Ernest’s Cardboard Drum Kit Is a Resounding Success

At Ernest Packaging Solutions, we march to the beat of our own drum. Back in 2014 we showed the world what packaging is truly capable of by crafting a cardboard snowboard along with our friends at Signal Snowboards. Signal’s founders Dave Lee and Marc Wierenga have been constant allies as we strive to conquer the next packaging challenge, and this time around we wanted to try the impossible.

Our Cardboard Chaos Fender Stratocaster showed the music world that cardboard can shred with the best of ‘em… now welcome to the stage our drum kit made entirely out of cardboard!

Listen, we hear you. How on earth could cardboard ever hope to stand up to a beating from a drummer? For the answer, we turn to Mike Martinez, director of design solutions and one of the creative minds behind our Cardboard Chaos drum kit.

“Cardboard gets a surprising amount of strength from its flutes,” explains Mike. “The flutes act like sturdy columns that help cardboard stand up to pressure… like when you’re wailing on it with drumsticks.”

After some initial testing, we knew the impossible could become reality all thanks to cardboard. Mike and his team gave the drum kit a deep, wood-like finish so it can rock your ears and your eyes, too. “The iteration process took over a year, and there were a lot of failures along the way,” explains Mike. “But every failure gets you closer to a more elegant solution. That’s Cardboard Chaos, baby!”

Could our beauty sound as good as it looks? You betcha, thanks to Sahir Hanif (a.k.a. Sy) the expert craftsman and founder at Masters of Maple. Affixing a drum head and assembling the instrument is usually a machine process, but Sy wanted to give the cardboard drum kit some extra love. He did the whole process by hand — drilling, sanding and shaping until the kit was ready for the spotlight.

To test the true mettle of every packaging solution, you have to put it through its paces in the real world. Who better to test out a one-of-a-kind cardboard drum kit than a legendary musician? If Sy at Masters of Maple gave the drum its voice, this rockstar really made it sing… but you’ll have to check out our video to see the show!

“Nobody could do this,” our rockstar said. “But you guys really did it!” That’s what Cardboard Chaos is all about: taking on the impossible to show just how far packaging can go. Our cardboard guitar set the stage, and our cardboard drum has the crowd cheering for an encore. What do you think we have in store for the next act? You’ll have to wait until the curtain rises on the next Cardboard Chaos!