Hosting and attending holiday parties

As the season of holiday parties and potlucks are underway, pretty and eco tabletop presentation is on my mind. I love these bamboo bowls that come in a rainbow of colors. They're low enough to stack as buffet plates for a big party and good looking enough to stand on their own as serving bowls. I also like the idea of filling a plate up with some homebaked cookies to give as a special hostess gift. In the past, I would do this with Veneerware trays and plates, which I like to keep on hand for potlucks and occasions where you just don't want to worry about doing dishes.

el Furniture Sale

el stands for Environmental Language, a line of heirloom-quality furniture made from environmentally friendly materials. Founded by Jill Salisbury, the company makes gorgeously high end, stylish furnishings. If you've been eyeing their beautifully sustainable pieces like I have, this sample sale may be the closest chance to afford one of their exquisite pieces.

CityArt Graphics

Buildings, the city, and graphics converge in this series of limited edition art by San Francisco-based Publique Living. What could be better!

Digging Deeper for Sustainable Design

For those of you in the bay area, San Francisco's IDSA brings you Digging Deeper: Unearthing the Building Blocks for Sustainable Design.

This participant-driven panel discussion will dig deep into the eco-issues
designers face everyday to reveal the building blocks for sustainable
design. Digging Deeper seeks to equip designers with the context, questions, methods and, actionable tools for designing green. Digging Deeper's panel of leading experts will introduce and discuss a series of sustainable design methods. They will then examine the steps required to successfully apply, measure and position the resulting sustainable solutions in both your workplace and the market.

July 22nd at Temple, 540 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94105.

Reception begins at 5:30pm. Keynote begins at 7pm. Priority attendance given to IDSA Members.

More info at www.idsa-sf.org

West Coast Green in Silicon Valley

West Coast Green announced today that Nobel Laureate, and former U.S. Vice-President, Al Gore will give the keynote address at this year’s conference, to be held September 25-27th, 2008, at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, CA. Gore joins a prestigious lineup of keynote speakers that includes best-selling authors Sarah Susanka and David Suzuki, http://www.hunterlovins.com/ as well as leading scientists, economists, architects, builders, venture capitalists, strategists, chief executive officers and government officials. As the leading hub for innovation in building, design and technology.

Building materials and processes account for roughly a third of carbon emissions, while the electricity-use and industry taking place in buildings account for another third. With built space in the US projected to double over the next 40 years, and buildings lasting an average of 75 years, reforming the built environment is one of the central challenges of our time. West Coast Green will bring together 14,000 individuals to educate, network and inspire the actions that will shape our collective future. For more information, visit West Coast Green's website.

Micro-entrepreneurs

Websites like etsy are great for showcasing handmade products from emerging designers. However sometimes you just want to see and touch items in person before making the decision to buy. Endossa, an innovative retail collaborative in Sao Paulo, Brazil tried to bridge the gap by providing a physical store where many mini-entrepreneurs can rent boxes to display their wares in. Endossa's model makes it one step easier for the general public to access new, limited edition designs. Read more about it in this story via Cool Hunting.

AMD Open Architecture Challenge

The winners are in for the AMD Open Architecture Challenge, the latest global competition from Architecture for Humanity. The competition invited the global community to provide solutions to address the digital divide. (Did you know less than 20% of the world's 6 billion people even have access to the educational, social, and economic opportunities we're so used to from the internet?) Challenge sites included Africa, Asia, and South America. Shown here are winning entries by IN & Nis for the Kallari Associates client (South America) and The Global Studio's solution for the SIDAREC client (Kenya).

To see all winning entries, visit Architecture for Humanity's Open Architecture Challenge site.

Do Not Touch

TOUCH is a network of collaboration amongst emerging designers who are creating handmade products as an alternative to the mass produced. These artisans have a lofty goal, too. Their goal is to make products that are not only beautiful, but also go for the environment and those who make them. Shown here are kraft paper vases using natural pigments by Brazilian designer Domingos Totora. If you're going to be in New York during ICFF and New York Design Week, be sure to check out TOUCH's showcase of sustainable products and installations from May 18-20th only, at 148 11th Ave in Manhattan. For more information, visit do-not-touch.com

Affordable Green Home Products

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, be sure to tune in to the ABC show View From the Bay on Monday March 17th for a special segment on affordable green home items. Design expert Lisa Quinn and guest Susan Kim from Coastal Living Magazine will be covering some great eco-friendly home accessories, like these Transglass vessels made from recycled glass bottles. The show airs at 3pm PST.

REGREEN Guidelines for Green Home Remodeling

This just in from the U.S. Green Building Council...

Another green home resource that will become available on March 14 is REGREEN- the nation’s first set of resources and tools specifically for green home remodeling projects. USGBC will be launching REGREEN at ASID’s “Conference on Design.” The free guidelines cover all aspects of renovations, from installing a new dishwasher, remodeling your master bathroom, to refurbishing an entire home interior. REGREEN, like LEED, addresses the major elements of any green renovation project, including building site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

Bent-steel Furniture

Looking back at midcentury modernism, bent-ply furniture (short for bent plywood) characterized much of the era's iconic imagery. Looking now at contemporary modernism, we predict that bent-steel will be doing the same for this era's innovative design. Why? Because like bent-ply, bent-steel is very efficient in terms of material usage. Resource efficiency is particularly important today because we understand that there are finite limits to our raw materials. Bent-steel is appealing because, when it is 'folded' into place by the end user, items can be transported flat and reduce on shipping fuel used. As a pure material (vs. composites containing adhesives), steel can also be fully recycled, and likely will be at the end of a product's lifespan. Green designers such as mio are coming up with some innovative designs, like this origami table and bent-metal lighting fixtures, all priced affordably at under $200. Available at re:modern.

Voltaic Solar Bags

Photovoltaic backpacks seem to be all the rage. This new one by Voltaic is actually powerful enough to charge a laptop computer with up to 14.7 watts. Each bag comes with a battery pack so you're not limited to only when the sun is out. Various other styles are available in daypacks, messengers, and laptop cases. Pretty cool.

ModRocks: Ceramic Tile Alternative

Ceramic tile is a great material for bathrooms and kitchens, but sometimes you want a little more 'umph' and a bit more 'eco.' These ModRocks are a nice alternative. ModRocks are pebbles made from 100% recycled glass. Consumer glass bottles are crushed and tumbled, and mounted on a tile mesh. Very little energy is used in the production of these. Wouldn't they be lovely for a modern, spa-like room?

Recycled rubber floormats

Rain, rain, go away. But if you don't, at least we can enjoy keeping out the dirt with this recycled tire doormat. Other designs are available as well. Get it here.

William Good - Upcycled Clothes

 

You know something interesting is brewing when Nick Graham, the founder of Joe Boxer, teams up with Goodwill to introduce a new line of eco-fashions. William Good is both an environmental and social undertaking. The brand takes used clothing that was destined for recycling and salvage, and reassembles them into one-of-a-kind unique fashions, re-made in the USA with. This re-invented cast-off line is being rolled out at select Goodwill stores in the bay area, including San Francisco, and soon to arrive in Los Angeles and New York. A great example of upcycling.

Affordable Eco Jewelry

If you're looking for a great eco-friendly Valentine's Day gift idea, check out these new recycled aluminum necklaces and bracelets. When you first look at them, they appear to be chunky silver chains and upon closer inspection you realize that they are made from pull-tabs off soda cans. Pair one up with one of these modern twist fabric boxes and you've got a super affordable (and eco-friendly) gift for under $50.
Get them here.

How to Minimize Junk Mail

Did you know an average person receives 41 lbs. of junk mail per year? That equates to 1.5 trees per person and 44% of the mail is never even opened.

We've decided to be proactive about reducing this mail and hope you'll do it, too. After all, it's hard to maintain a beautiful, clutter-free home when unsolicited junk mail keeps arriving at your mailbox everyday!

To minimize unwanted mail, you can sign up with a service like 41 pounds, or take the DIY approach and do it for free:

Direct Marketing Association List

Opt-Out of Pre-screened offers from credit bureaus

DIY Stop Junk Mail, Email and Phone Calls

Val-pak opt-out

Bay Area Junk Mail Reduction Campaign

Go on, do it now. And have a clutter-free day.

Organic Clothing and EcoKashmere

Good looking sustainable clothing is difficult to come by, so we were really excited to come across Jonano's comfortable collection of designer eco-fashion.

Much of their collection is made from sweatshop-free organic cotton. Particularly unique is the company's ecoKasmere yoga and lounge wear, made from a soft blend of bamboo (yes, bamboo!) and cotton. And for those of you in the medical profession, be sure to check out their Eco Scrubs line, too.