Neutra Box
When Hector Perez couldn't find the ideal mailbox to install outside of his Eichler in Oakland, California, he decided to make his own. "It was really born out of frustration," says Perez, a composer for Music Orange, of his foray into product design. "We couldn't find a mailbox for our modern home that was a simple, true, mimimalist design."
Perez's "aha" moment came when he and a friend drove past a mailbox outside of a Richard Neutra home in Los Angeles. He took elements of that design, a dose of Gerrit Reitveld (a favorite designer of his), and cobbled together a prototype in his garage using leftover sheet metal from a home improvement project. That was in 2008, and since then, Perez has made about 450 mailboxes for customers all across the country.
"A friend uses the box inside for interoffice mail," says Perez.
"It was entirely by word of mouth," Perez says of how the company got its start. "I made a few for my architect and designer friends and then they passed word along to their friends."
The box is made from remnants of sheet metal, sourced mostly from shops in Richmond, California.
Though Perez is assisted by a small sheet metal shop, the Neutra Box is still handmade from locally sourced, upcycled sheet metal remnants, reclaimed mostly from outfits in Richmond, California. The box retails for $199.00 and is available in red and black. For more information and to order, please visit neutrabox.com.
Here's a rear view of the mailbox.
Interested in upcycled design? Visit our Methodology contest!
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Richard Neutra, Architect: Sketches and Drawings
This exhibition features a selection of travel sketches, figure drawings and building renderings by one of modernism’s most important architects, Richard Neutra (1892-1970). The pieces range…
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Neutra VDL Studio and Residences Lecture and Tour
A special tour of the Richard Neutra VDL Studio and Residences in Silver Lake. Hosted by de Lab, the evening will include a brief lecture by Leo Marmol, FAIA, of Marmol Radziner, followed by a…
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We purchased one of these for our Nashville home, and we love it!!!
Yeah well... that letterbox he drove past was one of many manufactured in New Zealand by www.boxdesign.co.nz for the past 10+ years. "took elements of that design"? Plagiarism anyone? Check out they're urban range and you'll see what I mean. They also provide web sales and have a distributor in the U.S. www.boxdesign.com
sorry ...that's www.boxdesignusa.com
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