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!

botany factory terrariums: kate goldman macdonald

Botany Factory is a San Francisco based studio whose mission is to bring greenery to small, indoor spaces. Much like creating a ship in a bottle, terrarium building takes a small, dexterous hand, a collection of minute tools and a keen interest in petite plant life and clever composition.

A plant enthusiast from the start, Katie Goldman Macdonald began her early days accompanying her banjo playing, botanist father on wildflower classification walks through the woods. Ever after, she has nurtured a growing desire to have dirt on her hands and flowers in her hair. She is the creator, designer and owner of Botany Factory. She works with Oakland based glass artist, Evan Kolker, to have her designs brought to life. All of her hand blown forms are organically shaped, playful and one of a kind.

Katie is obsessed with succulents and has turned her apartment into a living, breathing life sized terrarium. She likes nothing better than to pore over her succulent and cactus encyclopedia researching which specimens she will next seek out. Straight from her little Mission based studio to you, her creations are the perfect way to bring a little of the great outdoors inside.

bottle houses: building with recyclables

Bottle Houses seem to be primarily an American phenomena, but they are catching on around the world as a very low cost building material. Here are some beautiful takes on incorporating the opaque material.
More links:
Bottle Houses around the US.
Bottle Houses on Prince Edward Island
Fractal Bottle House
Charles Stagg
Vitreosity

sanctuary: sustainable design magazine

Sanctuary Design Magazine focuses solely on sustainable design unlike Dwell and Azure that cover stories about sustainability occasionally. Australia's Sanctuary uses the motto "Sustainable Living with Style". The editors Verity Campbell and Michael Day have made green their mission: it is published by the non-profit Alternative Technology Association. Reminds me a little of....HauteNature! We applaud them.

kymo: reassembled mashup rugs

The Mashup rugs by Kymo modernize oriental carpets by upcycling worn ones, reassembling them in a gorgeous compilation with a modern aesthetic. The rugs designed by Eva Langhans and Thomas Follner, remix these old raw materials, in new color coordinated patchworks. They retain the delicateness of traditional oriental carpets, but update the look for a contemporary high end product. The Mashup rugs are available in five standard sizes and six different color schemes. Carpets can also be made to order in custom sizes, shapes and color schemes.