Sarah Mouchot is revolutionising the way we look at cardboard with her furniture design business, Bibi Carton.

Sarah is giving a new lease on life to the handy but often overlooked material, traditionally used for packaging. “Cardboard is such a great material to work with,” she explains. “It’s eco-friendly when you source it well and keep a careful eye on the recycled content and it’s lightweight and very versatile. Plus, you can create anything out of it and make it look the way you want – once you know the techniques the possibilities are endless!”

Growing up with an interest in interior design and DIY projects, Sarah decided, at 14, to follow her curiosity to the renowned Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Beauvais, France and study plastic and conceptual art, all while handling the demands of high school. At the same time, she started making cardboard furniture under the tutelage of Eric Guiomar, a long-standing pioneer of the concept. This set her on a journey that has taken her from her native France to London, Vancouver and now Melbourne, all while refining her techniques and creating her own style. “My philosophy is to design unusual furniture that is lightweight, easy to take care of and as eco-friendly as possible,” she relates. “I like changing the way people look at cardboard.”

One of the misconceptions surrounding cardboard is that it’s not durable, something Sarah is only too happy to quash. “There are two sides to cardboard: the side you can bend and the side you can’t. Try to bend the vertical flutes inside double corrugated cardboard. It’s surprisingly hard isn’t it? Inside each item of furniture there is a whole structure – pieces of cardboard interlocked and glued together – which make the piece very strong and secure,” she explains.

“The thing is, cardboard is still a pretty soft material when it comes to applying a very concentrated pressure to it; a nail will go through if you push it in for example. But where the weight is spread out, it can surprisingly handle a lot,” Sarah continues. “I also give all my furniture a good coat of varnish at the end of the process to make it water-resistant and durable. I like to think cardboard furniture is not fragile but needs to be treated with respect. If you buy a beautiful wooden or glass coffee table, you would use coasters and handle it with care – same with cardboard.”

Aside from creating one-off pieces for customers, Sarah is working to spread the cardboard love far and wide. For people interested in making their own cardboard creations, she offers small workshops where they can learn, “all the knowledge needed to get started on their own projects and join the Great League of the World’s Cardboarders!” she exclaims. For those who prefer a less hands-on approach, Sarah hopes to open her own cardboard cafe in Melbourne. “In a bright and exciting future I want to set up a cosy space made mostly of cardboard, which will offer good coffee, great food and friendly service with a little French twist,” she says.

Looking ahead, Sarah firmly believes cardboard is in the future for furniture design. “People are now, more than ever, keen to have a home that is original, locally made and eco-friendly,” she says. “My advice is to treat themselves to a custom piece from Bibi Carton.”

For more information on Bibi Carton, visit www.bibicarton.com

By Danielle Hanrahan