Pretty Little Green Things

Archive for the ‘Products’ Category

Most of you are probably aware of Dwell Studio and their collection fun and colorful bedding, but did you know they’ve branched out to furniture?  Yup, it’s true.  They’ve got some great shapes upholstered in a variety of fabrics including some of their signature patterns and textures.  And even better, Dwell has incorporated some green elements too.  The upholstered pieces are made in the USA with kiln dried hardwood, certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and formaldehyde free glues.  I may be a bit biased about this collection because….one of these beds will soon be gracing our bedroom!  I saw these headboards a while ago and have been patiently waiting for them to come on the market (okay, okay, I’ve actually been quite indecisive and didn’t get my act together.  Whatever.)  The bed isn’t yet in our house yet, but I’ll post pictures when it is.  In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for Dwell Studio’s beautiful installation shots.

Can you guess which bed I chose?

Deco Bed upholstered in their signature Gate Brindle fabric

Sloane Bed.  I love the big polka dot bedding – it’s fun without being too cute.

Turner chair

Mayfair Bed

Ornate Bed.  I love the beautiful ikat bedding

The Cooper chair has a fun retro feel

The Sloane bed in another one of Dwell’s signature fabrics

Photos from Dwell Studio

As I said in yesterday’s post about ICFF, I spent most of the day Sunday walking up and down the aisles of the Javits Center in search of unique, beautiful and inventive eco-friendly products to show you.  If you didn’t take a look yet, you should pop over to that round-up as well.

I have to say, this Binary Chair from BRC Designs, is one of the most unique and inventive pieces I’ve ever seen.  There’s also an accompanying coffee table and both are made out of motherboards and computer rescued from old computers and printers with the upholstery on the chair meticulously woven from ribbon cable.  These pieces are conversation starters to say the least.  I for one could spend quite a while just looking at all the different components and trying to guess where they came from.

I’m not even sure how to describe Molo other than absolutely unique and interesting.  They make reusable partitions, furniture and lighting from their surprisingly strong kevlar & kraft paper accordion forms which are recyclable and reusable.  My pictures definitely don’t do their products justice so take a peek at Molo’s website to get an idea of what they do.

Newly launched pillow resource, MUMO is a socially and environmentally responsible company.  Their fabrics are sourced from developing nations and their products are made through fair trade labor.  But I’ll just call them unique and artistic, made out of everything from traditional textiles to interesting materials like fish skin.  If you wan to see more, take a peek at MUMO’s Facebook page.

If I had known about Fermob when I wrote my round-up of fun outdoor furniture, I would have included their brightly colored bistro chairs and tables.  Their products are made from recycled steel, coated with paint in a zero-release facility (which means that their sprays don’t become airborne and therefore don’t get out into the world) and made to last.  You might have even seen these chairs before since they’re scattered throughout Bryant Park and Times Square in New York City.

John Ross makes beautiful furniture and art out of reclaimed wood found near his home in Vancouver Island, BC.  Each one is formed from the inherent shape the wood takes when he finds it.  I really love this wall piece, but his furniture is just as gorgeous.

Made with LED lights, these newly debuted lamps from Cerno are sculptural but still fun.  They’re made with an integrated cooling technology so the bulbs don’t get hot, which you can cover, as they did with this lamp or keep out as a decorative element.  They also have an oversized floor lamp version which I love.

I really haven’t gotten into mattresses yet on the blog, but I thought these hi-tech and allergy free ones from Somnium were quite interesting.  From the TPEE springs (or Thermoplastic Polyether-Ester Elastomer) that contour to your body to the hypoallergenic covers and foam, my interest was definitely piqued.  I can tell you from sitting on it, the mattress was quite comfortable, although I suppose that’s not the most thorough test.  I’d love to try one out for a few nights or hear from someone else who has.

It was nice to finally meet Jason Phillips of the Phillips Collection in person.  If you remember back, I wrote about his beautiful organic furniture a while ago.  All of his wood furniture comes from sustainable source and is coated with water based, non-toxic finishes.  Take a look at the entire collection here.

You may have seen these CFLs before, but guess what, they’re finally available in the United States!  Plumen takes the regular compact fluorescent light bulb design and turns it on its head.  The shape is reminiscent of the filaments of an Edison bulb, but of course as a much more energy efficient version.  If you’ve been using incandescents only so you didn’t have to see the ugly shape of the CFL, this is your answer.  I’m almost tempted to buy a fixture with an exposed bulb just so I can try it out.

I spent most of a rainy Sunday wandering around the aisles of the Javits Center looking at wonderful eco-friendly products and talking with new vendors.  All in all, a great show.  I found it refreshing to see that instead of promoting themselves as green, many manufacturers have embraced sustainability as a best practice and just the way things should be done.  It seems like it’s finally more important to do good than to tell others that you’re doing good.  And I for one appreciate this evolution.

I’m posting half of my eco-friendly furniture, lighting and material finds today and the other half tomorrow, so enjoy today’s round-up and stay tuned for tomorrow.

Made of 70% recycled glass from beer bottles, this pendant light was designed by Ismael Quintero of iQenvironments (that’s him posing in front of his pendants!).  And even more impressive than the recycled content is his mission.  Ismael was inspired to create this light after finding a fire hydrant lid on Wall Street after September 11.  In fact, a portion of his proceeds will go to the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

One of my recurring favorites – Eskayel.  Shanan Campanaro’s artistic wallpaper has now been extended to fabric, pillows and even woven baskets.  I recently wrote a post about their beautiful collection, although now seeing the new introductions, I’m due for an update.

I included Loll Designs in the Fun Outdoor Furniture roundup from a few days ago, but now that I’ve seen a few of their latest features in person, I have a bit of an amendment.  What I didn’t tell you about their chairs, is that in addition to the fun colors, they also have a bottle opener bolted right to the chair.  Yup, that’s right – no need to go searching for an opener during a party (it’s the little silver square at the top of the picture on the left).  Their other fun item is this fire pit that says, “Do not place on hot fire ring! Duh!”  I mean, if you need an explanation, you probably shouldn’t be using it, right?

Vervano is a new furniture company to me, but their quality was top notch.  I was really loving the faceted design of the desk (picture on left), as well as the ottoman with storage (bottom right) and desk that looked like it had a floating top (top right).  All of their pieces are made in the United states with sustainably harvested wood, plant-based foams and low-VOC finishes.

I’m a sucker for a cool desk lamp, so I was loving this bright orange lacquered one from Koncept.  All of their lamps are made with LED lights, a very efficient light source and are super functional, easy to used and fun.

Caba Company makes beautiful wallpaper out of hand pounded bark.  Because they’re using natural materials, the texture and patterns are absolutely unique, organic and always eco-friendly.    I love that they also mix in fun colors with the naturals for a modern twist on a traditional technique.

John Houshmand has been making gorgeous hi-end furniture from reclaimed sources for quite a while now.  The only problem for the common person (like you & me) is that his pieces are unique and custom and therefore beyond my budget.  But no longer.  John has teamed up with Jack Donenfeld of Simplemente Madera Group to create JH2 OneTreeHome and bring his design to the masses.  And I for one am excited about it.

I’ve seen plenty of pin-up boards in my day and while I’m still a fan of the fabric wrapped versions, I’m really loving this Baroque framed version from MIO.  Made of 100% granulated cork, a by-product of the wine industry, this tack board is not only fun & cheeky, it’s also eco-friendly.

Last but certainly not least is Manulution, a Bosnian furniture company that started out in 1927 as a source of hand carved pieces.  Even though they’ve since evolved to contemporary shapes, Manulution has remained true to their roots by using traditional techniques to create moden carved details.  As always, you can still find traditional Bosnian pieces too if that’s the sort of thing you’re looking for.

Last fall I showed you a really cool model home at the W Hollywood Residences, a LEED Silver building in the heart of Los Angeles.  If you remember back, towards the bottom of the post, I included a picture of the master bathroom complete with a bunch of interesting wood branch hooks (If you don’t remember, what are you waiting for?  Go, refresh you memory here.  I’ll wait…  Okay, now you remember?  Great, let’s move on). At the time I had no idea where they were from but loved them.  Well I guess someone was looking out for me because the maker of these same hooks not only reached out to me, but left a comment on the blog.  So now that I know who made them, I wanted to make sure you did too.

Live Wire Farm is a family owned business out of Jacksonville, Vermont and the creator of not only those chic branch hooks, but a line of beautiful wood spoons, rings and candle holders.  In fact, the wood is where it all starts.  Live Wire Farm takes the scraps from firewood harvesting, pieces that would otherwise be thrown back into the woods, and repurposes them into usable products.  It goes without saying, but every spoon, hook or ring is handcrafted and totally unique.  Personally I have a bit of a weakness for wooden spoons, so this definitely going on my birthday wish list.  If you’re interested in buying anything, just fill out the contact form on Live Wire’s website.  Enjoy!

The hooks that started it all.  Beautiful, no?

What a great idea to use them as shelf brackets!

Birch candle holders

Rings!

Or napkin rings

Those beautiful spoons.  I could make a mean risotto with one of these.

Photos from Live Wire Farms

Now that spring has officially sprung, it’s time to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine.  There are lots of great retailers selling your basic resin and teak furniture, but what about something that’s a bit more fun?  Something that pops a little on your patio?  I’ve put together a round-up of my favorite colorful, interesting and unique eco-friendly outdoor furniture and accessories for your summer lazing pleasure.  Or in other words, get out there and have some fun in the sun!

1. This Racer rocker from Loll Designs features a cool racing stripe design, 2. Interesting crystal shaped planter from Pour les Alpes, 3. This Water Hyacinth daybed from PIE Studio makes a statement, 4. What patio would be complete without this Wine Barrel Chiller from VivaTerra?  5. Hello swing! Rattan swing from PIE Studio, 6. Colorful Campy planters from Perch! 7. Pick your color with classic Adirondack chairs from Polywood, 8. So fun! Knot pillows made from recycled sailcloth from Sea Bags

1. Can you tell I like swings? This one is from Loll Designs and comes in lots of colors, 2. Love this Nature planter from Design Night, 3. Why stop at fun colors when you can also have patterned cushions? This Series 9 chaise from Haskell Collection, 4. Or try something curvy with these Talenti chaises from Henry Hall, 5. For those of you who want something a bit funkier, try this Sushi daybed from PIE Studios, 6. Water your plants with these colorful Kettle Watering Cans from Eco Age, 7. Love purple? Check out the purple Adirondack chairs from Siesta, 8. Last but certainly not least, you’ll need a fun outdoor rug to add to your fun furniture. This one is from VivaTerra.

Guess what today is…it’s Pretty Little Green Things’ one year blog-iversary!!  One year ago I was sitting, probably in this exact same spot, (aka. my sofa) and introducing myself & my green vision to the world.  I have to admit, this anniversary totally snuck up on me.  I’ve been concentrating on keeping you up to date with the best of eco-friendly design that an entire year passed by in a blink.  It’s been a fantastic year thanks to all of you wonderful readers, so really I think of this as your anniversary too.

To help us celebrate, bkr has graciously donated three (yes, three!) water bottles to a few very lucky readers. After chatting with founder Tal Soltz the other day, I could see that her mission and products could not be any more perfect as a giveaway on Pretty Little Green Things.  Bkr is the perfect combination of beauty & sustainability – it’s well designed, fun, colorful, feels good in the hand and above all clean & totally safe to drink out of.  Like I’m sure many of you, I use a steel water bottle instead of plastic or (gasp) disposable.  It’s not because I love the taste of metal (I don’t); it’s because I’ve never found anything better.  Until bkr’s lovely glass bottle that is.  I have to share the founder’s statement with you, because I think it sums up bkr perfectly:

After years of hard work, Tal & her co-founder, Kate launched bkr just 3 short weeks ago.  Even though they’re new on the scene, I predict you’ll soon be seeing these colorful water bottles everywhere.  In fact, three lucky readers, will be starting off the trend.  Here’s how to enter: leave a comment below or on Facebook with your story of how you kicked the disposable water bottle habit.  US & Canadian residents only please.  Comments will be open for a week, so enter by midnight on May 11 for your chance to win.

If you don’t win, fear not, you can also purchase a bottle online with a special VIP code for readers of Pretty Little Green Things.  Click on the Shop tab and enter code 826543 for access to the online store.  I can’t wait to read what you guys have to say.  Good luck!

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 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!

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

If you’re an interior designer, you probably have a library that’s exploding with beautiful fabric samples many of which are outdated, not needed anymore or out of stock.  Sometimes the manufacturers take these pieces back, but more often than not, it’s a bigger hassle for them to be returned, so they just sit in the library.  So what to do with this extra stock of fabrics?  I’m up to my neck in throw pillows so I’m ready for new ideas.  Decorative pillow designer, Kevin O’Brien, makes these super cute stuffed animals from his fabric cast-offs.  I’m not quite up to sewing my own toys, but seeing pictures of these products are inspiring all on their own.  I think this is the perfect way to recycle.

Photos from Kevin O’Brien Studio