Upcycling and A great damp cupboard
Sometimes the best tools are right in front of you.
Here’s a picture of an old defunct refrigerator that we use in the studio. It still had a good seal on the doors, so instead of sending it to the landfill, we upcycled this one to serve as a receptacle for some freshly pugged clay. Its not pretty, but it works brilliantly.
We also have another old fridge which is used as a “damp cupboard”. It houses pots that perhaps we can’t get to right away to trim, carve a design into, or add attachments. A little cup with water in it, left in the fridge, does the trick keeping the air inside nice and damp.
You can make the unsightly outside of the fridge zippy painting it as wild as you like, and since its a giant magnet board, its also a handy spot for photos, calendars, etc..
January 25th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
I love this idea!! We’re about to buy a place that will come with 3 fridges that we will not be using, but it seems like a great way to reuse them. Can you post pics of your “damp box” or your painted exteriors? Thanks for the ideas!
January 27th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
I plan on posting more “fridge shots” soon, Emily.
Say that move is coming up fast for you then!
January 25th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
I read about this idea on Cynthia’s blog too, but I still haven’t got round to cleaning out our old freezer. It stopped working ages ago but I’m too scared to open it to clean it out! It’s a brilliant idea though. Maybe when it’s a little warmer outside…
January 27th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
How bad is your fridge, Linda? I took the one I had originally outside and used the garden hose on it after giving it a good douse of bleach. If its too nasty, sometimes its both easier just to get someone else’s cast offs. Chances are it will still be free.
January 27th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
This is a wonderful idea, I know that I have seen this being done with bags of Slip, though that did not work nearly as well ans what you are showing. Though of course this was becase they were using a mini fridge i am shore. I will be looking all over Craigslist now, thanks.
January 27th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I haven’t looked inside! I’m too scared! When I realised it stopped working I just quickly rescued the food inside and shut the door! So I’m guessing it would have grown a (un)healthy amount of mould by now! I just haven’t got round to taking it outside because it’s heavy, and I think if I open it inside the melted ice will run everywhere!
January 28th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Excellent Anne!! My ceramic’s mentor uses an old fridge for a damp box - I only found out about it after getting rid of one myself…doh!
I’m sure I could snag another one on Craigslist or Freecycle since I don’t need for it to be functional.
Looks like you’ve done a lot of fixing on your site - looks great!
January 28th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Thanks Cynthia.. site still needs some tweaking, but its getting there!
I bet using a fridge would be particularly helpful to you, considering the clay you’re using, and the construction methods you frequently use.
Virginia, I don’t think it would really matter providing the seal on the fridge is good, although the larger fridges do tend to have more insulation than a mini fridge.
January 29th, 2009 at 2:05 am
I heard about this before, but it is so neat to actually see it in practice.
May 25th, 2010 at 2:19 am
Came to this site from Yahoo and just wanted to take my time to say thanks for posting it.