Design & furniture
All cool visions for the future come out of Japan (self-heating bra anyone?) and it's good to see eco-friendly living is occupying the mind's of some of the country's hottest designers. Treasured Trash is a creative team that makes truly delicious-looking objects of desire out of old bits of stuff. Their latest project is this eco-friendly office concept made of various recycled materials. To find out more about Treasured Trash and what they do, there's a great interview with them here.
Design & furniture
This dual-purpose cactus/coffee maker is not for those who want their caffeine fix right now, but it is thoroughly eco-friendly, needs no electricity and relies on sunlight to do its work. Leave the 'plant' in a bright spot, and the sun will gently warm your brew, up to 22 times a day -- and that's quite a few more times than even the most hardened caffeine freaks will tolerate! Once the water is boiled, you can also use the device to keep your drink warm at your desk.
The Amico is still in prototype stage, but I'd certainly like one of these keeping the poor, abandoned mugs on my desk warm this winter! [Via Ecofriend]
Related: Tefal Quick Cup video review | Yay or Nay: The Tefal Quick-Cup kettle
With their clean, neat cuts and simple loom hemp cloth, Turkish company Perma Organik are the modest creators of no-nonsense yet idyllic styles. Case in point: their yoga trousers, which are so elegant and comfortable it seems a waste just to wear them for sun salutes.
As well as creating great clothes, Perma Organik pride themselves on doing it the old fashioned way. Their hemp cloth is organic and made using a traditional hand loom technique by women in small, remote villages in the northern tip of Turkey. “By doing this we try to bring back the ancient technique and support the local community, especially the rural women”, said Gulenay Pema Antep of Perma Organik. Perma Organik are also strong believers in working with respect for the environment and trading fairly - what more can a fashion hungry girl want!
Design & furniture
This cute table, featuring a little squirrel running up a tree trunk and a cut-out of an owl, is made from 100% certified sustainable maple plywood and a is coated with a water-based 'varnish'. It comes in a flat pack, but unlike some furniture which can take a degree in joinery to assemble the top of this table simply slots snugly onto the base. It also means you can easily take it apart if you want to store it. It comes in two different heights and several finishes - raw wood, plain clear, dark walnut or it can be made in a custom colour.
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Design & furniture
These cute little critters are Lilli & Oscar - a 1.3 mega-pixel octopus shaped webcam and a starfish USB port. They have been created by UK based design company United Pepper who produce technology products which are more sustainable and environmentally friendly than traditional components.
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Design & furniture
It doesn’t sound like the most inspiring of fabrics, and yet The Wet Felting Company produces a marvellous range of cosy products made from locally-sourced Devon wool.
My particular favourite is the luxurious pairs of slippers. Each pair is handmade for the individual out of one complete piece of felt. You can design your own or use a standard design. Prices start from £11.95 for babies and £23.95 for adults (postage included).
There are also lovely, old-fashioned teacosies in wonderful chicken designs boiled egg cosies in chick guise, as well as rugs, room divider screens and mobiles to gladden any child’s heart and brighten their bedroom.
This is a wonderfully individual and quirky company making gorgeous and unique products out of an often-overlooked local resource. Well worth a look, especially if you have presents to buy!
Design & furniture
There are lots of innovative ways emerging to reduce excess packaging, and one of the most exciting I've seen is this Lite2go by Knoend. It basically uses the polypropylene packaging as the light shade, and when you unwrap and assemble it, all you are left with is a small strip of cardboard and some hemp twine (both of which can be composted or recycled). The pack includes an energy efficient 7W compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL), and the light can be used as a pendant or a table lamp. It's such a great, and really simple, idea and one which will hopefully catch on with other manufacturers. Knoend are hoping to replace the petro-chemical based polypropylene with a bio-based plastic, or laminated bamboo in the near future which will make the Lite2go even more desirable to green consumers. US$38 from Knoend's website.
[via treehugger.com]
Related: Green light for Ecocentric | LightWedge - the energy-efficient reading light
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