Western Living Magazine
Trade Secrets: Inside a Clever Vancouver Basement Reno That’s Equal Parts Chill and Cheers
4 Ways to Incorporate Earthy Reds into Your Home
Ones to Watch: Calgary’s Mera Studio Architects Gives Old Spaces New Soul
Recipe: Watermelon and Paneer Masala with Spicy Vinaigrette
Recipe: Devilled Beet-Pickled Eggs
Recipe: Smooth Watermelon
Local Getaway: Why Nelson, B.C., Is the Small Town You’ll Want to Move To
This Island in Japan Is Every Architect and Designer’s Dream
Just Say Hello!
5 Must-Have, One-Of-A-Kind Items for Entertaining by B.C. Designers
Shop these 5 Indigenous-Owned Lifestyle Brands Across Western Canada
The All-new 2025 Audi Q5: Audi’s benchmark SUV—Redefined
The Western Living People’s Choice Awards 2025: Voting Is Now Open!
Announcing the Finalists for the 2025 Western Living Designers of the Year Awards
Enter Western Living’s 2025 Designers of the Year Awards—DEADLINE EXTENDED
Vancouver-based green start-up ChopValue introduced their modular shelf, The SM?LE, combining sustainable production with sleek design.
This past month, Vancouver-based green start-up ChopValue introduced their modular shelf, The SMĪLE, combining sustainable production with sleek design. We’ve designed SMĪLE to prove that minimalist, sustainable, and beautiful design can be 100 per cent eco-friendly, ChopValue CEO and Founder, Felix Brock says.
To do so, the makers collect local waste productschopsticks from restaurants and steel from construction sitesand using heat and water-based resin, bond the chopsticks together, transforming landfill-bound utensils into an entirely recycled shelving unit. And it’s one that's climate negative too, as the shelf stores more C02 (14 lbs worth) than it takes to produce it.
An entire shelving set uses just over 4,000 chopsticks (that's about 2,000 sushi dinners, for reference).
Shelfs are available in small, medium, or large, and in three different finishesnatural, walnut, or almond. But because the construction process involves heat, the sugars in the chopstick's bamboo caramelize, giving each shelf its own unique finish.
While the focus is on circularity and eco-conscious production, the selfing unit is nonetheless stylish, versatile and perfect to store and display homeware on your wall. A piece that looks good, and feels good to purchase too.
Are you over 18 years of age?