Pretty Little Green Things

Archive for April, 2011

I’ve been in an industrial furniture mood lately.  Something about the raw and textured metal together with beautiful wood full of character.  That combined with it’s practical beginnings gives each piece such history and interest.  While looking around for a work project, I stumbled on the fabulous collection of industrial chic furniture from Interieurs.  They have a particularly good collection so I wanted to post a few of my favorites.  Make sure to check out their entire antique collection online.

Photos from Interieurs

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m a terrible gardner.  Every spring I pretend that this is the year I will get my act together and grow herbs in a box by the window.  It doesn’t usually happen, although in my defense, our apartment gets almost no direct sunlight (gotta love Manhattan) so growing plants is especially challenging.  Maybe if I had one of the sleek pots from Urban Nature, my plants and I might be a little bit more inspired to coexist.  I’m loving the modern shapes and finishes – they’re the perfect compliment to the organic shapes of the plants.  And best of all, they’re also eco-friendly.  Made from aluminum & steel from 80% recycled material, these planters are durable and made to last a lifetime.  They’re also powder coated (an eco-friendly finish) and heaven forbid if you ever did want to get rid of them, they’re also recyclable.  I don’t know about you, but I’m getting out the gardening trowel!

Photos from Urban Nature

I have a little known secret love of maps – world maps, state maps, city maps, you name it and I love looking at it.  Maybe it’s the promise of far off adventure and seeing new amazing things.  Or maybe it’s because I just like knowing where I am and where I’m going.  Whatever the reason, I could spend all day looking at maps.  So when I saw this beautiful artwork from Shannon Rankin, created out of maps, I was instantly hooked.  Each piece is absolutely dynamic and interesting in its own right.  Add to that a map, and well, you have my perfect art form.  I chose a few of my favorite pieces from Shannon’s online portfolio to show you, but head on over to her website to see her full portfolio.  Happy travels!

Photos from Shannon Rankin

I was at the New York Design Center last week and took the opportunity to wander through the brand new 1stdibs showroom on the 10th floor.  For those of you who don’t know what 1stdibs is, it’s an online shopping destination for one of a kind vintage pieces.  It started out as a way to connect the numerous antique furniture galleries to potential clients and has since transformed into a marvelous curated website of all things beautiful.  You can find anything from the aforementioned furniture to home accessories, jewelry and clothing, all of which is valuable and most of which is vintage.  1stdibs’ latest transition has been from an online shop to a real showroom full of real pieces.  Each gallery owner maintains their own booth, but patrons can come wander the aisles and see everything in person.  Such an important thing when the piece you’re buying is, say, $30,000.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the showroom.  I mean maintaining a website is one thing, but an enormous showroom full of one-of-a-kind furniture is quite another.  It looks like it’s not quite complete (they were painting the entry area), but there’s plenty of furniture to spend hours wandering and dreaming.  I took a few (okay, a lot) of pictures to show you what 1stdibs in person is all about.  Enjoy!

It’s that time of year again…Earth Day!  There are tons of great events happening throughout the country so get out there and get involved.  Earth Day Network has put together a Billion Acts of Green website where you can post your green goals as well as search for Earth Day events going on in your neighborhood.

But Earth Day is really all about examining your habits and figuring out ways to make a change for the better.  It’s not just a day, but a commitment to ourselves, our families, our country and our planet.  So what can we do in our own lives to make the world just a little bit greener?  If you’re like me (and you probably are), there’s already a lot that you do in your daily routine that’s eco-friendly.  I recycle, turn off lights, use CFLs and walk to work.  So I started thinking about what I could add to this routine.  I’m sharing a few of my own goals to get the conversation started.

• We already shop at Whole Foods and our local farmer’s market, but this spring and summer I’m going to make more of an effort to buy both locally grown and in-season produce.
• This is one I always forget about: unplug as many appliances and chargers as I can after I’m done using them.
• I’ve been seeing more and more clothing retailers moving to organic fabrics (case in point, H&M has a “Conscious Collection” now), so if I’m not buying vintage, I’m going to try to stick to organic clothing.
• One of the things I’ve found most frustrating about working in New York City, is the lack of recycling programs in office buildings.  If you ask, they say the garbage is sorted, but I don’t believe them.  Not only that, what if someone puts paper or a soda can in a non-clear bag?  How would the sorter ever know?  So my goal is to start a recycling program in my own office and maybe even the whole building.

What are your Earth Day goals?  Leave a comment below and let’s build on each others’ ideas.  Happy Earth Day!

Continuing on the theme of cement this week, I had to show you this amazing concrete late from Doreen Westphal.  It’s made from ultra high performance concrete and suspended from steel cable.  I really love the juxtaposition of the rough texture against the soft feminine lace pattern.  It something you wouldn’t expect, which is what makes it so interesting.  Doreen is the master of interesting objects made out of concrete so make sure to pop over to her site too to take a peek.

Photos from Doreen Westphal

Encaustic cement tile, also known as Mission tile, Moroccan cement tile or Cuban tile, is a brightly colored and intricately patterned tile that has been used as a flooring material as far back as the Victorian Age.  It’s made in layers out of natural materials such as portland cement, white marble dust and natural pigments, none of which emit toxins.  The hydraulic press and air-drying method used to produce these cement tiles uses less energy than the traditional ceramic tile firing technique.  Plus with each country claiming this beautiful tile for its own, you can probably guess that there’s a huge variety of traditional patterns and colors.  And now with a few companies cropping up dedicated to a modern take on the traditional cement tile, there are lots of pattern and color options for pretty much every application you can think of.  I’ve gathered a bunch of installation shots so you can see the variety of colors and patterns as well as the variety of ways it can be used.  Enjoy!

Ashley Hicks’ home in Oxfordshire

Residential project from Commune Design

Elle Decor

Elle Decor

Installation shot from Mosaic del Sur

A more traditional installation shot from Mosaic del Sur

Modern tiles from Popham Design

Popham Design

Popham Design

Celine from Pure Green Magazine is gearing up for an awesome re-launch of the magazine very soon.  And let me tell you, it’s going to be the best issue yet.  (Are you excited yet?)  In the meantime, she’s introducing her readers to all her lovely contributors.  Today was my day to be highlighted on her blog, so head over to Pure Green to learn more about me.

I’m fascinated with the idea of eco-friendly art.  I mean, buying one-of-a-kind handmade pieces that you’ll keep forever are already low on the carbon footprint-o-meter.  But adding recycled bits or non-toxic inks just makes it that much better.  So when I saw these gorgeous pieces from Amy Genser, I knew she was on to something really special.  Amy is a graphic designer by training but when she found papermaking, it was love at first pulp.  Her artwork is made by cutting, rolling and layering one colored recycled paper at a time to create an almost three dimensional piece with real depth.  Some of her artworks look like topographic maps, others look like textured quilts and still others look like vines & plants entwined on the canvas.  See what you will in these works of art, I’ll just stick with “beautiful.”  Amy has shared a few pictures with us, but there are plenty more online on her portfolio so take a peek here.  She will also be featured on AHAlife on April 14, so you can check there as well to get your hands on one of Amy’s pieces.

One of my favorites, as seen from the front….

and the side.  You really have to see it from both sides to experience the depth of these pieces.

Photos from Amy Genser

For me, there are a few retailers out there that absolutely define luxury.  One of the most understated and beautiful of those is D. Bryant Archie Textiles.  Her pillows and blankets are absolutely chic and always made of the finest wool, baby alpaca or linen sourced from around the world.  D. Bryant’s latest limited edition collection includes beautiful vintage fabrics from Morocco, Uzbekistan & Japan.  I took a ton of pictures at the AD Home Show so you could see a range of her products, and I’ve included some shots from her catalog as well.  As always you can purchase D’s products online or at a store near you.  And on Monday, her beautiful pillows will be featured on the Foundary where you’ll be able to purchase one for yourself at 50-60% off retail, so head over and sign up so you can get in on the sale!

I’m obsessed with this new limited edition sparkly pillow line, made from vintage fabrics.

Baby alpaca on the left and ikat on the right.

Here’s another sparkly vintage pillow with ikat & wool pillows behind.

An assortment of pillows from the AD Home Show.  The one in front is a vintage Japanese fabric.

This picture is from the online catalog.  Such beautiful colors and pattern.

Photos from D. Bryant Archie Textiles and Petra Boykoff