Cafe America is an upcycled galvanized steel chain-link chair with stainless steel rod and fasteners by Grain. The chair flat-packs for efficient shipping and storage.  Handmade in the Pacific Northwest, USA.

July 07, 2010

“Man can better set up in a small house than in a huge castle.” - Leo N. Tolstoy

“With the loved ones you can be happy even in the smallest of places.” - Leo N. Tolstoy.

July 03, 2010

“Red List protects nature” - The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, founded in 1948, is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species.

“Protect birds - they are doctors of the forest”

“Cut down one - plant ten”

“Welcome, my feathered friends!”

June 25, 2010

VerTerra’s disposable tableware is a great alternative to plastic and paper plates. It is made from fallen palm leaves and water only and biodegrades naturally within two months.

June 07, 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

Scrap wood chair. (Perfect DIY idea)

Skateboard wheels rotating table. (Great idea for reusing skateboard wheels)

Button toy. (Great idea for reusing buttons)

Future Perfect is a good new design store in
Williamsburg and East Village, New York.

May 26, 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

Log speakers by Stanley Ruiz - http://stanleyruiz.com  Stanley’s speakers are composed of only wood and metal. “It is a very lo-fi, unassuming approach to product design.  Improvisation is a major part of my process” - Stanley.

Ceramic speakers by Joey Roth: 

The speaker system is reduced to its most simple form.  It is also made out of all natural materials consisting of porcelain, cork, and birch.

May 14, 2010

Reused shipping crate shelves / drawers by Linda Jose.  Furniture designed to reuse shipping crates.

May 08, 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

Reusing plastic and wooden shipping crates as shelves and drawers.

Above: Apple crates from Bailey’s Home and Garden

Reusing plastic crates as chairs and coffee tables.

Reusing shipping crates as baskets for bikes.

Above: Bike photographs from Bakfiets en Meer blog - City Cycling News and Opinions from Amsterdam.

Above: Shipping crate as bike basket.  Image from Toronto bike blog - Globe Revolution - Inspiring Everyone to a Cycling Lifestyle

January 19, 2010

Above:  Chairs by StudioMama

January 14, 2010

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

January 04, 2010

Above: Table made from reclaimed rusty steel and
sustainably sourced uk oak.

Above: Table made from reclaimed oak finished with hard
wax oil protected against stains with an eco sealant
glues used are non-toxic & solvent free

Furniture from discarded and reclaimed materials by Pacha Design

December 29, 2009

Above: Orbit Chandelier.  Spotted at The Future Perfect in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Above:  Sting Light

String Lights and Orbit Chandelier by Patrick Townsend.  I like these designs because they are so ephemeral and simple.  (Will also probably work great with LED lights)

December 27, 2009

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

One of my favorite posters by Charley Harper - The Rocky Mountains.

December 21, 2009

Some of New York City’s rooftop houses and gardens (photos from Apartment Therapy, Treehugger and Brooklyn Roof Garden)

December 19, 2009

Jason Miller (Jason Miller Studio) challenges the rules that surround modern day consumer items.

December 18, 2009

Yakkay (with a slogan: “brainwear for smart people”) develops and produces these fashionable bike helmets.

December 17, 2009

December 16, 2009

Camouflage House by Hiroshi Iguchi

November 23, 2009

‘Seconds’ are items, which, in some way, are not quite right. They are imperfect and therefore of lesser value. But who made these rules that we use to judge perfection? Who says the decoration has to be in the center? Who says a whole bird is better than half a bird? Who says a flower can’t grow down? - Jason Miller

Ceramic Superordinate Antler Chandelier by Jason Miller (Miller Studio)

November 11, 2009

Flower inspired earthenware by Walter Ostrom.

October 26, 2009

Birds by Kenojuak Ashevak. Kenojuak Ashevak was born in an igloo in an Inuit camp, Ikirasaq, at the southern coast of Baffin Island. 

October 23, 2009

Chair made from recycled , reused fabric pieces /  discarded scraps. By Fernando and Humberto Campana from Brazil.

October 19, 2009