"Cool" refrigerators

American Forests, Spring, 2004

Hip and chic are not words usually associated with descriptions of refrigerators, but the models on display at a New York art gallery recently were anything but usual.

Danby Art Coolers pair works of art with good works. Each refrigerator door is decorated with a painting, a photograph, or a sketch-some original, some classic-and each refrigerator sold plants 10 trees to offset the carbon emissions associated with the appliance's usage.

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At a reception at OK Harris Gallery in the Soho section of New York City, artists mingled with guests to view 10 limited-edition versions of the refrigerators, which include various-sized refrigerators and keg and wine coolers. The models on display included the depiction of a dream about dinosaurs, an etching of Stephen Malkoff's pen and ink of the General Sherman giant sequoia, and Clyde Butcher's ethereal ghost orchid.

Classic fine artworks include Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, daVinci, Modigliani, Degas, and Cezanne.

The goal of the "cool" campaign is to help the environment while adding life to an everyday appliance. AMERICAN FORESTS will plant 10 trees per refrigerator in one of its ecosystem restoration projects, making these the first-ever carbon positive refrigerators on the market.

Danby Products president Brent Duke envisions the refrigerators for "the apartment dweller, the college dorm room, the entertainment center and game room. People are excited about adding fine art to their personal environment and caring for our collective environment at the same time." Danby Products Ltd. has been based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, since 1947. To learn more about Danby Art Coolers_, visit www.danbyartcoolers.