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Here at Flatgoods, we are enjoying the growing process.
We launched our website about a year ago, and we’re already receiving some fun recognition online.

Here are some articles that have featured our products:

Grand Rapids Business Journal

Our home town of Grand Rapids, MI is giving us a shout-out for the cool stuff we’re doing!

From cardboard to… furniture?

Flatgoods recently launched a new website that allows consumers to purchase more than 25 home furniture, storage and tradeshow items.

James Mikrut, developer of Flatgoods, said the venture uses a honeycomb cardboard material that is structured similar to plywood but is lighter and custom printable.

“We can print different stock patterns on the furniture or displays, or we can print custom displays,” said Mikrut. “Right now it is a brand new venture for us and we plan to keep adding to the number of products that we are going to sell.”

The Flatgoods website features assembly instructions, a catalog of products and a blog with event information. With initial development of the website beginning roughly a year ago, Mikrut said small changes have been made to increase efficiency, user friendliness and order capacity.

Core 77

This article features a few other brands entering the cardboard furniture business and the advantages of each.

Let me say. We’re the only ones who will print on your items. And we offer oh-so-handy dry-erase finish on all of our table-tops.

Cardboard furniture for the dorm room and beyond

The cardboard furniture from Flatgoods includes chairs, tables and storage pieces. What especially caught my attention were two notable features I’m not seeing elsewhere. The first is the optional dry-erase surface on the tabletops—making this a dual-purpose item, great for small spaces where having a whiteboard would be nice, but isn’t feasible.

The second is the ability to have the furniture printed with one of the company’s stock patterns (another feature being added to the website shortly) or one of the customer’s own designs. For customized products, the company provides a template which the customer then completes with Adobe Creative Suite.

PR Newswire

A site that provides up-and-coming news for the global traders and marketers, hailed Flatgoods as a creative new product.

Flatgoods Launches Furniture And Tradeshow Displays That Are Versatile, Affordable & Eco-friendly

Developed by James Mikrut, owner and operator of ICON Sign in Grand Rapids, Flatgoods uses high-quality, incredibly durable cardboard as a means of making products equally suited for use in the office or the home. The material’s light weight and ability to be shipped flat for assembly makes for a cost-effective product that is also completely recyclable. All Flatgoods furniture is made exclusively from materials certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).

Customers also have the ability to completely customize any Flatgoods product with graphics they submit themselves. Using templates that work with Adobe Creative Suite, any of the chairs, tables, and other pieces the company produces can be branded with images reflecting the needs of the user. From trade show booths to play rooms, Flatgoods can be made to order for any situation.

Check out this beautiful booth! With amazing artwork designed by brand strategists at Deksia, an slick new archway designed by Jackson Martin of Zoomer Display, and a display case fabricated by Brian Krueger (also of Zoomer Display) we created a visually scrumptious tradeshow booth for StaFast cycling components.

That’s right, folks. Minus the acrylic case topper and some hot glue used to hold the archway together, this entire booth is made of cardboard. Surfaces and connectors are cardboard and fully recyclable. How cool is that? Because they’re cardboard, they’re also more lightweight to ship from one tradeshow to the next than other materials. Winning.

As you have seen on our Facebook page, Flatgoods is partnering with Stocking Elementary’s Camp Fire LOOP program. This is an after-school program serving children and youth on the West Side of Grand Rapids.

Camp Fire West MI. is a non-profit organization that facilitates after school programs for children and youth at 11 of the  Grand Rapids Public Schools 21st Century Community Learning Center sites which are federally funded.

About the program

Camp Fire West Mi. was founded in 1919, (you probable remember it as Camp Fire Girls and Boys.)  Over time Camp Fire has changed, to meet the needs of children, youth and families.  They provide educational enrichment and fun activities for children and youth.  Their activities are shaped around the Camp Fire Promise.  They also provide events for families to come together and spend time together while learning and having fun. They shape their activities around the Camp Fire Promise:

Young people want to shape the world.
Camp Fire provides the opportunity to find their spark, lift their voice and discover who they are. 
In Camp Fire, it begins now.
Light the fire within. 

How cool is that!? Find out more information on their website: www.campfirewestmi.org

A day in the LOOP

Every day after school, around 50 students line up for attendance, wash their hands, and receive a snack. Then, the kids do “opening circle,”  which includes a tradition called the “I can” poem–an inspirational activity where students share about all the capabilities they have to do good and be kind. Then, the teachers draw names of two students who will be the leaders for that day. The leaders choose game and lead the other students in participation.

After the games, the students split up by grade, go to separate rooms, and do homework–all with certified teachers around to assist them. When an hour of homework time is up, they participate in a variety of activities from computer classes to drama lessons to art classes. The day wraps up with a closing circle where everyone answers the questions What was the best thing about today? and What would you change about it if you could? At 6pm, they all go home. Some by foot, some by car, and a majority by bus.

The Plan

We’re planning on making partnership last for a little while! We’ll donate chairs to the after school program, which will divvy up the chairs to the students who are most enthusiastic about their art classes. For a couple of months, these kids will have free reign to decorate their chairs until the big April Showcase. Students from the Grand Rapids Public Schools will get together for a youth fair at Creston High School. This year, the theme is “Our Story.” That means, these chairs will be decorated with each kids’ story–their successes, their struggles, their hopes.

We are so excited to partner with these kids in our neighborhood and a program that encourages creativity, hard work, and fun for our school district.

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