DIY DESIGN SHOW RETURNS TO UPSTATE NEW YORK

Summary

• Available Items gallery in Tivoli, NY hosts NUTS + BOLTS, a design show where artists create furniture using only hardware store materials
• The exhibition runs until October 5 and features over 24 designers including Fort Standard and Office of Tangible Space
• Each piece transforms everyday items like chain link fencing, PVC pipes, and brooms into functional design objects

Available Items gallery presents the second edition of NUTS + BOLTS, a design exhibition that transforms hardware store materials into furniture and functional objects. The show runs through October 5 in Tivoli, New York.

Over 24 designers participated in this year's challenge. Each artist received the same brief: create furniture or objects using only materials from local hardware stores. The rules limit participants to minimal dimensional lumber and prohibit 3D printing or online purchases.

The exhibition draws inspiration from DIY culture's accessible approach to making. Chad Phillips, co-founder of Available Items, describes the show as an exercise in "design thinking" that uses hardware store vernacular as a creative constraint.

Participating designers include established names like Fort Standard and Office of Tangible Space alongside emerging talent. The resulting pieces range from recognizable hardware assemblies to refined objects where origins become less obvious.

Fort Standard, known for traditional woodworking, created "Catch & Release", a floor lamp combining a soil tamper, tube clamps, fishing net, and light bulb. The Brooklyn furniture makers applied their joinery expertise to unexpected materials.

Office of Tangible Space, a New York architecture firm, developed "rigid stool/side table" from deconstructed street brooms. The piece demonstrates how industrial cleaning tools transform into seating through strategic disassembly and reconstruction.

Christian Borger approached the brief differently with "Louver lamp," a modular floor light using standard ceiling panels and hardware. The vertical arrangement creates a sophisticated lighting solution from building materials.

Textile artist Lauren Hirsch contributed "White Work (Painter's Pants)," converting Dickies work pants into a patchwork pillow cover. The piece maintains the original garment's utility aesthetic while serving a new domestic function.

Other notable works include seating constructed from chain link fence gates and PVC pipes, mirrors incorporating gutter components, and various lighting solutions using plumbing fixtures.

The exhibition reveals how design thinking applies to constrained material palettes. Participants worked within strict parameters while expressing individual creative visions. Some pieces celebrate their hardware origins, while others disguise source materials through thoughtful assembly.

The complete roster includes Aaron Getman-Pickering, Audrey Louise Reynolds, Chad Phillips, Christian Borger, Fort Standard, Glue Obelisk, Huy Bui, Isaac Gamboa, Jake Coan, Jed Heuer, Jaime Viñas, Kieran Kinsella, Kump Studio, Lauren Hirsch, Neal Hollinger, Nick Ceglia, Office of Tangible Space, outgoing, Overt Cove, Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman, Skiff Creative Studio, Tristan Fitch, True Bend Studio, and we r happy people inc.

NUTS + BOLTS opens to the public Friday through Sunday from 12-5pm at 64 Broadway in Tivoli, New York. The exhibition continues Available Items' mission to present design work that challenges conventional making processes.

The show demonstrates how limitations foster creativity. By restricting material sources to hardware stores, designers explore new applications for industrial components while maintaining functionality in their finished pieces.