Furniture as a store of value
This idea has been floating around my head for a while. It started with wanting to make some custom kettlebells using silver bullion.
And then at the beginning of the covid pandemic I started to think about doing an entire sofa or table out of metal. As a last bastion of value in a time of crisis.
Aluminum. Copper. Bronze. Zinc.
Giant. Solid. Cast metal pieces.
One annoying thing about furniture right now: It does not hold its value.
You buy a couch for $3k and you're lucky to re-sell it 5yrs later for $500. Sometimes zero.
Many household objects find their initial value in ephemeral/fashion-oriented origins. They are worth decidedly less the minute the box is opened and they are "used". I began wondering how the everyday objects could be re-made so that they become sustainable stores of value.
- Make them out of commodity metals with long-standing use-value
- Use all the other angles too:
- Collaborations with artists / designers
- Limited edition runs
- A lottery element (every 100th piece will have 1kg of gold embedded)
- Crypto co-ownership of "brand" - every couch comes with an ownership stake
Stack all of these value-creation techniques on top of each other
Security: If you have a 3,000lb copper table, it's hard to steal.
Back of envelope calc on the weight of a copper table-top, using the dimensions of this concrete table-top a starting point (4x67x35 ⇒ 9,380 cubic inches ⇒ 3,029lbs ⇒ ~$14,350 @ $4.75/lbs. Calculator here). Obv a copper table could be significantly slimmer, but this still gives a starting point in terms of weight.
Concrete Furniture
Kettlebell designs
