Sitting Pretty in Vermont with Bills and Coins

A colleague of mine breathlessly buttonholed me one day during the National Stationery Show. "Peter. You've got to see this guy!" Yeah, yeah, sure, sure.

The cover of Johnny Swing's brochure has a photo of a welded sculpture that twists and turns in all sorts of directions. Not sure what's the big deal here until I open the brochure to see Johnny Swing sitting on a large couch made from coins. Still, I'm no fan of coins. I'm rather fond of dollar bills, but this looked interesting. And sure enough....

Johnny Swing was exhibiting some of his creations at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, just below the National Stationery Show at the Javits Center. I went down to visit and learned that he's a fellow Vermonter living about an hour from me and we have mutual friends.

I loved his Nickel Couch, made with 7,000 nickels, and his Half Dollar/Butterfly Chair, which uses 1,500 half dollars.



But what struck me most, being the dollar bill guy, were the pillows and stuffed animals made from - you guessed it - dollar bills.



I don't normally make suggestions to those who create beautiful and functional works of art, but I mentioned that he might be able to get a deal on some dollar coins. There are lots of them just sittin' around....