Wine is a wonderful thing.  I should know, because my husband works in the business.  Yeah, it’s tough being married to somebody who has to bring home bottle after bottle of delicious wine to taste.  I know, I know.  Your heart bleeds for me.

Anyway, wine is a multi-billion dollar, global industry, and anything that big generates a LOT of waste.  So I thought I would share some of my favorite sustainable goods made from the remnants of the wine making process…

Elegant curves define this beautiful folding chair from Whit McLeod.  Made from used oak wine barrels – many of them decades old – this chair is surprisingly comfortable and very chic. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve admired the striking felt designs of Selina Rose for awhile, and thought it was high time I shared them with you too.

Now, I’m not usually a big fan of shocking pink, but this rug is just the sort of cheerful detail that can make a room.  Using technology to cut crisp, whimsical designs out of thick wool felt, Selina Rose has taken an ancient material and given it a new, playful edge. Read the rest of this entry »

Remodeling your kitchen?  Designing a fancy new restaurant?  Just looking for something amazing and sustainable?  Here are 6 reasons you should consider recycled glass tile…

Mosaic “wallpaper” by Trend USA

1.  Recycled glass takes only 50% of the energy to produce that virgin glass does.

Oceanside Glasstile

2.  Recycled glass  can be made into any form, color, or shape you can imagine. Read the rest of this entry »

Thought I would let you all know about FLOR’s Summer Sale on their Fez line of carpet tiles and rugs.

Fez carpet tiles are made of 85% post consumer recycled PET (polyester) fiber, and are designed for medium traffic residential use.  The 19.7″ square tiles come in seven different colors, as well as pre-designed rug kits ranging in size from 3′ x 5′ to 8′ x 10′.  Individual tiles are on sale for $7.99 (reg. $9.99), and a 3′ x 5′ rug can be had for only $47.94. Read the rest of this entry »

The second in a series of artisan profiles by contributing writer Emerald Atkins.

100 years ago, before “sustainability” became a concept, before the word “recycling” even existed, a traditional American craft embodied both: rag rugs, the art of creating rugs from worn clothing & cast-off textiles.   Across the country housewives melded thrift and creativity, beauty and usefulness into functional works of art.

At Lark Textile Design owner/designer Janet Thomas builds on this legacy.  In her hands, the unintended sustainably of yesteryear has become a directed goal in the production of custom hand-woven and constructed rugs.

“Although I use new materials now for my rugs,” she says, “they are industry 2nds and cast offs.  Perfectly good for walking on but not good enough for your window coverings or upholstery.  I am a scavenger at heart and that mindset makes it really easy to fit into the context of today’s sustainability concerns.” Read the rest of this entry »

Water use in the textile industry is massive – as in trillions of gallons massive.  Hundreds of gallons of water are required to dye even small amounts of fabric, and that water then needs extensive filtration to become drinkable again.  With potable water becoming a scarcer and scarcer commodity, how do we save more water for us, and still sustain the textile industry?  Well, why not take water out of the equation altogether…

The U.S. based company Air Dye has managed to do exactly that, by creating a new technology that can dye fabric without using a single drop of water!  This is an amazing advancement, and one we desperately need in the textile industry.  There is one problem though – other than getting the word out and encouraging fabric companies to give it a try… Read the rest of this entry »

Leather floors?  Admit it, the idea sounds kinda sexy.

100% recycled leather floors?  Totally sexy!

If you’ve ever wanted to impress your snooty acquaintances, surprise your treehugging friends, and talk your spouse (or client) into something they won’t think of as being too crunchy granola, TORLYS Leather flooring may be for you.

Read the rest of this entry »

Weathered wood is getting quite popular in interiors, what with its silvery grey patina and rough hewn texture.  And of course, there are many ways of accomplishing that look, such as scraping, painting, pickling and staining.  However, those methods take a lot of effort (not to mention being less than sustainable).  Why not let Mother Nature do all the work for you?

People (from places other than Wyoming), let me introduce you to this amazing thing called a “snowfence”.  Apparently in Wyoming, the snow runs free across the prairie, and they have to put up fencing to keep it from roaming onto the highways, or some such thing.  I don’t know – I’m from Southern California.  I am officially clueless about snow.

In any case, this fencing is subjected to wind, rain, sun, snow and ice, so it surely qualifies as weathered!  Not surprisingly, it can only last so long before it needs to be replaced.   Thankfully, Centennial Woods has found new uses for all the old, discarded planks, turning them into beautiful boards and flooring. Read the rest of this entry »

When you’re looking for sustainable flooring, carpet is usually at the bottom of the list.  Mostly made of petroleum based material, with a limited lifespan, there isn’t generally much to recommend carpet to the eco-minded designer.   But what if you took that non-renewable product, and found a way to re-use it indefinitely?   What if you did this not only with your own product, but also with the products of other manufacturers?  Could you take something ecologically ugly and make it beautiful and sustainable?  That’s what Tandus set out to do 15 years ago, and the results have been extraordinary.

Read the rest of this entry »