Dutch product designer Debbie Wijskamp creates chests of drawers, vases, and shelves out of one material: recycled paper pulp. She didn’t always rely on this sustainable yet unusual product. As a student at ArtEZ, the Institute of the Arts in Arnhem, in the Netherlands, Wijskamp explored a full spectrum of materials, including polystyrene, stainless steel, and rubber. With them, she made prototypes for everything from pendant lamps and deconstructed lunch boxes to coat hangers and wall tiles. It wasn’t until Wijskamp began to more deeply consider the implications of “handmade” that she realized she was no longer interested in working with new, unsustainable, or non-local materials—no matter the end result.

Inspired by contemporary environmental design theorists and practitioners such as Victor Papanek, William McDonough, and Tony Fry, Wijskamp immediately turned to paper— discarded newspapers, specifically—to embark on a zero-waste quest for a truly handmade product line. Collecting old newspapers from family and friends, Wijskamp turned her kitchen into a pulp lab, running her small blender overtime to produce the watery sluice required for construction. Many newspapers and much mess later, Wijskamp had built her very first cabinet.

The intricate process of mold-making, slicing, and pulp-pasting means that no part of the structure is foreign—all of it is built from waste. “Designing my own building materials gives me a lot of freedom,” explains Wijskamp. This also means freedom from a cookie-cutter aesthetic, since each piece is unique: Some cabinets are tall, others are squat; some have drawers, others are akin to shelving units. Wijskamp has also designed a line of decorative paper urns, plates, vases, and other vessels, in which the textured paper is reminiscent of stoneware or antique pewter tableware.

Enthusiastic reception of the work has ranged from awe to disbelief, since clients can’t believe the functional, sturdy pieces are made entirely from waste. Now that she’s more adept with building from pulp, Wijskamp has reclaimed her kitchen: Today she collects readymade paper pulp from a recycling plant in Arnhem, and is learning how intervening in the recycling process at different stages can unveil new possibilities. Luckily the discovery process goes both ways: “They only make new paper from the waste,” she explained. “They had no idea some crazy girl could make cabinets from it.”