eco-chic design

chic and compostable dinnerware made from fallen palm leaves

It was great to see VerTerra’s products mixed in with reusable dinnerware at the St. Julien Hotel in Boulder during the LOHAS Forum last month. I've always loved the elegant design of the disposable plates, bowls and trays but never had a chance to use them. They are made with fallen palm leaves, steam, heat, and pressure only. You can’t get more pure than that. The idea originated during a trip to India where VerTerra’s founder Michael Dwork witnessed a local woman pressing leaves fallen from trees into plate like objects that were used to serve food. Now fallen leaves that otherwise would get burned are collected from plantations, then cleaned and pressed into contemporary looking dinnerware at local factories in India. Over 80% of the water used during the steam process is recaptured and reused. Even the waste products are powdered down into fertilizer that’s returned to the farmers who supply the leaves. I love eco-friendly products that close the loop like that. 

The results are organic looking plates and bowls that are non-toxic, biodegradable and even compostable. The great thing about being compostable is that these sustainable products will not only break down within 2 months after use in home or industrial composting but also release valuable nutrients into the soil. VerTerra’s dinnerware is intended for single-use and a green alternative to plastic and paper plates. Something that certainly comes in handy these days for eco-friendly BBQs, beach parties or rooftop gatherings.

retro-chic wallpaper that supports sustainable forestry

To my own dismay I’ve been spending more time indoors lately to escape the ongoing heat wave in New York City. This got me thinking about the fun and nature-inspired wallpaper designs by London based MissPrint. They are a whimsical yet modern way to bring the outdoors in through their organic patterns originated from hand drawn illustrations. 

All MissPrint products are designed and hand-printed in London by mother and daughter team Yvonne and Rebecca Drury. Their eco-chic wallpapers are PEFC certified which ensures that the paper products promote sustainable forest management. They are dyed with organic pigment inks that are non-toxic and free of heavy metals. One of their latest additions is the "Dandelion Mobile" wallpaper inspired by wild-growing dandelions in two new color combinations: porcelain with powder blue and mist green with white. Both colorways make me feel cooler already. The stylized seed heads are a modern take on illustration styles from the fifties through their use of color and space. Other nature inspired wallpaper designs include the patterns “Leaves”, “Saplings”, or “Fleur”. Make sure to also check out the mid-century furniture collection upholstered with MissPrint’s hand-printed fabrics. The chairs or sofas are a cool way to recycle discarded furniture and make a great accent piece in any eco-modern home.

making the case for greener homes at the LOHAS Forum

Many speakers at the LOHAS Forum in Boulder last week stressed the relationship between health and sustainability that starts at home. One of the panelists about “Healthy Homes” mentioned that according to the EPA pollutant levels can be 2-5 times higher indoors than outdoors. That’s one scary fact and that’s why I like stores like Ellie’s that we visited during our LOHAS Insight Tour.

Ellie’s is a spacious eco-home store in Boulder that offers everything you can imagine to create a modern eco-friendly home. At the center of the store are all types of eco-friendly building materials ranging from natural cork flooring, bamboo plywoods to non-toxic paints and finishes. What I loved the most about the interior design of the store were the walls made out of the rapidly renewable resource Kirei and the refilling stations for non-toxic cleaners. I also like that Ellie’s teams up with local designers such as Bare Earth Design. The local family run business had one of their platform beds on display made of domestic walnut and Kirei using low VOC, non-toxic finishes. Another product that caught my eye was the natural soy crayons box by local company clementine art. The packaging looks beautiful and is made of 80% post consumer recycled and reusable materials. One common theme at the LOHAS Forum was that the future is now and you’re never too young or too old to start envisioning it. Maybe those colorful non-toxic crayons can help you with that.

eco-design in action at the LOHAS Insight Tour

Last night I returned from my very first LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) Forum and it was beyond awe-inspiring. Of course you can’t beat the setting in Boulder but I’ve never seen such an amazing bunch of entrepreneurs, scientists, and marketers trying to do the right thing. During my first day I attended the LOHAS Insight Tour that took me behind the scenes of several sustainable businesses such as Eco-Cycle, Celestial Seasonings, Gaiam, Ellie’s and the new Tesla Motors showroom. It was great to see “single-stream recycling” at Eco-Cycle up close. The visit reinforced to cut back on paper and plastic consumption to begin with or to recycle responsibly. Andy from ChicoBag was on the tour as well sporting one of his reusable messenger-style bags. His bags are the perfect example how to upcycle waste into useful everyday items that also look cool. The Sling rePETe is made of recycled PET mostly found in plastic drinking bottles and contains other recycled materials like a carabiner made of 97% recycled aluminum. Other styles within the rePETe collection are ultra-lightweight backpacks or produce bags.

My personal highlight of the LOHAS Insight Tour was a Tesla Roadster test drive that was quite exhilarating. I had always admired the sleek design of the electric car and was happy to learn that the company will release the new Tesla S in 2012. It’ll be more affordable and seat 7 people. Sustainable design is definitely more fun when shared. Stay tuned for more LOHAS updates.

mid-century inspired dollhouse with solar rooftop panels

It’s never too early to teach kids about a green life-style. That’s why I liked the Emerson House dollhouse by brinca dada (BREEN-kuh, DAE-duh) at ICFF. I only saw a prototype and not the finished piece but I really loved the modern design combined with its energy saving features such as working solar-powered LED lights. It’s a great educational tool to teach children about their impact on the environment and alternative sources of clean energy. The solar rooftop panels need to be in the sun for about 4 hours to fully charge the rechargeable battery. It powers 23 recessed lights in the modern looking house. All of the stains and paints throughout the Emerson House such as walls or floors are lead-free and non-toxic. The wood is a mixture of birch, CARB-certified plywood and MDF. 

Aesthetically the Emerson House is inspired by Richard Neutra's Kaufmann Desert House created in 1946 and the Gary Cooper house designed by A. Quincy Jones. Both celebrate a connection of architecture to nature in a modernistic way. The space-saving design of the Emerson Dollhouse enables it to open wide during playtime through its clamshell mechanism that also makes it easy to store. It has a large, open floor plan and floor-to-ceiling windows to allow for year-round sunlight. Now I only wish I could afford a similar home for my own grown-up life.

modern abstract rug designs certified by GoodWeave

As a big advocate of great modern design combined with social responsibility I was thrilled to discover Amy Helfand’s rug designs at ICFF last month. Her Garland Rugs looked stunning with their dynamic patterns and are GoodWeave certified to ensure child-labor-free practices. Fluttering prayer flags of Nepal are the inspiration behind the Garland Rugs. The indigo looked gorgeous juxtaposed with cream and pops of saturated color. Her website illustrates how the Brooklyn based artist arrives at her abstract designs that go through several creative evolutions. In the case of the Garland Rugs you can see photographs of the actual prayer flags that are transformed into sculptures and then into abstract patterns for her rugs. I love how this process makes Eastern imagery accessible for modern home design. The Garland rugs are hand-knotted at 100 knots/inch in Nepal made of Chinese silk and Tibetan wool.

Amy Helfand is a member of the non-profit organization GoodWeave. It ensures that the rugs are produced in a child-labor-free environment. Through her contributions she also helps to fund rehabilitation and education for former child weavers. It’s a great example that designers can be agents of change and I can only hope that more artists will follow. Other companies that collaborate with GoodWeave include Angela Adams, IndiB and Judy Ross Textiles.

yoga apparel that combines style with sustainability

Quite fittingly my favorite jacket these days is called the Nirvana Jacket by Soybu. There’s no better way to describe the state of bliss after making it through my yoga practice. I bought the eco-friendly jacket at the onset of spring at Paragon for exercising or running errands on the weekends and absolutely love it. It has a great sleek fit and never seems to wrinkle plus it contains 44% recycled polyester made from recycled PET.

Not sure why but lately I seem to be on a recycled PET kick. According to Soybu’s website PET is one of the most common consumer plastics used in packaging such as soda or detergent bottles. The Nirvana jacket also has 12% spandex to give it a contoured fit and it feels super-soft. So far I’ve it in black and I’m flirting with the thought of ordering a second one in blue glass for summer. The cute belled arm sleeves make it fun to wear. Most of Soybu’s apparel line combines style, sustainability and performance through their choice of materials. Other eco-friendly fibers include soy, organic cotton or bamboo that’s used in their inner voice tank. The Nirvana Jacket is the first product I bought but I’ve a feeling I’ll be back for more.

eco-modern bags created from recycled PET felt

Now that summer is in full swing eco-friendly bags for the park and beach come in handy. And this really great 7-Pocket Tote designed by the founders of Museum of Robots stuck in my mind since I saw it at NYIGF earlier this year. The company has many cool and innovative products but the great thing about this tote bag is that it follows the cradle-to-cradle philosophy of green design. The material is made of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles and the entire bag plus the fabric are made in the USA. It has no added components such as hardware so that the entire bag is recyclable at the end of its useful life. What really got me hooked at NYIGF was its softness. Most totes made of eco-friendly felt are usually coarser. I learned that its soft nature is partially due to the fact that the fabric was originally created for the display industry intended for velcro-friendly applications. Initially the eco-modern bag was designed as a diaper bag so that the softness made a lot of sense. But I’m thrilled to see that it’s now offered for all ages. It comes in blue, charcoal and red. Other bags by Museum of Robots made of recycled PET felt are made from fabric originally created for the automotive industry and look more industrial but are very durable. You can never have enough bags as long as they are reusable or in this case fully recyclable.

the perfect blend of sustainable cuisine with green decor

One of the advantages of spending summer weekends in the city is that hard-to-get reservations at restaurants are available. That’s how I got a table at ABC Kitchen without reservations. And not just any table but a table made from salvaged wood since ABC Kitchen is committed to sustainable décor as much as sustainable food. All food is prepared with organic and local ingredients whenever possible. None of their produce uses pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, insecticides or GMOs and most meat, fish and dairy is locally sourced. The same commitment to sustainable cuisine can be found in their selection of beverages such as tea, coffee or wine that are organic or fair trade. The restaurant’s location close to the farmers market at Union Square doesn’t hurt either. 

The restaurant was co-created between ABC Carpet & Home with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Phil Suarez. It perfectly fuses a pre-dominantly white and sustainable décor with seasonal produce to create a pleasantly airy atmosphere. I’ve always loved the sustainable products at ABC Home & Planet and it’s great to see them utilized in a restaurant. The food is served on handmade porcelain dinnerware by local artisan Jan Burtz. Each piece is hand-built and hand glazed. The bread baskets are handcrafted by the indigenous mapuche people of Patagonia and are part of the ABC Goodwood Collection that also includes Jim Denney’s dining table made from salvaged wood. If you happen to be in town I can highly recommend the peekytoe crab toast appetizer.

recycled paper transformed into eco-modern home accessories

Last week at ICFF the colorful cushions made out of recycled paper by Japanese company Qurz Inc. caught my attention since they were surprisingly soft. I couldn’t believe that they were made of recycled paper. It turned out that the structured looking paper cushions are made by weaving together recycled twisted paper after a softening process. The smooth surface looks very unique and almost feels like paper with a satin sheen. 

Qurz Inc. was founded by the Japanese designer Takumi Shimamura in 2005 after he spent some time as a car designer at Subaru. The recycled cushions are part of his product line cuiora. All cuiora products are made from woven bands of 100% recycled paper that traditionally were used for carrying heavy rice bags in Japan. Now these sturdy bands are skillfully used to create contemporary home accessories such as paper cushions, striped fruit bowls and striped lampshades. The eco-friendly fruit bowls and lampshades are made by firmly rolling the paper bands into a spiral shape. In both cases I was amazed that post-consumer recycled paper can look this beautiful. Especially since I’m quite guilty myself of creating paper waste on a daily basis. It’s great to see a company value recycled paper by artfully turning it into useful everyday objects.