The Hogwarts Express seems to race out of a tunnel as part of the bed. A bookcase painted with suitcases and a desk with wizardry whimsy stand by, ready to ignite imagination. This Harry Potter-themed bedroom unit was created by students at Shawsheen Valley Technical High School, amazingly out of a pile of junk.

​

Shawsheen Tech won the People’s Choice Award May 2 during the Furniture Trust’s Eco-Carpentry Challenge. The Furniture Trust provided each school\ with a suite of used office furniture and excess building materials, otherwise bound for the landfill.

​

“The students came up with a plan, discussed it with their instructors, and modified the plan as they worked to meet design and safety needs,” said Andrew Pigeon, director of community services and post-secondary programs at Shawsheen Tech. “The group collaboratively transformed the suite of used office furniture into an amazing piece of art and furniture!”

​

Students from the carpentry, metal fabrication, auto body, business technology and marketing, graphic communication, and design and visual communications collaborated to develop the theme and create the different components of the bedroom set, all of which had to fit in a small exhibition space.

​

At first glance, the pile of used office furniture and other used building materials that had to be used as part of the challenge seemed a bit daunting.

​

“I thought, ‘what are we going to do with everything, this doesn’t make sense. We got a big pile of stuff,”’ said James DeFeo, a 10th-grade carpentry student.

​

The students brainstormed and then developed a plan, each shop taking on different tasks.

​

“I made a cutout for the desk we’re putting in and other little knickknacks that go around the project and give it character,” said Connor Maguire, 10th grade carpentry student.

​

The end result : trash turned to treasure.

​

“We were thrilled to have Shawsheen join the Eco-Carpentry Challenge this year. Their entry of the Harry Potter-themed bedroom was both imaginative and thought out. As our People’s Choice Award winner, the attendees really felt the same,” said Dana DeVeau, Furniture Trust executive director.

​

“I think it’s interesting to see how all the shops came together to build the project that we made. I think they are really going to like it because all the shops did a really good job with it,” said Nathan Dahoquist, 10th grade, carpentry.