eco-chic design

imaginative eco-furniture for kids

Greenplay’s caterpillar activity bench extension peeked my interest at ICFF last week right away with its playful approach to green design. In fact it was hard to ignore the two eyes starring right at me. It’s part of the Group Loop series and designed by Joe Fiacchino for Skyline Design. The eco-friendly children table is a creative introduction to nature for budding treehuggers. It comes in different configurations to match the size of your family or green living space and is available with or without eyes. I love the bright green color of the tabletops. But I love even more that they are made of post-consumer recycled plastic (HDPE) such as detergent bottles that are chipped up and heat-pressed to form sheets of material. The base is constructed from urea formaldehyde-free MDF with FSC-certified birch veneer. It contains no or low VOC finishes. Another favorite of mine was the submarine activity station with its big round windows that are easy to climb through for adventurous eco-kids. It’s great for future explorers or aspiring marine scientists that might help to preserve our oceans one day. The tabletops are made from 100% post-consumer composite wood. All Greenplay items are shipped flat to reduce their carbon footprint and all packaging is 30-40% post consumer recycled.

eco-fabulous shopping bags

Last week the mother and daughter team Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson were in town to promote their book “Celebrate Green!”. We had a little gathering of eco-minded women in their honor that are all part of the Savor the Success social network. I noticed that its founder Angela Jia Kim who also created the organic skincare line Om Aroma sported her very own OM-bag with beautiful stitching that said “Sexy Green Has Arrived”. It turned out that the bag was designed by Bring it in a Bag founder Rupa Bihani Shah who was also at the event. I was really impressed by the contrast of the elegant embroidery with the fun and modern sounding tagline.

Bring it in a Bag offers reusable shopping bags, wine bags and tote bags made out of the sustainable plant fiber jute. The material has traditionally been used for twine or rope and is biodegradable. All products are packaged in recycled plastic or post consumer boxes. Part of the profits from each bag sold will go to EarthShare and AIM for Seva to support economic development in India as well as more sustainable environments across the USA. I especially love her wine bags that can either hold one or two bottles and are made out of 100% premium natural jute. They would’ve been perfect for the organic bottle of white wine I brought since they make great party and holiday gifts.

naturally green furniture design

Until I saw SHIMNA’s furniture at ICFF earlier this week I didn’t realize that walnut could look this dynamic and stunning. It seems that being green has always been second nature to SHIMNA’s furniture design. All wood is treated with a lot of respect by not imposing the designer’s vision onto it without regards for its inherent beauty. The design story behind the SHIMNA Beam coffee table is a perfect example. While reorganizing a stack of beams that are also used as legs for the SHIMNA Beam sofa collection one of SHIMNA’s designers configured the beams to create a beautifully proportioned coffee table. I love when chance becomes part of the design process and looks this effortlessly chic. The beams are treated with nothing else than tung or mineral oils and show off the natural beauty of the wood. The table is probably every cleaning lady’s nightmare but every planet lover’s dream including my own. The use of walnut looks equally gorgeous in the hand-constructed headboard of the SHIMNA Liffey bed that’s new for spring 2009. It’s also available in oak, maple and cherry. All woods for the SHIMNA Beam coffee table and the SHIMNA Liffey bed collection are supplied from family owned and operated sustainable sources in Pennsylvania.

eco-modern art at ICFF

Columbia Forest Products introduced PLY prints at ICFF last weekend as the perfect eco-chic marriage of sustainable materials and art. The collection encompasses six classic Alexander Girard designs printed on sustainably-harvested maple plywood with soy-flour based formaldehyde-free PureBond technology. The panels certainly combine my two loves of art and sustainability. My favorite designs are “love heart”, “madonna” and “snake”. Columbia is an eco-friendly company at heart as a leader in sustainable forestry and innovator of formaldehyde-free PureBond technology. And as we know furniture made with formaldehyde is bad for you since it releases toxic and carcinogenic VOC’s that can “off-gas” long after it’s installed. I love how Alexander Girard’s iconic designs printed with water based paint look on top of the wooden texture. It’s a great combination with his mid-century inspired designs that are very graphic yet slightly whimsical. They make fun wall decorations for eco-modern homes or offices. It’s nice to see an eco-modern marriage that has its future generations in mind by leaving a legacy of green design behind. And in case you want to spread a little extra love Girard’s iconic “love” design comes in smaller panels as well that make great eco-chic wedding gifts or give-aways. The project is a collaboration between Columbia, the estate of Alexander Girard and Eric Pfeiffer of Pfeiffer Lab.

sustainable furniture stories at ICFF

Visiting the IKEA booth at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York felt like exploring different cultures and continents until the little price tags with the IKEA logo gave it away. That’s when I realized that the designs were part of IKEA’s 2009 PS collection with the theme that each design piece tells a story.

The new IKEA PS collection combines good design, affordability and sustainability. It includes 71 pieces by 20 designers that will be available on August 1st in the US. The collection was originally founded in 1995 to strengthen the company’s focus on design. It’s great to see that sustainability made its way into the design mix. From a sustainable point of view I applaud IKEA for teaming up with UNICEF to create the IKEA PS collection wall hangings to benefit women and children in India. Or I love how the designer Maria Vinka combines banana fibers, seagrass, cotton and steal to create her IKEA PS HÄLLAR stool that looks like a 3-D map of a mountain range. But since I’m a big fan of modern eco-design I was especially smitten by the IKEA PS VÄVA pendant lamp made out of palm leaves and powder coated steel designed by Wiebke Braasch and the IKEA PS MASKROS pendant lamp made out of paper and steel designed by Marcus Arvonen. Both designs are visually inspired by nature. The IKEA PS MASKROS resembles a dandelion. You have to put it together yourself since it arrives flat packed to reduce fuel consumption. Assembling your own furniture never felt better.

eco-friendly cars for all ages

As a big fan of great design I’m thrilled that Playsam has an eco-friendly version of the Streamliner Classic Car designed by Ulf Hanses. The design has long been recognized as a Swedish design classic by the Swedish National Museum for its innovative look and sleek surface. The Streamliner Classic Organic is made from German beech wood with a natural finish of non-toxic lacquer. It comes in an award winning packaging made from 100% recycled fiber. The Streamliner Organic Series comes in 4 different styles. It’s a great eco-toy for kids and grown-ups alike. You can take the Streamliner Classic Organic for a virtual spin on your work desk as an energy-efficient mode of transportation. Or you can fantasize about taking a trip to the beach in the convertible while being on a boring conference call. Or maybe you favor the not so environmentally friendly one-seater. After all it’s just a toy. I wish the Streamliner Organic Cars would use sustainably harvested wood to make them even greener. But they are still a great modern hybrid of wooden eco-toy cars. And yes, they look gorgeous with their lime-green wheels and bright red drivers.

the evergreen of beauty products

Some green classics never go out of style and Dr. Bronner’s classic liquid & bar soaps are definitely one of them. Dr. Bronner started making his famous peppermint liquid soap in 1948 in Los Angeles as a third-generation master-soapmaker. Not sure if you ever spent the time to read the famous labels on the packaging made of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. Small type covers the labels from top to bottom promoting the founder’s vision of social and environmental ideals. They range from “balanced food for body – mind – soul – spirit is our medicine” to “ no 6-year old can grow up free without the ABC”. It’s hard to limit your shower time to a few energy efficient minutes if you want to read them all while soaking.

Dr. Bronner’s classic liquid & bar soaps are vegetable based made with organic oils and the soap is completely biodegradable. Both product lines are certified Fair Trade by the respected Swiss certifier IMO under their “Fair for Life” program since 2008. In addition to all classic scents with peppermint being the all time classic the line also added the two new scents rose and citrus orange. It’s great to see that green and social awareness not only is timeless but that you can even make it part of your daily routine.

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.

a green gift that keeps giving

Why not wrap your gift for mother’s day this year in one of these colorful and reusable Baby Baggu bags to save paper? They come in more colors than I knew even existed like rhubarb, electric purple or deep ocean. It won’t be hard to pick one of over 40 colors to either match your present or mom’s wardrobe. Or your own if you prefer.

Baggu bags are made from ripstop nylon, a super durable long lasting fabric and come in 3 different sizes. They are designed to minimize material waste and every Baggu comes in a pouch made from scrap fabric. Their website claims that you can replace 300 to 700 disposable bags throughout the year by reusing a Baggu. This makes sense if you think about all the places where you would normally leave with a plastic or paper bag in your hands like drug stores, grocery stores or bookstores. Since Baggu is a stylish alternative and easy to keep in your bag or glove box it should be a no-brainer to keep plastic bags out of landfills. This way you’ll be giving a gift to your mom and mother earth at the same time. I’ve to admit I’m a little late with my post this year and the standard size Mom Baggu is only available in black or white at this point since they are a limited edition. The good news is that either one will go with any color outfit that your mom might have.

towards a sustainable fashion world

Still new to the world of eco fashion I checked out the green room at the Designers & Agents show here in New York yesterday. The green room showcases new emerging trends and designers in sustainable fashion and furniture design. Some of the eco-chic highlights were the feminine and fair-trade clothes by anardo & skyum, the utilitarian PAPER WEAR collection by house-wear, the stylish lingerie by T-Luxe and the future-forward designs by French design company Ambrym. I was wondering though how some designs were more eco-friendly than others and how the fashion industry thrives to regulate this? The food and more recently beauty industry for example have the USDA certification process.

That’s why I was really glad to discover the stylish organic pieces by Kate Organic that are SKAL certified. SKAL tests and verifies international organic farming standards and makes sure that no pesticides or herbicides are used. Kate’s chic designs feel super soft and make sustainable fashion look effortless through its elegant ease. I especially love her Tokyo jumper made out of organic cotton fine twill that has two cute pockets or the Georgia cotton knit organic cotton blouse. Or her chic dresses made out of soy cotton like her Padme dress or the Cory Reversible dress. Her designs are stylish yet timeless which means you can wear them for many years to come. To me this is the ultimate definition of sustainability. Kate Organic also plants a tree through Trees for the Future for every garment sold.