In recent years there has been a buzz about feed sack material for clothes, but another clever re-use of packing material has been overlooked. Before things started coming in cardboard boxes, theywould come in wooden boxes or packing crates. Even oranges came in crates. This good wood was not just thrown away as the cardboard version often is today, it would be re-used somehow. Environmentalists didn't invent recycling. Many times the crates were simply used as shelves. Other times they would be enclosed to form cupboards. An often used pattern from the 1950s was to use two orange crates and a piece of plywood cut like a capital B to make a draped dressing table. I used the one from my mother's childhood room as a lemonade stand when I was little. We’ve also located a large cabinet out of a pump organ packing case, a vanity chair with storage out of a small wooden box, and a chair made out of a barrel. We’re especially looking for directions for an orange crate draped dressing table or vanity and photos and references to other furniture made from packing crates.Please contact us if you have any information. Trundlebed TalesP.O. Box 111Solon, IA 52333