Pretty Little Green Things

Archive for the ‘Shows and markets’ Category

I took this weekend as an excuse to get out of the city and up to Brimfield.  Last year we scored some pretty nice pieces (a gorgeous antique dresser and a nightstand in need of love), but this year I wasn’t necessarily looking for anything in particular.  We have all the furniture we can possibly fit in our tiny apartment, so what is a city dweller to hunt for.  The answer came in vintage dresses and jewelry.  Easy to carry and easy to bring home on the train (yup the luxury of not owning a car in NYC).  But of course while we were there, I couldn’t resist taking pictures of the fun and interesting things we saw.  If you went to Brimfield, what did you see?

 Antique picnic set

Ship replica.  I’ve always wanted one of these in my house.  Not sure where I would put it, but the craftsman ship on some of these vessels is amazing!

How cool is this bed frame?  Too bad I just bought a new headboard!

This is a sign my husband would appreciate, not because he’s a gardener, but because he likes corny jokes.

All of these antique glasses and dishware make me wish for a larger kitchen and more opportunities to entertain large groups of people.

Hello!

I do love me some antique door and cabinet hardware…

How amazing are those lady lamps?  They would be perfect at a bar in Brooklyn for sure.

Ahoy matey!

Good thing I didn’t go to Brimfield with my husband, otherwise this milkshake machine just might have come home with us.

These nesting bowls definitely bring me back to my childhood since my mom has and still uses her set daily.  I’ve looked for a set of my own, but they’re more expensive than you would think!

Can you sense the nautical theme yet?

Typeset letters

Heehee

Just in case you were thinking about dressing up as Santa Claus this year.

Sock forms to go with the glove forms above

Hello stained glass!

As a fan of spin class, I have a special spot in my heart for this antique stationary bike.

Suitcases

 How cute are these mismatched tea cups.  Makes me want to have a tea party!

For the winners in your life

More items for my giant fantasy kitchen

Unfortunately our long weekend away coincided with this season’s New York International Gift Fair so I didn’t get to wander the aisles looking for new products and catch up with all my favorite vendors.  Even though I wasn’t at the show, my inbox has been full of sneak peeks and new releases.  So of course I had to share a few of my favs with you.  If you went to the show, share your favorites in the comment section below.

I’ve always loved Fluf’s reusable bags for their chic patterns and easy storage solutions.  But I’m really loving this pink Big Zip to store whatever you can think of.  I would probably use it as a travel bag, but I love their suggestion as a clutch for a night out.

I’m so happy that Coco, from the ever popular blog cococozy.com, was able to transition from design blogger to product designer.  I’m loving her colorful and graphic pillow collection as seen here from Coco’s booth at NYIGF.  Jump over to her blog to see the rest of the booth. (Photo from Cococozy)

The gorgeous handblown desk lamps come from Tempo Luxury Home Collection.  I really love the interesting shapes, unique shade system and subtle colorations.  It looks to me like these lamps are lit with LEDs, hence their title Smart Lights.

I love this new towel collection from Creative Women, perfect as a tea towel or hand towel.  The color, texture and pattern of these are just gorgeous and available soon.

Natural Curiosities has a wonderful new collection debuting at the NYIGF.  This Turot Geometric piece is one of my favorites, silver leafed to add dimension and sparkle.  Take a peek at the rest of the collection online for a bit of artistic inspiration.

Last but certainly not least is an installation shot from Christen Maxwell‘s newest line of pillows and throws.  I’m especially loving that zigzag pillow just off of center as well as the metallic linens (center).  She’s also put together a gorgeous little e-catalog full of inspiration pics of the latest products that you should definitely check out.

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.

I have a special fondness for peeking into fictional homes – home tours, model homes, show houses, you name it.  There’s something about getting a firsthand view of the way other people could live together with seeing new design trends, furniture and materials that I find so fascinating.  And when the show houses are also eco-friendly, well, I can’t think of anything better.  This year’s HGTV Green Home 2011 is no exception, featuring great design plus the latest & greatest in green products and technology.

The Green Home was designed by Linda Woodrum with lots of eco-friendly aspects such as no-VOC paints, energy efficient appliances, organic fabrics, certified woods and an awesome net energy usage computer program that monitors the whole house’s efficiency.  In fact, there are so many more sustainable features that this house has earned a LEED Platinum Certification, a huge accomplishment for the whole team.  I’m loving the fresh, colorful, artful and young design which suits its location in the new eco-community of Stapleton in Denver, Colorado perfectly.

You’re actually getting an extra special sneak peek of the house, because it’s not open to the public until May 5.  If you live in the Denver area, I urge you to check out the house for yourself (and report back – I’d love to hear your thoughts on the design and eco-friendly integration).  Tickets are only $20 with proceeds going to Urban Peak, a non-profit that offers services for homeless and runaway youths.  If you like the house, you can actually enter online for a chance to win it.

Living Room

There’s actually a TV hidden behind those framed artworks!

Dining Room

Kitchen

The “Do” Room, which like its name suggests, is a room for laundry, storage, utility or just doing stuff.

The Loft

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom sitting area

Master Bathroom

Boy’s Bedroom

Girl’s Bedroom

Photos from HGTV Green Home

Yesterday I showed tabletop displays from the DIFFA Dining by Design event at the Architectural Digest Home Show.  If you didn’t see this post, take a peek because they’re just as amazing as today’s round.  I always love tabletop displays because they’re just raw creativity.  Since no one is actually eating at the table, there’s no need for practicality.  These designers have truly let their imagination run wild, which is why I always find them so inspiring.

Diane Von Furstenberg (yup, she’s got a home collection now)

I’m not sure who designed this one but I love the cityscape in the background.  If anyone know’s who this is, leave a comment below.

Echo Design

I’ve been trying not to comment on these tabletops and let them speak for themselves, but I have to tell you this was one of my favorites.  It was just so creative with the umbrella chandelier and rain pouring down on all four sides of the wood trellis.  Designed by Evette Rios for Hayneedle.

I’m also not sure who designed this one, but it’s gorgeous, no?

Anki Spets of Area for the New York Times

I also thought this display, designed by the students of Pratt with Alfredo Paredes (VP of Design at Ralph Lauren), was one of the most creative and unique.

Rockwell Group

Tracy Reese for Effen Vodka

Goil Amornvivat and Thomas Morbitzer of Tug Studio

Every year DIFFA hosts a Dining by Design event at the Architectural Digest Home Show with tons of tabletops by well known designers and tastemakers.  The acronym stands for Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS and is one of the country’s largest supporters of HIV/AIDS care & education.  Merging great design with a worthy cause seems like absolute genius to me.  Plus the tabletops are fun and absolutely inspiring, so I just had to share the whole event with you.  There were so many tables and so many I loved that I couldn’t possibly narrow it down, so I’m going to show more tables tomorrow too.  Enjoy!

David Stark (swoon!) for Benjamin Moore

I’m not sure who designed this table, so if you know leave a comment below.

The students of the Fashion Institute of Technology with mentor Preston Bailey (swoon again!)

2Michaels Design for Flor

Jeffrey Brooks Design

Brad Ford for Moore & Giles

And last but certainly not least…

Coffinier KU for the NYDC

Okay, so I actually went to the Architectural Digest Home Design Show all within one day, but this is day 2 of your peek into the show, hence the title.  If you didn’t see yesterday’s post of my eco-chic picks from the show, take a look here.  As I said before, the show was the best I’ve seen with a great variety of amazing products and vendors.  I can’t wait to see what ICFF brings!

So without further ado, my eco picks, round 2:

When I saw this chandelier from Andre Joyau from afar, I actually thought it was made of fringe.  That of course made me immediately walk over and check it out (I mean who wouldn’t?).  It’s actually made from bits of recycled steel wire all strung together in a spiral shape.  Gorgeous, huh?  Then as Andre and I were chatting about the chandelier, I looked down and noticed this beautiful table….

If you notice from this picture, the table is on hydraulics!!!  Gorgeous table + raw reclaimed wood + totally functional for a New York City apartment?  I don’t think furniture could get any better! (By the way, if you don’t live in a teeny apartment, you’re probably thinking I’m off my rocker right now.  But let me tell you, I’m already fantasizing about what I could put in the corner instead of a dining table.  Hello ping pong table!)

I have been following Susan Serra on Twitter for quite some time now, so it was wonderful to finally meet her and see her Bornholm Kitchens in person.  I love the Scandinavian style of her kitchens – it’s not a style I see very often so I’m always happy to find a unique cabinet option.  The wood she uses is just gorgeous and every piece is finished with no-VOC waxes and sealers.

It was lovely to see the latest collection of beautiful carpets from Malene B, and I have to say she’s just as lovely as her rugs.  What I really love about her designs is the international ethic feel they have.  I mean, if you can’t get to Africa, you should at least have some of it in your house!

How cool are these stone tables from Snug Furniture?  I love the intricate almost lacy look of the fretwork style coffee table on the left and the bold artful lines of the ones on the right.  Co-founder, Maybelline Te and Snug Furniture are also on Twitter, so if you don’t already follow them, you should!

These stools and art piece come from Artists for Humanity, a non-profit in Boston whose mission is to “bridge economic, racial and social divisions by providing underserved youth with the keys to self-sufficiency through paid employment in the arts.”  Not only does this group do so much good in their own community, but their products are made from recycled and non-toxic materials.  Plus the colorful design is totally fun and unique.  I am going to follow up with an in depth look at Artists for Humanity so stay tuned.  In the meantime, you can take a peek at their range of products on their website.

Coney Island is such a big part of New York’s history  so I loved seeing these benches from Douglas Thayer.  They’re made from cross beams that held up the iconic boardwalk.  I love that when the wood was removed, it was ripped out with so much force that the screws bent.  Instead of removing all those screws, Douglas elected to keep them and just turn them into the center so they’re not dangerous.  The wood and screw combo gives so much character to this amazing piece of history.

Last but certainly not least is this movable art piece from Susan Weinthaler.  You can’t really tell from this picture, but each of those little reclaimed wood pieces is attached via magnet to the background sheet and is totally movable.  That means you can have as many pieces of art in your home as your creativity allows.  I bet this makes for an awesome party game!

I spent most of yesterday walking through the very crowded Architectural Digest Home Design Show at Pier 94.  I’ve attended the show for many years now and I have to say this was the best show I’ve seen in terms of quality of products and number of attendees. Maybe it’s due to the addition of Margaret Russell to AD (formerly the editor in chief of Elle Decor) or maybe it’s that projects have started to pick back up.  Whatever the reason you could feel the buzz and excitement in the air.  And the products and vendors I saw were absolutely the best of the best.  Of course I love looking at everything, but it’s always the eco-friendly or socially responsible products that really catch my eye.  Since this year’s show was so great and I found so many amazing things, I’m going to break my pics into two posts.  Check back tomorrow for more!

These are my top eco-friendly finds, in no particular order:

These gorgeous pillows come from D. Bryant Archie Textiles who also won an ASID Imagine Top Pick for her presentation.  Her wool blankets and pillows have always topped of my list of favorites and this award couldn’t have gone to a more deserving, talented and lovely person.  Her newest line made from metallic vintage fabric as shown in the two pictures on the right, is super chic.

This awesome little console table comes from Jeff Soderbergh, who if you remember, also made the beautiful reclaimed wood table featured in the 2010 House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year.  This new console is made from wood taken from the hull an antique schooner that was built in 1885.  I love the copper nailheads spotted all over the wood which gives it such character.  Jeff has plenty of this unique wood left so hopefully we’ll be seeing more pieces from him soon.

I’m really in love with these clocks from Palo Samko.  I’ve always known him as an incredibly talented furniture maker, so it’s great to see that he’s added accessories to his repertoire.  I would mind time passing by quickly if I had one of these clocks to stare at.

This gorgeous chandelier comes from Elizabeth Polish Design and it’s made entirely of paper (except for the framing of course).  I just love the organic feel of this fixture and I can only imagine the soft light it casts in a room.  Custom options are always available for any project.

How cool is this table from Studio Roeper?  I love the contrast of the salvaged bleached wood and the metallic faceted legs.

I have to say that my pictures don’t do any sort of justice to these stunning art installations from Moran/Brown.  They’re made of small copper tiles that have been heated so they change color into these vibrant shades you see here.  And all without any chemical processing.  You have to take a peek on their website at some of their larger pieces to really get an idea of what Moran/Brown can do.  I’m not sure I’d want Lady Gaga hanging on my wall, but you get the idea of their capabilities.

I’m always a fan of the industrial vintage look so I’m loving these light fixtures from Strawser & Smith who are based in Brooklyn.  Each one is made out of various industrial parts like chains, pipes and cogs.  The glass is also hand blown right here in New York.

And of course, I’m always a fan of the New Traditionalists and their elegant and tailored line of eco-friendly furniture.  They have a few gorgeous new finishes which was great to see in person.

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!