One glance at Gaspard Tiné-Berès’ design work caught my attention, but it was as I learned more about his Short-Circuit trio of appliances and the affirmative business plan behind them that inspiration came.

It’s no news that our present throw-away culture produces literal mountains of waste, including kitchen appliances that are discarded, not because they’re worn out, but because of a crack in the housing, or the “patina” of extended use… or simply because the owner wants something different.  In many cases the internal parts are either in good working order or could be easily repaired.

Tiné-Berès is concerned about this trend.  This graduate of the Royal College of Art in London maintains that landfill sites are increasingly becoming sources of viable and perfectly working electrical and electronic components, a rich resource that could and should be utilized.  And he’s done so.

“I’m investigating the business model based on the exploitation of such resources, starting from the existing solutions such as re-use center,” said Tiné-Berès.  “I’m proposing a system that would bring together concepts such as local manufacturing, re-skilling of European labour, and upcycling.”

One of the results is the Short Circuit line.  These appliances – a toaster, kettle, and coffee-maker – are crafted from re-used components and factory seconds, such as wine bottle and chemistry beakers.  Because of its waterproof, anti-bacterial, and insulation properties, the main structure is made out of cork, a material that can be hand-shaped with simple tools, requires no mold for production, and can be changed, upgraded, or repaired as needed.  When the useful life of the appliance is over, the majority of the components can be reused or recycled.

Currently the products are still prototypes, but who knows how little consumer interest may be needed to spark production?  Just for fun, check out the video of Tiné-Berès’ Short-Circuit on Vimeo, or stop by his website to explore his other  work.

Aren’t they the bomb?  There’s so much potential here.  What do you think?  What other electronics would you like to see him tackle in the future?

Images courtesy of Gaspard Tiné-Berès

A few months ago, I finally joined Instagram (you can follow me at rachelhulan).  At first I felt pretty silly holding up my big ol’ iPad to take images with, but I quickly realized how great it was for capturing design inspirations, like the scene above.

I was waiting to head off to a morning meeting and had some time to kill, so I walked out on the Newport Pier and took this shot.  You could recapture everything in the image as a design: reclaimed wood, smooth blue glass tile, concrete floor, and a saturated red chair.  Sounds fun, no?

I’m working on figuring out a more efficient way to post these images and share my design ideas with you (aka, bombard you with my design geekiness).

Meanwhile, thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

Rachel

The oldest known redwood, found in Humboldt Redwoods State Park in California, is believed to be 2,700 years old. Redwoods are known for their longevity, so perhaps it’s no coincidence that the logo for the California Redwood Company features a stylized infinity loop supporting a seedling redwood.  It’s a fitting symbol, for, where many companies committed to a sustainable ethic may have been in operation for only a few years or a few decades, TCRC can boast a continuous history stretching back to 1890.

For some time the company has worked towards reducing its water and energy use while manufacturing its products.  Everything of the resource redwoods is used, from the bark to the chips to the sawdust, and even the boiler used to dry the boards for its decks runs on bio-mass fuel created from leftover wood particles.  Nothing is wasted.

Now TCRC is venturing forth with an online shop featuring patio furniture, raised planting beds, and planter boxes.

The plantersare hand-crafted in California.  They include reclaimed wood that was previously used for separating wood stacks in the kiln – a purpose which severely limits its potential for reuse.

The planters are 24” tall x 21” wide x 21 long and weigh a solid 38 pounds each.  Three different models are available: either crafted of all redwood or featuring copper or stainless steel accent panels.  They come stained and assembled and perhaps for that reason cannot be shipped overseas.

It’s a very light stain: a good choice on the part of TCRC.  I love how the natural beauty of the wood is thus allowed to shine through, even onto the knotholes, which in the past were censored in many quarters but which are now recognized as bringing character and interest to the woodwork.

Don’t you think these would look great guarding the entrance way to your house?  I think they really make a statement.

image via thedogsofpompeii.com

However, the little tiles had to be hand cut, and the mosaics carefully assembled by hand.  All of which made them a luxury item for centuries.

These days, the advent of new, computerized manufacturing techniques have made teensy, tiny tile increasingly easy to produce in a uniform manner.  Some of these tiles are no more than 1/4″ to 1″ square, and come pre-assembled on backing sheets which significantly reduce the labor needed to install them.

This has made it ever more affordable to cover entire floors and walls with beautiful mosaics made of ceramic, porcelain, and even glass tile.   You can see more examples on my “Trending – Tiny Tile” board on Pinterest.

Personally, I love the shimmer of the glass tile mosaics, especially the metallic ones.  There is something so magical about them when the light hits just right.

How about you?  Have you seen a tiny tile installation recently?  What did you think?

Happy Friday everyone!  See you next week!

Rachel

So look for new product reviews, artisan profiles, and all the other stuff we have always enjoyed sharing with you, plus some new ideas we’ve been percolating during the down time.

Thanks for sticking around, Dear Readers! We’ll try to make it worth your while.

Rachel

It’s been a while since we featured nursery items here, and one look at these gentle charmers from Amenity Home was proof enough that the time had come to do so again.

California mothers Nicole Chiala and Kristina de Corpo started Amenity back in 2004.  Their simple, nature-inspired designs were from the first part of an effort to bring the peaceful tranquility of their youth into the urban, adult homes.  Two years later the pair realized their goal of offering their designs exclusively on organic or sustainable materials, and from there the business has only grown.  Nursery items are only part of a wide-ranging selection from Amenity.

But for today our focus is on these blankets, pillows, and wall prints.  There’s a fine line to walk when designing for children’s rooms, and these ladies have succeeded in finding that crucial balance.

The warm earth tones are rich yet sensible, and the animals are sweet without emulating the forest friends of a certain monolithic animated studio we all know.  There’s refreshing originality here.

Along with the organic cotton crib sheets & crib skirts also available from Amenity, these blankets and pillows make for sweet dreams.  The blankets are printed with GOTS compliant dyes on 300 thread count certified organic cotton percale, then backed with organic cotton fleece, and are sold in large (34 x 46”) and mini (16 x 22”) sizes.

One can choose between floor pillows or percale pillows.  At 26 x 26” and made of a hemp/organic cotton blend, the floor versions are larger & sturdier than their percale counterparts, which are simply of organic cotton percale and at 16 x 22” are sized more for use in a crib or bed.  Both types are available as case only or with a 100% organic cotton fill.

But where the real fun comes in is with the wall art, which lends itself toward a mix-and-match kind of look.  The meadow, woodlands, wetlands, and wood designs can be bought full-sized on the same organic cotton percale used in the blankets – or, on the hemp-cotton blend, as smaller detail prints which feature a wide variety of cuddly animals.

All these items are printed and sewn/assembled locally in Los Angeles, while the wood used to frame the prints is sustainably harvested.

For a fuller understanding of Amenity’s dedication, please read their Green FAQ here.

~ Emerald

I remember being fascinated by the wet, weathered textures and mysterious origins of the driftwood washed up on shore.  Where did it come from?  It was easy to imagine all sorts of stories: a wharf damaged by storms, or a pirate ship sunk with its treasure at the bottom of the sea…

Of course, there were never pirates off the coast of Los Angeles, were there?  But one can dream.

And one can have the romance of that dream in one’s living room, kitchen, bedroom… anywhere in the residence, really, with these cool creations by Shipwreck Furniture.

South African builder Nic Kruger thinks so.  One fine day he stumbled across the wreck of the ex-fishing boat Kunene and fell in love with her timbers, of which he says:

“Most people will regard a sight like this as a heap of old rotten timber, but to me this is like treasure.”

Treasure indeed.  Nic carted bits of his find off to his workshop, from the timber started cleaning out the many rusted nails – source of many of the intriguing dark patches that complement the wood’s natural grain – and in time set to work on his first project, the inconspicuously-named Table 1.

There are several furniture makers out there using scavenged or reclaimed wood.  Water towers, old homes, barns…  the list is as diverse as the people finding inspiration in the “unwanted” materials they work with, but Nic’s team finds special challenge in their nautical resource.

“We use exclusively timber from wrecks,” he says, “which in many ways limits us in conventional thinking and forces us to let the timber dictate the size, shape and finish of the final product.  These boats are chopped up with chainsaws and little regard for future use.  The parameters were the size of the dump-trucks that were used to transport it…  Boats are also not square or box shaped.  It is their beautiful streamlined hulls which makes it possible for them to sail the oceans.  For exactly this reason there are very few straight planks that come off these wrecks.”

Playfulness and adaptive creativity abound in Nic’s work – as it must, for the nature of the wood demands such an approach.

A member of the Shipwreck team works full time cleaning and dismantling the metal-rich wrecks, a process that rips through a lot of saw and planer blades.  Some of that metal is incorporated in the studio’s furniture.

Although the pieces may look rough, even a casual glance reveals the skill and careful attention to detail that goes into their making.  Wonderful, the patina from years of usefulness at sea!  One wonders if the ghosts of wind and brine still cling to the wood.

There’s a delicious tactile appeal that prompts the urge to reach out and explore the textures.

“Our aim is to capture and preserve as much of the character and history of our wrecks in our furniture,” says Nic.  Well, he succeeded.

And his work is fun to look at too.

~ Emerald

Images courtesy of Shipwreck Furniture

Seattle, WA may be a Mecca for coffee lovers, but there’s so much more to the city than that.  It’s also a hotbed for sustainable business ethics and the development of a low-impact lifestyle, both of which mesh nicely with this week’s featured company, Viola Park.

But to tell their story it’s necessary to back up a bit.

Since its inception in 2001 Henrybuilt, the parent company of Viola Park, has taken a practical approach to environmentalism.  According to the company, longevity is among the most important aspects of sustainability.  And so, along with careful materials selection, Henrybuilt strives for solid, long-lasting construction in its cabinetry & furniture designs for kitchen and home.

From the start founder Scott Hudson intended for his company to offer a product balanced between the highly functional modular designs of Europe and the work of custom cabinetmakers here in the U.S. – high quality design for the middle range of the market.

When the recession hit, sales dropped, and Hudson’s creative response was the creation and 2009 launching of Viola Park.  The approach is small scale, with design-oriented modular kitchens manufactured in whole and delivered complete, using a standard set of components designed to work in a wide range of situations.

A configuration tool on the Viola Park website leads customers through the initial stages of design, so that even those without training in interior design can have an active hand in creating their kitchen.  Customers then work directly with a company engineer for the finishing stages.  The kitchens are manufactured to order at Henrybuilt, in Seattle, and shipped directly to the buyer.

No middlemen.  No warehouse full of pre-fabricated cabinetry collecting dust.  And lower costs for everyone concerned.

“I think that kitchens designed as systems – more unified wholes – are absolutely the future,” says Hudson.  “The way it is done now is a waste of economic resources, not very functional and much more likely to be replaced a few years later.”

Component materials are selected for durability, beauty, and conformity to the company’s sustainable ethic.  Each item is hand made on site with the same craftsmen overseeing the entire production process.  The results are sturdy, sleek, perhaps even minimalist, yet warm and inviting.

One sterling example of Viola Park design is the inconspicuously named Island B, which features components like a pivot storage system, drawer organizers, and an integrated bread box – enough to earn “Best of 2011” award from Interior Design Magazine.

And as for that sustainable ethic?  These kitchens include a base cabinet core with no added urea formaldehyde, and use FSC Certified woods with water-based low VOC lacquers.  Bamboo plywood is an option frequently used.  Countertops may be composed of PaperStone, an architectural surface material made with petroleum-free phenolic resins and post-consumer recycled paper.

PaperStone is certified by the FSC, Smartwood, and Rainforest Alliance, can add to a project’s LEED points, and, according to Pure Green Magazine is “impossible to damage”.  Sounds good!

~ Emerald

All that glitters may or may not be gold (in fact, it is usually polished brass), but it certainly is a hot design trend right now.

Mind you, this isn’t your mother’s 1980′s era brass.  You know, the kind that was used for overly ornate faucets and accessories to go with the Laura Ashley wallpaper and the little pink soaps in the guest bath?    <shudder>

Instead, gold is now the accent of choice to warm up that other trending “color” – crisp white.  Although gold can also be used to great effect with navy blue, chartreuse, and blush pinks, it is white that really begs for it.

If you want to try out this design trend, try accessorizing with brass planters or bowls you find at a flea market or thrift shop.  Just be sure that they have simple, modern forms, and can be polished up to a high shine.  Or find some silly ceramic figurines that could be improved with a solid coat of gold paint, then group 3-5 of them together on your mantel for a fun and trendy look.

For more ideas and inspirations, check out my All That Glitters board on Pinterest.

Thanks for visiting!

The sources and credits for the images above can also be found on Pinterest.

Jerry used to be a detergent bottle but now he’s gained new life as a kid’s nightlight… or, perhaps, as a whimsical conversation piece owned by an adult who hasn’t forgotten how to be a kid.  Isn’t he great?

Steven Wine created Jerry and his menagerie of companions as a diversion from his regular work as lighting designer for ABYU (And Bob’s Your Uncle) and its partner company, BNO Design.

“I originally made these upcycled nightlights for kids’ rooms,” says Steven, “but adults seem to like them too!  Sometimes when I finish a particularly cute one, everyone in the studio laughs when they look at it.  That’s pretty much what it’s all about!”

The upcycled menagerie is only a part of a larger story.

These are creatures of fantasy and whimsy, of smaller scale but no less creative than Steven’s usual, larger light fixtures: airy sculptures of glass, metal, and (quite often) feathers.

“We specialize in creative custom lighting products that emphasize the value of good design and craftsmanship,” says Steven.  “Our limitless exploration of materials enables our artists to look at lighting with a unique perspective.”

Jerry and his co-creations can be found at the ABYU online shop, here.

~ Emerald