowel in a smooth protective shellac and has steel powder-coated brackets that were cut with Like Butter’s plasma cutter, dubbed The Plasmatron.
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