Introduction to Pallet Office Stationery

A range of stationery products made from reclaimed wood. The approach was to re-purpose the discarded pallets and bring them in new domain for office desk. The collection is designed around a common geometry (square with a chamfered vertex) that flows in each product. The block printed technique was adapted on wood for ethnic look.

The desk products includes stationery tray, card & photo holder, bookends, paperweight, file organizer etc.

Step 1: Preparing Wood

The pallet wood type should be kept in mind while picking that the wood should only be heat treated and safe to use. Nails from wood is first removed so the pallets are dismantled to work. The wood surface is usually uneven and needs a lot of finishing to achieve a plain surface.

The pallet pieces are now ready to be transformed in any product.

Step 2: Design & Mock-ups

Before making products directly in wood its better to design and try mock-ups in thermocol/ Styrofoam sheets. This process is good to know the scale and proportion of products along with their functionality. This can also be a way of testing the product.

Step 3: Wood Working

Now can start with stacking and cutting wood to get the desired dimensions. Basic tools used in this process are hacksaw, hammer, chisel, etc. Wood parts are joined using glue and nails which flushes with wooden surface.

Keep comparing with the mock-ups made earlier to check dimensions & to avoid mistakes. At the end wood surface need finishing with sand paper, first with 60 grade (rough) and then with 200 grade (smooth). Before sanding, check places where nails are used which should be sealed with a paste made from mixture of saw dust and glue.

Step 4: Product Testing

After wood work is done the products are tested with actual items placed over them. This step is important before final finishing of products so that modifications can be done in initial stage.

Step 5: Finishes

The final products are painted with matt/ satin finish. It takes around 24 hours to dry this paint completely (48 hours in winter). But it required double the time as only side could be painted at once and other side required equal time to dry.

On this matt/ satin finish a traditional block printing was done. Usually block prints are used in textile sector for making printed fabrics. It is difficult to get the complete print on hard surface like wood. Make sure that the surface to be printed is even and without any level difference, otherwise the print will not be transferred completely. Here thick acrylic colors and rubber & wooden blocks are used. Colors are pasted on scotch brite and then transferred on wood, this process can easily be found on youtube.