Photo: Nicole Radja

What it is Bladon Conner’s repurposed and revamped wood furniture and original photographic prints, which often provide a graphic surface for his work.

Who he is After spending five years in front of a computer working with a few Chicago architecture firms as an architect and designer, the 28-year-old Mississippi native returned to the bread and butter of craftsmanship—hands-on labor—that designing furniture entails. “There’s something about the mental tangibility of the scale of furniture,” Conner says. “I can understand it from start to finish.”

Photo: Nicole Radja

What he makes Taking inspiration from graffiti artists and classic architects, Conner’s work combines the pure, linear forms and textures of Charles and Ray Eames, Jean Prouvé and Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, with the colorful chaos of street art. Dismantling and deconstructing found objects, Conner uses “the piece as a limitation itself. It’s like, here’s the piece I have to work with.… It takes the design in a direction I wouldn’t have thought to go on my own.” For instance, he’ll reupholster a chair from the alley with the arm of a men’s jacket or a scarf from Salvation Army; or he’ll adhere a large-scale photographic image of graffiti (taken during his jaunts to Buenos Aires and New York), covered with a protective layer of clear lacquer, to the surface of a coffee table. Prices range from $300–$900.

Why we like it His entrepreneurial and environmentally conscious motivation turns other people’s trash into a business opportunity.

Where to find it Haus (5405 N Clark St, 773-769-4000, hauschicago.com), where you can also meet the designer in person at an open house on Friday 2 from 7–10pm, and Scout (5221 N Clark St, 773-275-5700, scoutchicago.com). For custom requests, contact Conner directly through his website, bladonconner.com.