I have a bunch of dead light bulbs that are waiting to be recycled.  While they are waiting they can be turned into beautiful art!  P.S (Keep away from children)  Read about it on Family Chic: http://cfabbridesigns.com

Note from ehow: A simple household light bulb can be deceptively difficult to recycle. Some light bulbs feature filaments and other parts made of mercury, contributing to the inclusion of toxins in the environment. You should collect all of your light bulbs and recycle them.

January 24, 2011

“Vladimir” or “Pallet Mirror” by Karl Zahn is made using two partially destroyed shipping pallets. “The scars on the lumber tell a story of its travels. While the form is reminiscent of old victorian french mirrors, its origin is far from gold leaf” -Karl Zahn

December 19, 2010

Sandcomb seat from reused cotton by DKSD, Dutch interior and product design studio. A lightweight, yet windproof seat when filled with sand. Part of ‘portable’ furniture series. - http://www.wraf.nl

Beautiful exterior cladding panel design by DKSD inspired by…herring!
Below is a new exterior cladding panel designed to protect buildings from rainwater and also retain it. This slightly bowl-shaped panel harvests rainwater and funnels it to tanks for internal storage. The water is then used for the building’s heating, cooling and sanitary installations.  The scale-like surface and pearly colours give the panels their nickname ‘Hollandse Nieuwe’, referring to Dutch fresh herring and two brand new Dutch designers!

November 30, 2010

Above: Moth from various leaves, acorn, rose hip, sticks.

It is autumn and acorns, pine cones, sticks and various seeds are available outside. These are some wonderful illustrations instructing on how to make toys from found natural materials. (Поделки из природных материалов)

Some materials to think about:

Snake from acorns, string and acorn caps:

Cat from deergrass, sticks and maple seeds:

Above: Bear from pine cones. (ha-ha)

DIY hedgehog from pine needles and pine cone.

Donkey from acorn, sticke, peaunut, maple seeds.

Goldfish from acorn, oak leaves, maple seeds.

Owls from pine cones.

November 22, 2010

Bags from reclaimed tractor inner tubes by Chicago based company Defy Bags. Old materials. New ideas.

http://www.defybags.com

November 19, 2010

I found these beautiful greenhouses made from upcycled old windows on HAUTE NATURE. I recently have seen a bunch of gorgeous old windows in the garbage. ...

October 29, 2010

Handmade snowballs made from rubber and seeds by Everyday Design.

Above: Artist David Hammons selling real(100% snow)
snowballs on the streets of New York.

October 18, 2010

‘Whatever’ flower pots are a terracotta pots by brooklyn designer Jason Miller. The pots are made out of clay but are inspired by plastic bottles, metal cans or coffee cups people often use when they do not have a regular flower pot at hand.

http://www.millerstudio.us/

October 14, 2010

September 28, 2010

Unconventional artsy birdhouses made from odd objects and milk crates.  I saw them on Reference Library and fell in love with ever since!

- View more…......

Above: Shelving/vase system displaying thistles, dried plants and exotic flowers.

Daniel Goers is a local Brooklyn designer, architect and artist who has a show right now called Scrap Ecology at Brooklyn coffee shop K-Dog in Lefferts Gardens.  All pieces are made from reclaimed materials except some lighting components. Daniel has been collecting scrap materials and remaking them into beautiful designs and sculptures for some time now. His other great project is in collaboration with artist Jennifer Wong called Birdtown. Fifty birdhouses were built from recycled materials and installed in Fort Greene:

http://myrtleavenuebirdtown.com/

Above: Daniel Goers and Jennifer Wong.

Above: Birdhouse from Birdtown.

Scrap Ecology aims to rearrange the raw materials of our urban and natural environments into objects with new meaning and purpose. These materials include abandoned shipping pallets from Red Hook, wood cutoffs from carpentry projects, recycled packaging, discarded architectural samples, donated plant stems and foraged specimens from Prospect Park and the mountains of Harriman State Park.

http://dgoers.com

Why reclaimed materials?

New York is a great place to find raw materials to build with.  every day the streets are filled with “trash” that can be so much more. But maybe the best reason is that material is free. The reclaimed material also tends to have more character.

Do you enjoy living in New York? Would you if you had an opportunity move somewhere where there are more trees and less garbage?

Of course, New York is a great place to be a designer but my sculptures do hint at the desire to be closer to nature.  I would love to live in a barn in the mountains but in the meantime I will work to bring nature to people’s homes here.

Above: Lamp made from glass jar moss terrariums.

Why do you think using reclaimed materials is popular today? 

It’s just marketing for many people. I like to believe that myself and many other designers simply see some intrinsic value and potential in the waste around us. What was once a shipping pallet can become a hundred new things, so why cut down another tree?  More people come to this realization and the ‘green’ movement will become less about marketing & more a part of the collective conscience.

September 10, 2010

Disposable tin food containers transformed into ceramic and reusable by Lorena Barrezueta.

July 22, 2010

Chair redesign by Jetske Groot.  Jetske finds old chairs, carefully disassembles them and recycles them into new chairs that reflect their past history. Jetske calls her series “Multiple Family”

June 01, 2010

Book LED floor lamp. The lamp’s shade opens and closes like the cover of a book. As the shade opens wider, the light shines more brightly, and as it closes, it gradually dims and turns off. Made from recycled aluminum.

Simple, non-toxic, eco-friendly biodegradable coffin!

Eco-friendly chairs made from strawboard. (Strawboard, a formaldehyde-free material made of compressed straw- an alternative to wood particleboard or fiberboard)

Invisible Street Lights designed by Jongoh Lee are in the shape of tree leaves and can be wrapped around tree branches.  During the day, these leaf structures mingle in the tree’s natural leaves, harnessing and storing sunlight. At night, they provide a poetic alternative to streetlights. 

National Design Triennial is on right now at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York City.

May 28, 2010

Lamp made from scrub pads and chandelier made from
plastic spoons by Daisuke Hirawa.

Tiago Sa Da costa creates bowls and lamps out of natural material - cork. 

Hand knitted recycled cotton and leather bags by Lana Williams

Colorful, environmentally friendly wood blocks by Miller Goodman.

Scrap Lights made of recycled cardboard.

May 18, 2010

Reused shipping crate wood for shelves, glasses and cups from grandma’s garage, flea market or thrift store and a few handmade ceramic bowls.
Done!

Image found on beautiful blog by Anna Rikje, photographer and musician from Germany currently living in New York City -  I Truly Like That.

March 30, 2010

Black Pine Books makes these beautiful high-quality, affordable alternatives to more mass-produced journals. Recycled papers are utilized when possible and all items are entirely hand-made.
Moss and Khaki notebooks are made from recycled paper and have light gray paper( 80 pages). They are saddle-stitched (also known as staple-bound)
The Dusk (Navy) journals have hand-sewn binding,  heavy dark blue cover stock and the inside has a narrow-ruled, blue lined paper (80 pages). Comes with the option of a hand-made band, which helps keep the book flat when not in use.

http://www.blackpinebooks.com/

February 20, 2010

LED lamp by Brooklyn based designer Stanley Ruiz,  inspired by fabrication techniques of indigenous peoples.  An energy efficient LED strip is encased in felt, taking advantage of felt’s quality of being a fire-retardant material. 
The lamp was designed to reduce a task lamp to its bare essential- reducing the components and eliminating the use of complex machinery in production.

February 17, 2010

I actually do not remember where I found this post card or who made it but I really love it.

February 14, 2010

Above: Images of bird illustrations wallpaper found on Katy Elliott Blog

DIY: newspaper, old book pages, drawings and illustrations as wallpaper.  ( Caution:  newspaper yellows with time.)

January 06, 2010

Recycled map envelopes by DIREKTRECYCLING.
(Good DIY idea too.)

January 04, 2010

Beautiful handmade ceramic cups and plates by Zena Verda Pesta.
“I’m interested in the importance of accumulated personal objects. For example, my mother had a spray-painted gold brick, which held open the door to the apartment I lived in as a child. This illusion of luxury served more than one function for her. As she would continue her daily tasks like laundry, the brick would twinkle some significance every time she entered or exited. I am investigating the transformational aspects of the gold brick. Pondering its peculiarity, many questions arise in my mind about the functions of this object” - from zenaverda.com

December 22, 2009

Images from the book Heavenly Visions:Shaker Gift Drawings and Gift Songs.

December 21, 2009

December 16, 2009

Flower inspired earthenware by Walter Ostrom.

October 26, 2009

Red Chair Antiques.  Found on Wabi & Sabi blog.

October 12, 2009

Ceramic rubber duckie by Futility l.t.d Really cool.



Ceramic milk carton bt Hanna Risgaard.

July 19, 2009

Ceramic Teacup by Jonathan Trotter

July 18, 2009

Bags from re-purposed, recycled coffee sacks!  Lined with a soft unbleached cotton. by Mayamade. 

May 31, 2009

Casamento, located in Cape Town, South Africa individually hand crafts furniture using recycled frames and only natural fibers throughout: natural non-allergenic fibers: sisal, raw cotton wadding, horsehair jute webbing, hessian and flock natural fibers.

May 18, 2009