PLY print plywood panels

The PLYprints concept was developed in cooperation with Eric Pfeiffer of , a San Francisco-based design and branding studio. PfeifferLab relies on Eric's penchant for simplicity of form to create useful and elegant solutions for everyday living. It's this pure design ethos, coupled with a casual sensibility that results in timeless objects rooted in a deep understanding of materials and message

PLYprints Concept

Columbia's decorative interior veneers and panels are used in cabinetry, furniture, architectural millwork and commercial fixtures. Employee-owned and based in Greensboro, North Carolina, Columbia employs more than 2,000 and operates facilities throughout the United States and Canada, and an operational network which spans the globe.

Founded in 1957, Columbia Forest Products is North America's largest manufacturer of hardwood plywood and hardwood veneer, a leader in sustainable forestry, and innovator of formaldehyde-free ? technology.

About Columbia Forest Products

He was able to capture the essence of Latin America while still creating designs that were fresh and contemporary, finding the perfect balance of high and low art forms. In 2000 Girard was the subject of a major retrospective at the Cooper Hewitt National design Museum, confirming his place in the pantheon of great mid-century designers.

Alexander "Sandro" Girard was one of the most innovative modern designers of the 20th century. From 1952 to 1973, Girard led that company's textile division, where he brought color and life to the furniture creations of George Nelson and Charles & Ray Eames. Widely considered the greatest colorist and textile designer of modern time, Girard used traditional folk art to infuse color, whimsy and humor into vibrant modern design.

About Alexander Girard

PLYprints are being made available through specialty retailers of home fashion and art objects.

The estate chose to work with Columbia Forest Products because ? is the only widely available cost-neutral formaldehyde-free plywood panel. Girard had a long history of environmental concerns, especially about pollution, and ? technology offers a way to mitigate indoor air problems by eliminating the risk of toxic and carcinogenic VOC's that can be released by composite wood panels made with urea formaldehyde resins.

Alexander Girard (1907 - 1993) created iconic mid-century modern designs for such companies as Herman Miller and Braniff International Airways. His work married the timeless lines of the modern with the playfulness and bold color of Latin American folk art.

to see all the new designs and sizes.

A "Give Love" gift set of six 3" x 3" blocks is also available, all with Girard's iconic "LOVE" design screened in red. Break up the set and "give love" to everyone you love.

Also NEW for Fall 2009, five more of Girard's classic designs are available on larger 16" x 20" plywood panels, with wall hanging hardware included. This new size makes a bigger design statement with the same sustainable properties as the smaller wall hangings.

All PLYprints include hanging hardware and have a spacer on the back that allows the panel to float off the wall. The vibrant artworks mix bold colors with the natural graining of the real wood veneers. The wood panels are responsibly made with Columbia Forest Products' soy-based, formaldehyde free ? technology to create a safe and green wood based product for your home.

Eight of Alexander Girard's classic designs are available on 14" x 14" plywood panels, including two NEW designs for Fall 2009: Old Sun and New Sun. Each graphic panel features an iconic Alexander Girard image hand screenprinted with water-based inks on a US-made sustainably-harvested maple plywood panel.

The purity of Girard's iconic graphics printed on the often overlooked and humble material, plywood, perfectly captures Girard's history of mixing modern materials and folk art forms to create accessible art. The goal for this collaboration is to bring the artwork of an American design legend to a new generation through products that are sustainably and responsibly produced with the same sensitivity to the environment that Alexander Girard demonstrated during his lifelong career.

For the first time since 1972 these graphics are now available as wall art, screened onto 14"x14" panels of Columbia's formaldehyde-free maple faced hardwood plywood. The PLYprints program draws on Girard's history of printing directly on wood in such places as The Compound restaurant in Santa Fe.