eco-chic design

modern with a wink

What I love most about Iannone Design is that their furniture is based on modern, clean lines but has a human, organic touch to it through its patterns and handcrafted quality. Some of their inlays are more literal like the Dandelion camisole whereas some other ones are more abstract.

Iannone Design is based in Philadelphia and dedicated to eco-friendly furniture design. Their product line encompasses cabinets and tables that use sustainable materials like locally harvested domestic hardwoods, bamboo plywood, and kirei board. I’m especially smitten by their Kirei Mod Coffee Table, which has a playful contrast of acrylic and kirei materials. Kirei is made from reclaimed stalks of the sorghum plant that are bonded by a formaldehyde free adhesive. I love how the decorative inlays add warmth and humor to the otherwise very modern and minimal design.

dare to go bare

No chemicals that is thanks to Dr.’s Remedy enriched nail polish. The company was founded by two physicians with the goal to create a nail polish without the potentially harmful ingredients found in most commercial nail polishes.

Not only did the founders remove potentially unhealthy chemicals like formaldehyde, toluene and DBP, but they also added vitamins C&E and wheat protein. Being doctors they also included the two natural anti-fungal ingredients tea tree oil and garlic bulb extract. The packaging looks reminiscent of the square Chanel bottles, which I love. I don’t mind to discover a healthier alternative to their sleek design and gorgeous colors. The products come in five colors and one clear polish with zen sounding names like calming, wellness or balance which quickly establishes the brand as a natural choice. So go ahead and do as the doctors ordered and prescribe yourself a nice pedicure for the summer that’s actually good for your little piggies.

from hippie to hip

Visiting mod green pod’s web site is as much fun as their organic fabrics and vinyl-free wallpapers. Their iconic butterfly icons which are also part of their butterfly jubilee prints follow you as a navigation tool throughout your stay.

The concept of the two founders and sisters-in-law Nancy Mims and Lisa Mims was to create a company that combines fabulous design with sustainable products. The result is this amazing collection of whimsical yet sophisticated designs that come in gorgeous colors like chocolate, raspberry, blueberry or basil on creamy backgrounds.

All designs are hand silk-screened by artisans in New England and printed with water based inks. It’s really fun to watch the process on their web site which makes you appreciate the products even more.

keeping it clean in Swedish

Ren's Clean Bio Active Skincare looks as clean as it is with its simple modern packaging. The company was founded in England named after the Swedish word for clean. The two partners Robert Calcraft and Antony Buck came up with the business idea as Antony’s wife became pregnant and developed allergic reactions to most other products. Hence the skin care line is free of synthetics, sulfates, and parabens. Instead it only contains clean, plant-derived ingredients. All packaging and filling materials are 100 percent recyclable.

The company vacuum packages their products, which has the benefits that fewer preservatives are needed plus it helps to preserve the fragrances. My personal favorite is the neroli & grapefruit body wash, which smells amazing and is perfect for the upcoming memorial day weekend.

green comes in all shapes and sizes

On my annual trips to Germany I always bought these short wine glasses made out of 100% recycled glass. I use them for water as well as wine. Over the years I've been breaking all of them except one, so that I was incredibly glad to see that Elle magazine featured them in the green issue last month.

I finally found out that the glasses are from the Campanillo stemware collection manufactured by the award-winning company La Mediterranea in Spain. The company was founded in 1975 in Valencia with the specific goal to turn recycled glass into beautiful objects. I always loved the understated simplicity and well balanced design of these glasses. The collection is part of the Vidreco product line, which is more practical in nature as opposed to their more decorative product line La Mediterranea. For a more colorful take on recycled glass check out the oslets collection which comes in five different colors.

happy mother earth day

In honor of mother’s day and last minute gift wrapping I wanted to feature rifferaff, a company that designs hand silkscreened wrapping paper. Of course it would still be more eco-friendly to not use any paper at all, but I personally like the surprise factor.

Every piece at rifferaff is handpulled, trimmed and packaged by Shanon Riffe. Her patterns are modern and clean ranging from jigsaw bead patterns to a dot patterns in bubblegum pink and all inks are water based. All papers contain 100% recycled content printed by french paper, a family-run paper mill that uses hydroelectric power. I was delighted to see that she’s selling gift cards and journals as well.

trash it in green style

I always love when two parties come together to create something truly unique like these chic Artala trash cans that are biodegradable.

Umbra was founded in 1979 dedicated to design and manufacture contemporary and affordable objects for the home. For this project the company teamed up with the New York based artist Joshua Davis to create three designs in collaboration with the designer David Quan. The resulting Artala cans come in red, kiwi or ocean and carry the artist’s signature style of patterns that combine computer art and technology yet feel very poetic. To me they look like Jackson Pollack-meets-Emilio Pucci with their bold, brightly colored graphics that seem slightly psychedelic. It’s another example that eco-friendly design doesn’t need to be boring.

barking up the right tree

Having grown up with two dachshunds I was instantly attracted to this sustainable dachshund family designed by Imagiplay. The family consists of the bright blue mama dog and four colorful puppies.

This fun puzzle is part of the colorific earth puzzle collection that features pretty much any animal on this planet ranging from iguanas to penguins. What I love most are the fun scenarios like monkeys sitting in a tree or counting the arms of an octopus to learn about numbers. They are all handcrafted and hand painted with child-safe paints and made from plantation-grown rubberwood, an environmentally-friendly hardwood. I like how these toys are not only made from eco-friendly materials but also show how nature and humans interconnect. It’s really smart conceptual design. These are not only fun for children. And best of all they are splinter-free.