Pimped pallet

WORDS Malibongwe Tyilo PHOTO Dylan and Emma-Jane Harbour

An accountant, a businessman and a design strategist have turned their attention to finding alternative ends for shipping pallets.

Palank, an amalgamation of the words pallet and plank, is a concept launched by Trevor Baptiste, David Dancey and Vincent Hoffman. The idea was inspired by the amount of waste the trio saw in the production, usage and subsequent disposal of pallets in the logistics industry. So, they decided to start salvaging discarded solid-wood pallets and upcycle them into limited-edition furniture. 

The first piece is the Palank 1.0 coffee table mounted on red silicone castors. No two tables are identical and they retain nicks, dents and blemishes from their previous lives, adding a special character that has made them popular in cool coffee shops such as Warm & Glad in Johannesburg and the well-known Hermanuspietersfontein winery in the Western Cape.

The coffee tables are available online (R2 800 each) from the Palank website in three colours: raw, black rub and whitewash. A bonus for South Africans is that orders are delivered wrapped in a Basotho blanket to anywhere in the country for free. But hurry, only 1 000 of these tables will be made and then it’s on to the next upcycling project, which Trevor insists they do because “it keeps us fresh and keen for new ideas”.

We are keeping an eye on these guys and can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with next.

palank.co.za, [email protected]

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