ThinkEco2 Reclaimed Cedar Wine Rack

Reclaimed wood can be used for so many reasons – to keep the wood out of the landfill, to have a modern rustic look or to have a unique character piece to be able to talk about and share with others. No matter what your reason, ThinkEco² surely has a product to accommodate it. From wine and whiskey gift boxes, succulent planters and wine rack organizers. A countertop wine rack is what ThinkEco² has so graciously offered to donate to a wine tasting fundraiser for a local nursing scholarship in Union County, New Jersey.

Oh and have I mentioned all of their products are handmade? Yup, founder Brian Behncke operates a construction company in San Diego, California as his day job and builds these eco-chic products at night. Along with a marketer from Boston, Jules Lavallee, she helps Brian in getting the word out about these products, which they believe are good for the environment. Brian and Jules have helped other charities in the process of creating these pieces, including TNT Memorial, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Mama’s Kitchen and now Christopher and Susan Phillips Foundation – who raise money for scholarship for Jonathan Dayton High School and Trinitas Nursing School students (if you’d like to learn more about the history of this foundation please visit here). Thanks to ThinkEco² this wine rack will be raffled off October 20th at the Villa Rose Wine School in Madison, New Jersey at the Christopher and Susan Phillips Foundation 3rd Annual Wine Tasting. If you are local and would like to attend, it is from Noon-3pm with the tricky tray beginning at 2:30pm with more details on their website.

The wine rack I received to review is much lighter in weight than I was expecting, made from reclaimed cedar. It had a lovely light wood color to it along with an elegant black frame attached to the front side (you can order it without the frame or in a variety of colors). Made with only reclaimed 100% cedar, glue, staples and paint it is a lovely addition to your kitchen counter top or above cabinet area, it’s just that small! When I first read about this rack I was anticipating a large cumbersome wine rack, but was much happier to find it is strong but compact and lightweight.

Keeping with the reclaimed rustic look of the rack, the wood is kept natural in color with no stains or varnishes and sports the exposed staples that help to hold it together. Though I would think it might look cleaner with just using glue, perhaps the staples help to ensure it can hold the weight of 12 wine bottles at once If looking for a cleaner look, maybe it is possible to inquire to have the staple holes filled since this product is made to order. It looks to be crafted by a skilled wood worker (Brian) and could likely be done yourself if you were handy with power tools and wood construction, but why would you want to when the work is already done for you and you are helping the planet in the process? Now the cutest surprise I found on the back of the wine rack was that ThinkEco2 has heatbranded their logo “Recycled by ThinkEco² ” into the wood. So if you are giving it as a gift you don’t have to tell them it is recycled, the piece can just do it for you. If you are looking for a handmade gift for someone who loves the earth, ThinkEco² is a great Etsy store to check out for unique pieces. Thank you again to ThinkEco2 for donating this piece to the Christopher and Susan Phillip Foundation’s 3rd Annual Wine Tasting Tricky Tray Fundraiser.