When I visited Spain’s city of Valencia two years ago, I strolled along the cobblestone streets, took in the aquarium, and relaxed in the warm sunshine that soaked this coastal town. Claiming this beautiful site as his hometown, designer Gerardo Belmonte was clearly influenced by the relaxed, beautiful style of Valencian living when he came up with the cardboard furniture piece he calls Urban Tree for Groopti.

Urban Tree. Designed by Gerardo Belmonte. Manufactured by Groopti.

A Green Giant: The Urban Tree Coat Hanger Design by Gerardo Belmonte for Groopti

With Belmonte’s help, the Groopti cardboard furniture series expanded recently with new designs by graphic artists and industrial designers who have successfully tried their hand at manipulating cardboard into strong pieces of interior decor for production. After coming up with what they think are viable designs, Groopti encourages their crowd of design enthusiasts to vote on the potential pieces to go into production.

Each Urban Tree coat hanger stands on six legs that are machine cut from 90% recycled corrugated cardboard. With multiple layers of thick cardboard, each piece is easily assembled, very strong and can be assembled without screws, nails, or adhesives. Beside this, each Urban Tree is painted with eco-friendly UV printing in a wide range of what Groopti calls “dramatic, saturated colors” that are VOC free and custom picked and produced at the time of ordering.

Hang your coat or hat on the idea of green, cardboard furniture design with the Urban Tree coat hanger by Gerardo Belmonte for Groopti.

About the Manufacturer: Groopti helps young designers learn, develop, and share their ideas on design. They are what they call “part think tank, part supplier, part manufacturer” as they use social buying to choose tables, seating, wall art, shelving and other original designs that have the most demand. Using green ideas and computer-savvy manufacturing techniques, they encourage affordable design that is built to last in their collection of useful products.