haute nature has moved.... to hautenature.com

HauteNature.com is live, please update your bookmarks to the new address HauteNature.com.

Thanks so much for all the love and support since August 2006!

straw bale architecture: sustainable buildings

Building with straw bales is a sustainable renewable method of building green. Straw-bale construction has some advantages over conventional building systems because of the renewable nature of straw, its cost, easy availability, and its high insulation value. Don't forget to watch the second video here.

new blog design for haute nature

HAUTE NEWS FLASH!

While it may not appear much is happening in the way of blog posts here at HauteNature, a much more beautiful site is about to go live at HauteNature.com --in a week, there will be a treasure trove of recycled new posts awaiting your readership. This logo picture is just a sneak peek of the new green goodness that awaits.

There is a wonderful team that is updating the blog and giving it a more modern and professional aesthetic, they are masters! (I created this clunky hack mishmash that you currently see). Haute Nature will be merging to a more customized, easy to use platform--it will be an all around overhaul and face lift for this green & eco guide.

In the upcoming weeks if there are any bugs that you notice on the new site, just send me an email and I will scurry to fix them. Plus I love feedback, so tell me how you like the new one--leave comments, I hope you visit HauteNature.com for your daily eco fix.

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog, we want to let you know that the new site has capabilities of sponsorship ad space in you would like to market your business with us, we would be honored to have you. Details on the new site.

Thanks so much for all the love and support since August 2006!

I will announce when HauteNature.com finally goes live!!! and there will be grand re-opening giveaways--so stay tuned!

maybe design: sitbag suitcase chair

Maybe Design in Vienna and Istanbul is a mulidisciplinary art practice for product design architecture graphic design and design engineering. Bogac Simsir, Bora Akcay, Ener Eren & Erdem Akan, partners of Maybe Design, say that "Given and infinite time and budget, everyone can be theoretically creative, real creativity is to acheive the goals in limited time and within the limited budgets." Couldn't agree more.

recycled art: leo sewell sculptures

In the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, I was able to see two of Leo Sewell's large scale sculptures in person. Made from bits of every this and that, the animals are meticulously assembled with each piece arranged so that it fits exactly into place. They are like a 3D version of the I-Spy books for children and one could stare at them for hours calling out each new object they spot. We applaud your patience and craftsmanship Leo!

re-collect: repurposed inner tube bags

Re-Collect from Brighton UK hand sews bags with an industrial chic aesthetic. Their offerings include messengers, handbags, laptop sleeves, etc. The line has a very modern look to recycled inner tubes, bike treads and seat belts. Designer Katcha Bilek even teaches workshops to teach anyone how to turn unwanted items into eco fashion!

abteil shop: recycled soccer handbags

Abteil Design's 'Ball Bag' was presented at the Council for Sustainability in Berlin. Some repurposed design works so well that the new aesthetic created by reuse seems as if it was the original intention.

neumatica: recycled inner tube bags

Argentinian company Neumatica Net makes the most fabulous looking bags out of recycled rubber inner tubes. Not only are they creating a lovely looking product, the tubes take more than 500 years to decompose. Neumatica bags are made using tubes from tires of any kind of vehicle, 100,000 tons of this material is disposed every year, in Argentina alone.

All rubber inner tubes begin plain and have no texture when new, but after being used, the heat of the tires transfers the design to them, so you will find multiple textures in Neumatica products.

sander lucas ontwerpen: remade design

Sander Lucas Ontwerpen, a graduate of Design Academy Eindhoven has a nice body of work focusing on recycling and upcycling objects turning them into more functional homewares.

nicholas jones: book sculptor

Bibliopath Nicholas Jones is a Melborne sculptor employing books as vessels designed to hold his folded sculptural creations. By stacking, folding, cutting, tearing, sewing and remodeling each book he turns the discarded cultural artifacts into noteworthy art.The beautiful repetition of the folded pages turns them into elegant compact sculptures.
Jones, intrigued by their history explains, "these books were conceived, born, loved, stored, discarded, found anew, studied, cut, folded and reborn".

aurelie tu: felt housewares

Aurelie Tu is an Industrial Designer originally from Canada. Having earned her practical ID work experience with Hauser in L.A. and Nike in Portland, she has branched out and created her own line of modular interlocking felt homewares. The Portland designer now works together with women at the YWCA in order to create these handmade felt pieces. Her line includes a pendant light and table runners made from the same interlocking materials.

studio shed: boulder colorado

Studio Shed is an ingenious little product manufactured here in Colorado to enhance backyard enjoyment. These tiny little modern sheds come in an array of finish options, can be put up in only one day (the company has nationwide installers) and they can add just the finish that your yard needs. Born out of a need for a less expensive shed than those previously on the market before them, the Studio Shed-ers created their modern offering. Use it as an office, studio, playroom, storage or whatever extra space you need. Some sizes will not even require a permit. I'll take two please!

jenny hurth: billboard repurposing

Jenny Hurth designes & hand sews these unique notebooks and beach bags in the San Francisco Bay Area from discarded vinyl signs and banners. The vinyl was originally printed for local trade shows, conventions, municipal or private advertising--she prevents them from going to the landfill. The practical recycled offerings are available online.

darcy miro: jewelry treasures

Darcy Miro's jewelry creations are created using casting methods with sterling silver or 18-karat gold.

Her pieces emerge from wax casts made from found materials, showing jagged surfaces, erosion, decomposition and decay. Each cuff resembles fragments of a tiny terrain, ocean reefs & shells washed up on the sand.

hapuku lodge: new zealand eco tourism

Hapuku Lodge in Kaikoura New Zealand is a luxury wilderness accommodation offering 5 contemporary treehouses. This unique rural experience includes use of the lodge lap pool, sauna & exercise room, and very nearby whale watching.

Designed by the owner's family who are architects and designers, the Hapuku has four addition spacious lodge suites and an Olive House Apartment. Situated within the landscaped grounds of a deer farm and olive grove, all rooms have views of Kaikoura's environment of mountains, fertile pastures, native bush and the Pacific Ocean. The lodge and accommodations are designed to complement the environment, featuring timbers and local stone in their construction and handcrafted furnishings in interior design. The dining room sources the freshest local ingredients, even growing some ingredients on site, with a large New Zealand wine list.

pasque flower: botanical identification

I hike quite frequently, so I will start a botanicals feature today to learn more and to share with you what I find. I saw this gorgeous furry blossom a week or so ago, a Pasque Flower.

From Wikipedia, "the Pasque Flower is a deciduous perennial that is found in short clumps in meadows and prairies of North America and Eurasia. The genus Pulsatilla includes about 30 species, many of which are valued for their finely-dissected leaves, solitary bell-shaped flowers, and plumed seed heads. The anthers are bright yellow and the purple bell consists of sepals.
In its tallgrass prairie habitat, it is one of the first plants to bloom in the spring, often before the late winter snows have thawed.

This genus is sometimes included as part of genus Anemone as subgenus Pulsatilla, and is also commonly known as the prairie crocus, wind flower, Easter Flower and meadow anemone. It also grows in limestone pastures in central and northern Europe and parts of Russia. It is found rarely and locally in southern England from where the Pasque / Parsk / Pask family takes its name.
Different varieties of the Pasque flower are the floral emblems of various territories. Pulsatilla vulgaris is the county flower for both Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. Pulsatilla hirsutissima is the state flower of South Dakota and the provincial flower of Manitoba.
Pasque refers to Easter (Passover) as the flower blooms around that time of year. "

trilby made: recycled leather cuffs

While browsing Etsy, I happened upon Trilby Made's recycled leather reversible cuffs just now. Swoon. Their open, lattice-like design makes a dramatic eco fashion statement. Plus its two in one, you can wear the cuff two ways and they have two colors.

happy earth day!

Happy Earth Day!

Make an effort to unplug today somehow--use less energy, buy locally, take a walk, ride your bike, do some gardening & clean up! But then try doing that more often all year long!

There is an endless list of ways you can help: Today you could recycle, plant a tree, give to an environmental non-profit program, spring clean and donate to a Salvation Army, start a compost pile, take the bus, change to energy efficient light bulbs, adopt a road and remove the trash, cook a vegetarian meal, make a call to a solar company to install photovoltaics on your home or buy a carbon offset if you are flying.

Become Vegetarian: meat production is responsible for around 18% of global CO2 emissions. 5,214 gallons of water are required to produce a single pound of beef, and the EPA estimates that more than 27,000 miles of US rivers have been polluted by livestock waste.

Stop using plastic from now on! Americans dispose of 10.5 million tons of plastic garbage every year, and about 8% of the world's annual oil production is used toward the creation of plastic products. A single plastic bottle can spend anywhere from 100 to 1000 years in a landfill.

But remember, earth day is everyday-this is our home.
Check out the EarthDay.org action center rallies, campaigns, arts & more!