eco-chic design

have a creative and healthy New Year with natural art supplies

During my studies for sustainable design at MCAD last year I was building 3-D models to understand Buckminster Fuller’s philosophies a bit better. To build my models I used bamboo skewers and play dough which led to my discovery of the natural art supply company eco-kids. Their eco-dough is a green alternative to conventional play dough and great for small or big model makers alike. It’s made with plant, fruit and vegetable extracts and has no chemicals, artificial dyes or metals. Each cardboard tube contains five canisters of eco-dough in yellow, green, orange, blue and red. The packaging is super-cute. You can also extend the life span of the all-natural sculpting dough by adding a few drops of olive or flaxseed oil in case you forgot to put it back into its container. The rehydration process only works for the first few days and you still need to knead it like real dough. But this way models can evolve with kids’ growing imagination. Or survive my changing design explorations of course. The containers for the eco-friendly play dough are made from cornstarch and are fully compostable.

Eco-kids is a family-run company and based in Portland, Maine. All products are made with the environment and safe playtime in mind. I can’t wait to check out their Easter egg coloring kit and sidewalk chalks for spring. Here’s to a colorful (including green) and imaginative New Year!

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.

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.

eco-friendly journals that tell their own story

At NYIGF last week I discovered a sleek alternative to my Muji notebook made of 100% recycled paper. Ecosystem introduced a green yet stylish take on Moleskine books with their eco-friendly planners, journals, and notebooks. The colorful ecosystem products are made of 100% post-consumer recycled paper in the USA. What makes them so cool besides the fun and contemporary design is that you can track where and how your eco-friendly book was made. To my delight I received a sample of the ecosystem ruled journal Author in watermelon with a flexi cover. Each eco-friendly journal has a unique identification number on the back page. It allows you to find out about the origin of the various materials used to make your specific journal. Plus you can register it online in case it gets lost. So last night I registered my journal at ecosystem’s website to view its ecosystem book ingredients. It was made in July 2009 and a chart displayed each step of the manufacturing process with its eco-friendly practices. For example the elastic band is woven with 100% organic cotton fibers and dyed using water soluble low-impact dyes in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Or the flexi cover is 100% post-consumer recycled base paper and coated with water-based acrylic technology in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It’s great to see how transparent the company is about their supply chain. It makes you feel like we’re all part of the same ecosystem.

plantable eco calendar for a green New Year

As I’m in the process of researching upcoming dates for green trade shows and conferences this year I remembered Botanical PaperWorks’ plantable eco calendar. I always liked that it helps you plant seeds for the New Year in many ways with its seed embedded calendar pages.

Botanical PaperWorks is a stationary business that creates plantable paper, greeting cards and gift tags handcrafted by local papermakers in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was founded by mother and daughter team Mary Reimer and Heidi Reimer Epp while they were looking for ways to reuse paper discarded by local schools. I always love when waste is turned into something useful like this fun and eco-friendly calendar for the New Year. Botanical PaperWorks’ plantable desk calendar uses paper made with post consumer waste fibers, cotton remnants and the renewable leaf fiber abaca. The calendar pages with their cute illustrations are nestled in a recyclable tin that’s refillable for years to come. The fun part though is that you can plant the paper embedded with wildflower seeds after each month in a pot of soil. Make sure to add plenty of water and sunshine and you can watch it grow into wildflowers such as Clarkia, Poppy or Catchfly. May the rest of the year be this easy and colorful.

green networking accessories

Last Saturday I attended the event Green Is: Digital organized by the newly founded company Green Is: in New York. Besides the amazing speakers of course I loved that I received Muji’s PET business card holder made with 50% recycled plastic bottles as a welcome gift. As mentioned before I’m a big fan of Muji’s no-frill products that are designed with the environment in mind. I’ve been using their sleek aluminum business card cases but was always on the lookout for a green alternative to hold more cards.

The reason that I attended the seminar was to learn more about sustainability in the digital age. The speakers included the digital strategy consultant Daniel Schutzsmith, the web editor of The Daily Green Brian Clark Howard, the president of GreenT Digital Christopher Conway and the co-founder of PageTurnPro Anurag Ahuja. The message was pretty clear that the green digital revolution is here and social networking sites are a driving force. A lot of helpful tools and tips were shared on how to green your digital life through networking and technology. For starters get rid of energy vampires through the Belkin Conserve as I had done earlier this year or consider offline data backup. In regards to green networking sites I still need to check out Justmeans or care2 myself. Upcoming seminars by Green Is: are Green Is: Beauty and Green Is: Social. I’ll make sure to take good notes in my Muji notebook made from recycled paper.

for earth loving gift givers

Wouldn’t it be great to receive a gift that you can actually use instead of hiding it in your attic or throwing it into a recycling bin? The gift certificates and IOUs from printable greeting cards company e.m. papers founded by the two designers Eleanor Reagh and Molly Hart achieve just that. Giving gifts is not only about exchanging presents but also a chance to reconnect with friends, family or coworkers in a meaningful way. e.m.papers takes this philosophy one step further with their downloadable gift certificates and IOUs that give someone a home cooked meal, walk their dog, give them a foot massage, take them out for cocktails or treat them to a coffee and a book.

The whimsical and cool printables are green on so many levels. Not only do they reduce paper and energy consumption since you won’t have to drive or shop for gift cards or presents but you can also reuse the fun designs by regifting them. Make sure to check out Eleanor’s blog since she gives some great advice on how to print and fold her eco-friendly stationery that’s perfect for last minute gift givers. Just purchase the design you like, download the pdf and print it on recycled cardstock or on the backside of paper you have already used. It’s a fun and cool way to reduce, reuse, and reconnect.

eco-chic greetings for mother’s day

At Night Owl Paper Goods everyday is mother earth day thanks to their veneer postcards that are thinly sliced from sustainably harvested wood. Of course e-cards would still be the ultimate form of eco-friendly greetings. But I love that the gorgeous wooden cards are a symbolic reminder to stay connected to mother nature. And the designs are so beautiful that your mom will certainly keep the cards all year long. This year’s mother’s day cards made of eco-friendly sustainably-harvested yellow birch carry a simple design of red flowers or a flowering branch in green and orange. Both cards leave enough space on the back for a handwritten message and come with matching envelopes. Other greetings range from anniversaries, weddings to love notes. Night Owl Paper Goods’ designs are always modern yet quirky inspired by Swedish and American folk artists. Some personal favorites of mine are two squirrels exchanging nuts that say “I’m nuts about your birthday” or the company’s signature owl that says “owl love you forever”. Every pun is fully intended and thanks to the quirky illustrations really fun. The wooden designs are perfect for any eco-chic wedding invitations and make great eco-friendly covers for notebooks and journals with 100% post-consumer recycled pages on the inside.

turn over a new leaf today

There’s no better way to start a new chapter in your life than with the smart and eco-friendly notebooks from Sukie. And there’s probably no better day to write a post about it than inauguration day.

Sukie is based in London and creates a whole range of notebooks, cards and wrapping paper with retro designs. Their collections also include a range of textiles ranging from cushions to hankies. What I love about the turn over a new leaf notebook is the simplicity of the retro font on the cover and then obviously the leaf designs in a variety of shapes and colors on the inside pages. The concept is inspiring with its daily reminder to make a positive change and perfect for journaling or jotting down ideas. It’s made of 100% recycled paper and printed with soy-based ink. You can purchase the notebook through delight.com if you're looking to turn a page this year.