I received an interesting call today from a man named David Garrett in Atlanta, Georgia. David has 25 years of experience as an architect (in fact, he grew up in Highpoint, North Carolina—“Furniture Capital of the World”) and, for the last 13 years, has operated his own interior design company. He is aggressively and enthusiastically looking to change directions, however, and has recently started an LP rack business called Nomad Crates.
“I’m 49 years old, so I have plenty of good experience and I’m still young enough to put it to work.”
David wanted to design something that would be sturdy, “super-modular,” easily transportable, and relatively affordable. (People should be able to save on shelving and put more money toward buying records or audio equipment, he says.) Nomad Crates use domestically sourced wood and are built here in the United States. They ship in 4”-thick containers, arrive unstained and partially assembled, and can be disassembled for storage. Standard lengths are 18”, 24”, and 30”; a 24” Nomad Crate holds approximately 150 LPs and costs $50. Or just $0.33/LP. Which matches the price per LP cost of my
Gothic Cabinet LP rack, but still misses the crazy-cheap $0.18/LP mark of my nicely finished
Ikea Expedit shelves. But, then again, I can’t just rearrange my Ikea shelves to suit my mood or ever-growing LP collection, nor can I simply pick up and go with my Ikea shelves the way one might with the Nomad Crates. After all, the Nomad Crates are made to be transportable and configurable.
(This is an interesting attempt at addressing a problem common to most vinyl fans. We want to lead these free lives—physically and intellectually free lives—but wind up burdened by these things we hold so dear. We are crowded, made immobile. The records own us as much as we own them. What’s up with that? Love?)
In fact, while David says he designed these crates for music lovers, he’s also working with a department of the US government to devise larger versions of the design which can be utilized as temporary shelters, walls, and other sorts of structures. Your LP crate can even double as a shield against terrorist attacks! Just kidding. Professional DJs are going to seriously love these things, though. David tells me that
DJ Turn Signal, an LA-based DJ perhaps best known for spinning Gene Simmons’ house parties, is already a big fan and will be promoting Nomad Crates in his videos.
To learn more about Nomad Crates visit
the website. David doesn’t have an e-mail address, but has enjoyed getting in touch with other vinyl fans and music-lovers. The reaction to his Nomad Crates has been outstanding, he says.
“People love them, and I love them, and I just think this is a really fun thing. This is the most fun I’ve had in 20 years.”
