Pretty Little Green Things

Archive for January, 2011

Yesterday I showed you my eco-friendly picks from “At Home” at Pier 94.  After a few hours wandering the aisles over there, I hopped on the shuttle bus and headed down to the Javits Center to see what was going on.  I was really happy with the emphasis on green design, from a huge display of products outside of the show halls to tons of vendors adding their voice to the movement.  But I’ll quit blabbing and get to what you undoubtedly want to see.  The goods!

I’ve shown you Alexandra Ferguson‘s pillows before, but it was great to see the new collection and meet her in person.  I’m loving the custom monogram options (on the bottom shelf) as well as the comic strip inspired pillows on the top shelf.  The covers are made from recycled felt from plastic bottles and are oh so soft.

I must really be a New Yorker because I’d defend our water supply to the end.  But that doesn’t mean we don’t still filter our water before drinking.  I mean, you can never be too safe, right?  But if we had one of these beautiful Ovopur filtration systems from Aquaovo, I wouldn’t even think of hiding the ugly plastic pitcher in the fridge.  Plus not only are these pitcher super chic, the technology Aquaovo uses is amazing and very eco-friendly.  Take that disposable water bottles!

I’ve always been a fan of Bambu’s kitchen products since they’re made from bamboo, a rapidly renewable resource.  It was great to see their new products, especially since they’ve really branched out into fun bright colors.  My favorites were the cork “fabric” that they turned into flexible bowls (top pic), bright colored bowls made from coconut husks (middle pic) and cutting boards with bright edges (bottom pic).

I have also written about eco-friendly ventless fireplaces before, but I was loving the small tabletop versions from Brasa.  They have a few different models for sale, but the one above totally caught my eye.  Their fires burn clean with bioethanol, otherwise known as denatured ethananol.  And of course look chic while being green!

Canvas is one of my absolutely favorite store in NYC so of course I spent a little time (okay a lot of time) in their booth looking at their products.  How fun are those wool placemats (bottom left)?  And of course the low-fire ceramic dishware (on the right) is just gorgeous.

It was wonderful to meet Christen Maxwell and see her gorgeous products in person.  She is just as lovely as her pillows.  The new patterns & colors are wonderful as are the laminated plates (off to the left of the photo).  The linen fabric is hand-screened and the pillows are handmade all in the United States.

I was so happy to see that one of my favorite blogs has branched out into home goods.  Coco from the ever popular Cococozy is now selling chic blankets, pillows and curtains in a range of gorgeous colors.  Coco is such a sweetheart and it was wonderful to meet her in person (she’s on the left).  I wish I had taken a better picture of her & her booth, but it was the end of a full day.

Even though I’m a fan of Bambu, I was happy to see another vendor enter the bamboo kitchen product arena.  Core Bamboo sells beautiful bowls (like those shown here), cutting boards, utensils, plates and more, all made out rapidly renewable resources.  I really loved their color selection, which is dyed with cashew trees and is totally eco-friendly.

I have mentioned Ecojot before because I love their collection of bright colored whimsical notebooks & calendars.  (They even gave me a little notepad of my own because I was so excited to meet them!)  I was happy to see that they’ve branched out into a men’s line of notebooks too (pic on the bottom shows one of their styles/colors), although I liked them so much I would rather get one for me instead.  Their products are made out of 100% recycled paper and the company even donates a notebook to a child in need with every purchase of a 5×7 journal.  Now that’s eco-consciousness!

You’ve probably heard me mention Hammocks & High Tea before since I’m such a huge fan and Karen is such a sweetheart.  She’s branched out into a line of Dopp kits & bags to add to her ever popular tea towels, drawer liners and pillows.  And I loved seeing the new fabrics in person – although I can tell you my picture definitely doesn’t do them justice!

Something about these eco-friendly wool blankets from Pendleton Home Collection brought me back to my camping days.  I could definitely see wrapping myself up in one of these to cuddle with on the sofa.  They make all of their blankets out of wool (an eco-friendly fiber to being with), but the ones stacked in this picture are extra green because they’re made out of eco-wise wool, a Cradle to Cradle certified fiber.

Just look at how beautiful and organic these wood bowls handmade by Spencer Peterman are.  I love that he doesn’t finish the edges so you can really feel the quality and character of the wood.  He also makes cutting boards and salt & pepper grinders (you can see them on the left of the picture).  All of their products are made from fallen trees gathered from friends, neighbors and fellow townspeople in Massachusetts.  What a way to bring together a community!

I have to tell you that I have a bit of a soft spot in my heart for Rag & Bone Bindery.  I used one of their photo albums as a guest book for our wedding where we stuck in Polaroid shots of our guests.  My pattern isn’t available anymore, but they had tons of new and beautiful colors and sizes on display.  Plus it was wonderful to meet the owners in person and tell them how much I love their products.  The paper and covers of each album is made from recycled paper and are meant to last a lifetime (among other green creds).

Last but absolutely not least, I met the lovely owners of Three by Three.  They make something I’ve never seen before or even thought about – eco-friendly dry erase boards.  (Okay, okay not totally true since I have written about dry erase paint, but still).  The boards are made out of bamboo and coated with an eco-friendly gloss.  In addition to the large & small wall boards you see here, they also sell dry erase mail slots and to-do boards.  How smart!

So that’s it for your peek into the eco-friendly version of the New York Gift Fair.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.  Leave a comment below and let me know which vendor is your favorite!

I want to thank those of you who nominated Pretty Little Green Things for a Green Home Design Homie.  I could not be more excited and honored to be part of such an amazing group of eco bloggers.  But the contest isn’t over yet – now it’s time for the voting round.  Pretty pretty please take a few moments out of your day to head over to re-nest to vote for your favorite green blog (me!). With competition this steep I need ALL your help and votes to win.  This time no comments are necessary, just answer the survey.  Again, if you haven’t registered for any of the Apartment Therapy sites, you’ll have to take a moment to do that.

Voting is now open and will remain open until February 3, 6pm EST.  Click on the image above or here to jump to the Homies survey.  Now go vote!

I spent an inspiring and exhausting day walking around the New York International Gift Fair today.  The NYIGF is not just a show full of gifts – all sorts of products are on display for retailers to order for their stores.  I went to see furniture, lighting, decorative cushions, tabletop goods, and other accessories, but baby products, jewelry, fragrances, stationary and more are available.  This show is so large that it fills up the entire Javits Center and spills over to Pier 94 and 92 in New York City.  Walking the aisles of beautiful offerings always makes me want to open up a retail shop just so I’ll have an excuse to buy all the home goods and accessories on display.  But as that is not going to happen anytime soon, I’ll just have to stick to walking around and taking pictures and drooling.

What I specifically went looking for were eco-friendly products and vendors.  My first stop was Pier 94, which houses the “At Home” section of the show.  My next stop was the Javits Center, but you’ll have to wait till tomorrow to see my picks from there.

One thing I did notice at Pier 94 was the prevalence of vintage design.  While a lot of these products weren’t truly vintage, it was great to see it as a theme.  Hopefully it will convince more people to buy used!  The vendors above are Blue Ocean Traders, Vagabond Vintage & Peddlers Home Design.

These gorgeous tables are handmade by Brian Foster from Groundwork.  The tabletops and bases are completely interchangeable – the website is just a jumping off point for a final design.  And you can also find Groundwork furniture at ABC Home on the 2nd Floor if you want to take a look in person. I have to say my pictures don’t do the beautiful materials he uses justice, but you get the idea.

Next, I came upon Audrey and her lovely team from Audrey Sterk Design.  They make eco-friendly wallpaper, fabric, floor coverings, furniture and more from her colorful and graphic patterns.  Each one comes in a range of colors or is totally customizable according to the Pantone fan deck.  They even took a picture of me for their ‘Smiles’ board, so if you stop by make sure to take a peek at my mug!

At Vagabond Vintage, I totally fell in love with these quilts made from recycled saris.  They are super soft and oh so colorful.

Dryads Home & Garden makes really interesting mirrors frames out of recycled ceiling tin, reclaimed wood or used corrugated metal.  I love how they mix different colors, textures and patterns together for a very unique look.

I next visited the always lovely Stacy from Dunes and Duchess.  I’m absolutely in love with her beautiful candelabras and was so happy to see that she’s branched out to bright lacquered colors (like this gorgeous blue shown here), lamps, sconces and mirrors.  All of their products are handmade in New York.  Plus Stacy is an absolute joy to follow on Twitter.

You can probably guess that I love antique maps and prints.  The texture and history of these pieces is just something you can’t get with new, so I was happy to stumble upon Foreign Affair.  They have a great selection of vintage maps that I could have stopped and rifled through all day.

Okay, I didn’t totally research the whole story on these really cool yarn balls, but they looked like the string was woven out of fabric remnants.  I really loved the variated colors and oversized scale of these pieces.  They come from Go Home, which was another home accessory vendor rocking the vintage vibe.

Jamie Young always has a beautiful collection of lighting and lamps so I was so excited to hear that many of these same products are made from renewable materials.  They use everything from cork and burlap for lampshades (pictured on the left) and recycled glass (left) and driftwood for the bases (right).

While the gorgeous pillows from Kevin O’Brien Studio aren’t necessarily green, their waste policy totally is.  Instead of throwing away all the remnant pieces of fabric from the production process, they fashion those leftovers into the most adorable stuffed animals.  I can’t wait to have an excuse to buy a few of these as gifts!

Made Goods is another one of those booths where I wanted to buy everything in sight.  Don’t worry, I didn’t.  But I was very happy to see that they have quite a few products made from renewable or recycled materials.  The mirror frame on the left is made from rapidly renewable abaca, the stool in the center is made from recycled saris (are you seeing a theme here?) and the mirror on the right is made from railroad ties (if you look really close, you can see me taking that picture!)

How beautiful is that rug hanging in the Patrick Charles booth?  All of his products are made from carpet remnants and are totally gorgeous.  I was loving the brightly dyed vintage rugs as well as the tiny stools upholstered in antique kilims.  I purposely not showing you pictures of everything in the booth so I can save something for a later post.  Stay tuned…

And lastly, but certainly not least this is Tempo.  The colors, textures and luminescence of these glass pendants were just beautiful.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more eco-chic goods from the Javits Center.  Stay tuned…

I had a different post planned for today, but a good friend just left New York to move back to London, and my previous subject just didn’t seem to fit my mood.  So in honor of her, I put together a mood board of iconic British pieces to help her feel right at home when she lands at Heathrow.  Okay, maybe it wasn’t totally for her (it was for you too!), but she was definitely the inspiration.  Everything below is eco-friendly in some capacity – either vintage, recycled or handmade.  In fact, the Brits are actually quite eco conscious so the combination of English cultural symbols and green design just seemed to fit all around.

London is calling…and it’s green.

1. Keep Calm and Carry On Canvas Tote 2. Recycled Union Jack Pillows 3. English Motoring Helmet 4. Vintage map of England 5. Skyline of London wall sticker 6. Antique London Souvenir Tin Box 7. Embroidered Recycled Wool Union Jack Pillow 8. Vintage Hammersley Bone China Tea Service 9. Queen Elizabeth Felt Cushion 10. Red Telephone Box

I was flipping through the new issue of Interiors magazine yesterday and came upon this gorgeous ski house in Sugar Bowl, CA.  There wasn’t information on whether or not it had any green features, so I’m not sure how eco-friendly the construction actually was.  But it is such a beautiful home with lots of natural wood and organic textures that this type of project could easily be done in a sustainable way.  And with a view like that, how could you not be inspired to live nature inspired life?  Oh and did I mention you can just ski on out of this house onto the slopes?  Happy snow day everyone and enjoy!

Can you imagine arriving here after a long day on the slopes?  Heaven.

Photos from Interiors and taken by Matthew Millman

For all of you throw pillow fans out there, I’ve got some eye candy for you today.  If you’re like me, you understand how wonderful that little puffy thing sitting on your sofa truly is.  I mean, just an 18″ x 18″ square can really transform a room with a new pop of color, texture or pattern.  And all without fear of commitment (just make sure when you’re done with it, you donate that pillow cover, and don’t, *gasp* throw it away).

Now I normally look through quite a lot of throw pillows, but when I saw the latest collection from Fabricadabra, it definitely stopped me in my tracks.  I mean, what’s not to love?  They’re beautiful, unique, colorful, fun and above all, eco-friendly.  For those of you who don’t know about Fabricadabra, this awesome company is run by Donna Halloran, a textile industry pro.  All of the fabrics she uses are sustainably sourced and produced, and include organic, handmade and fair-trade options.  In addition, Fabricadabra also sells eco-friendly pillow inserts, which is actually something I don’t see very often, even from green retailers.  Seems like a no-brainer to me, but I digress.

I found it impossible to stick to just one or two pillows to show, so instead I decided to pick a whole bunch and organize them in rainbow order.  So happy Wednesday and enjoy!

Cotton batik crackle pillow cover; Vintage suzani pillow cover

Silk/cotton ikat pillow; Cheeky ikat print on organic cotton

Silk/cotton ikat pillow cover in orange; Dutch wax printed batik cotton pillow cover

Silk/cotton ikat pillow cover; Untreated cotton batik crackle cloth pillow cover

African wax printed cotton sheeting pillow cover; Silk/cotton ikat pillow cover

Tie-dye on organic cotton jersey pillow cover; Silk/cotton ikat pillow cover

Silk/cotton ikat pillow cover in purple; Dutch wax printed/batik pillow cover

Cotton mud cloth pillow cover; Silk/cotton ikat pillow cover in charcoal

Photos from Fabricadabra

I’m thrilled to introduce you to my very first guest blogger, Chanee from Melongings.  Chanee is an eco-conscious design blogger who attempts to balance the subjective need for beauty, art and comfort in her living spaces with the ecological and health impacts of modern consumption.  She embraces the principles of slow design by offering her readers daily decor inspiration and eco-friendly home decorating ideas for a healthy lifestyle.  Chanee loves to create inspiration boards of vintage and sustainably-designed pieces, so I asked her to create one just for us. –Petra

I’ve been looking for the perfect lounge chair for our home.  I only need one, but it has to be unique, comfortable, not too big and above all, green.  I haven’t yet found my perfect chair, but while I was searching, I came across this beautiful and artful reclaimed furniture from Amsterdam based Swarm.  Everything is made by founder Leslie Oschmann, who grew up helping her carpenter father in his shop.  She is now using her skills to transform found objects into beautiful and unique pieces.  Each one is truly a work of art complete with a ton of character.  Take a peek for yourself.

These are the chairs that first drew me in.  The artwork on the front and back of each one is covered with found canvases making them truly a piece of art.

And then of course she repeats the process on other types of furniture.  If I had that table, I’d never use a tablecloth.  Why cover up the beautiful art with fabric?  Stains from dinner parties would give this piece even more character and beauty.

This buffet almost looks cross stitched.  I wonder if it actually is.  And I love that she didn’t do the same thing on either side of the furniture piece giving it an asymmetrical look.

This is one of my favorites.  Leslie also uses the same art canvases to make bags.  I would love to head off to the farmers market with one of these bags in tow.

Leslie has also been experimenting with the form of a chair by replacing various component parts for her Altered Ego Chair series.  She says that the juxtaposition of chair parts breathes new life into what a chair can look like and how it functions.  I couldn’t agree more.  And do you see that hook on the side?  As a girl who always has a perpetually large purse in tow, I think all dining chairs should come fitted with one of these.  Don’t you agree?

Here’s another Altered Ego Chair version.

Photos from Swarm

A few months ago when we were doing our big apartment renovation, you may remember my disappointment over the realities of eco-friendly construction in New York City.  In my contractor’s defense, I don’t think their un-sustainable work was due to a lack of caring, just a lack of green knowledge, but I digress.  One of the hardest things to see was watching them remove our old molding and doors, knowing they were destined for the landfill.  While these things were way too trashed for anyone to actually want, it’s nice to know that there are other options out there instead of a direct line to the trash heap.  Why demolish a home, when you can deconstruct it instead?  And that’s where places like the ReBuilding Center comes in.

Here’s the deal: a crew comes to your house and carefully disassembles what would have been demolished and thrown out.  Everything is then carted back to the warehouse for sorting and eventually reselling to be used in another house.  In fact, the ReBuilding Center can save up to 85% of a house from ending up in a landfill.  While you do have to pay for this service, just the tax deduction and knowledge that you’ve done the right thing makes it absolutely worth it.  There’s a really interesting time lapse video on the ReBuilding Center’s website of a home being deconstructed.  It almost looks like the house is disappearing!

The Rebuilding Center has tons of cool initiatives, donation information, classes & workshops and projects you can do at home on their website.  I won’t repeat them all here, so head on over for your daily dose of inspiration.

While some of you may call this process green and some of you may call it smart, I actually think that reusing the interesting construction elements makes your home feel like it has more character.  Even the newest houses can be totally unique and perfectly lived in.  I know I would love to take a peek at their stock!

If Oregon is a bit far for you, there are other options throughout the country for deconstruction services.  There’s Build It Green in New York and the ReUse People in California among many many others.  You also don’t have to deconstruct an entire house.  Projects can be as simple as having them pick up a few pieces to dismantling a kitchen or taking apart an entire barn like the picture below.

I’m going to leave you with a few additional pictures of what you can do with all this salvaged material.  A few reuse ideas from the ReBuilding Center’s Flicker page, care of Jonas Design & Photography.

Photos from the ReBuilding Center

No, I’m not channelling Coolio.  I’m actually talking about home decor blogs.  For the last few years, Apartment Therapy has sponsored an award competition for the best shelter blogs out there.  As voted by blog readers, the winners in each category receive what they call a Homie.  As Apartment Therapy puts it, “It’s not so much a competition as a celebration of the richness and awesomeness of shelter bloggers around the world.”  So this is my absolutely shameless plug to nominate Pretty Little Green Things in the category of Best Green Home Blog of 2011.

All of the instructions and information are on their site, so I won’t bore you by repeating it all here.  Click on the Homies image above, scroll to the bottom of the page and add a comment with my blog name & url.  Unfortunately if you’re not a registered member of Apartment Therapy, you’ll have to sign up, but it’s super quick (and totally worth it).  For you copy & paste fans out there, I’ll make it easy for you:

Name: Pretty Little Green Things

URL: http://www.prettylittlegreenthings.com

If I do get nominated (fingers crossed), there will be more voting rounds, so expect more pleading from my end before February 4.  I will return to your regularly scheduled blog posts tomorrow.  Thank you all for being the best blog readers out there!