Photos © Ashley T. Mitchell

Click below to see more photos  Previous Next

Manche Mitchell, a 27-year-old designer with Guenther 5 in New York, knew that he had design skills and he knew that he had a problem. Using those skills to solve the problem seemed like a natural extension. "I was moving a lot," Mitchell explains, " and I got sick of taking books off the shelves, and putting them in boxes, and then taking them out of boxes and putting them back on the shelves. So I decided that if I made the shelves the boxes…." He trails off, because the logic seems so simple now.

Mitchell has been designing his modular bookshelf system for about four years, including about a year of living with his own set. He and a friend build the shelves themselves out of 1/2 inch plywood and aluminum sheets. "One of the considerations," Mitchell says, "was trying to make them light." The aluminum sheets that back the boxes connect into grooves in the plywood, making stacking and rearranging the boxes a simple process.

Architecture and furniture design seem to have a natural connection to Mitchell. "It comes from a fascination I have with materials, and how I can put them together," he says. Mitchell hopes to have a brochure ready within two months. For more information, contact him at info@manchemitchell.com.

Kevin Lerner

For information on how to submit your own work for inclusion in On the Side, contact Kevin Lerner.