Christopher Douglas

Paper clips, beehives, bridges—these everyday objects inspire Douglas, who creates multipurpose furniture from mostly recycled materials for his Material Furniture collection. Because he has moved so often, Douglas, now based in Oregon, began conceiving transportable pieces like the Knock-Down/Drag-Out dining table, whose canted-in legs fold easily. He recently devised the Pop-Up table, which converts from a coffee table into a dining table, and the Flipper Screen, below, a room divider with cutouts for shelves. "I try to stay with basic forms—circles, squares and ovals," he says.