Trend Watch: The Animal-Free Trophy Head

Filed under: Fun Stuff, Crafts & Projects, Design, etc, News & Trends

Eco trophy heads show their faces. What does the animal lover in you say?

Forget antler chandeliers. There's a new animal-inspired piece of decor gaining momentum in the design community (and these can be hung without a pang of guilt): animal-free trophies. "Cardboard is a fun alternative to a real trophy, and a sense of humor is a way to lighten the topic," says Chris Jessee, one of the designers at Cardboard Safari, a company selling some of these fresh-feeling trophy heads.

Appearing in all shapes and materials, each one is an even more creative interpretation than the next. From papier-mâché to recycled cardboard to glittered ceramic, trophy heads are making a comeback as a purely decorative accessory.

In fact, Cardboard Safari encourages the consumer to interact with their "prize" by assembling it using its slotted construction. You have the freedom to color, paint, glue and decorate your cardboard animal anyway you want.

After purchasing "Bucky" (above left) from Cardboard Safari, Steph Goralnick, a photographer and graphic designer, shows off her design sense by covering it with vintage maps of Brooklyn. She renamed him Grover. Anthropologie's gazelle (above right) is made from recycled cement bags and paper from old French books. In other words, papier-mâché! It costs $68. Another fun animal trophy designed and manufactured by Cardboard Safari is Eyan the elephant (below). It's their newest animal, made from environmentally friendly cardboard, and costs $58.

Designers Tony Moxham and Mauricio Paniagua of DFC Mexico set out to make large-scale ceramic heads reflecting the hand-made Mexican ceramic traditions of Cuernavac and ended up with the Disney-esque trophies (below). "For us, it's more of the idea of being able to have a big animal living in your house, even when it may be impossible to own a baby elephant, unicorn or giant kitten," say Moxham.

The way DFC creates distance between a real trophy head and the idea of it from a design perspective is through un-realistic colors, subject, mythical animals, scale and decoration. Looking at their Glitter Reserve Unicorn ($667, below left) and Baby Elephant ($862, below right) Trophy Heads, I think I can agree.

Tell us what you think. Can you see these animal-free trophy heads as a purely decorative element?

 

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