
Foraged Food Porn: Thanks to Cold Splinters, we just discovered our new favorite food blog. Whole Larder Love comes correct with "thrilling yarns of cooking, hunting, fishing, and harvesting" from Ballarat, Australia. Beauty photos! Re Up Gang: Looking to build green? The Design for Reuse Knowledge Exchange is the online encyclopedia of materials reuse. Good resource. Eco Brick and Mortar:......read more
As 2011 ends and we find some time for reflection, I am thinking a lot about the issue of material consumption and sustainability. Many of my students believe that a key answer to the crisis of planetary sustainability is for individuals to reduce their material consumption. When they say this, they are not thinking of the planet's poorest people, but the planet's richest people. There is a case......read more
Electric Avenue: The race for electric car dominance is underway, and GM is emerging as the early front-runner. According to CNN Money, since production began last November, U.S. sales of the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid are three times that of the all-electric Nissan Leaf. On the strength of those numbers, GM is planning to roll out the Volt to all 50 states by the end of the year. Material......read more
Top notch architecture site BLDGBLOG points us to this inspired bit of material reuse from German architect Matthias Loebermann. The Palettenpavillon is made entirely from shipping pallets, ground anchors, and tie rods. Intended as a temporary meeting space, the structure is designed for simple dismantling and reassembly, and can be recycled in entirety. With dramatic textures and a curvilinear......read more
James Bowthorpe is bad ass. Last year, in a bid to raise awareness for Parkinson's, he rode his bike around the world in 174 days, setting a new world record. Earlier this fall, he built a boat from construction waste and rowed it down the Thames. Now he's doing the same thing on the Hudson River. Feel lazy now? Same. Read an interview with the man at Nowness. Everyone is going off......read more
Sneaker shoppers will be taking home their next pair of PUMAs in something sustainable. The apparel company's new eco-conscious packaging and distribution system, which was unveiled on SHFT last year, will start hitting stores soon. Designed by Yves Behar's fuseproject studio, the so-called "Clever Little Bag" is part of PUMA's footprint reduction strategy. It's claimed that the packaging......read more
With its emphasis on openness and space over creature comforts like, say, a living room, loft living is perfect for young creative types who are more interested in throwing dance parties than dinners. But there comes a time when what you really want in a home is a cozy spot to watch TV. Adrian Jones knows this well. The designer had been living in his top-floor loft in Brooklyn for nine......read more
Israeli industrial design studio Tenenbaum Hazan has found a surprising use for the plastic window blinds that have been replaced by lighter, stronger alternatives made of aluminum. The flowing, curvaceous TRIS chair features old plastic roller blinds held together by a closed wooden contour that keeps the form in place. The side where you sit is flexible while the other side......read more
With a design practice focused on the endless possibilities of found materials reuse, Cologne, Germany-based designer Michael Konstantin Wolke conjures truly inventive new uses for old discarded stuff. His coolest creation may be these wardrobe units, which consist of from bicycle inner tubes wrapped around a metal frame. Super smart. Also check out his recycled cardboard light......read more
Clover Chadwick, owner of Dandelion Ranch here in Los Angeles, describes her approach to floral design as "natural, organic, balanced, with lots of movement." It's a design philosophy rooted in her experiences studying agriculture and working in a Napa eatery, where fresh, seasonal ingredients were the order of the day. Chadwick's creations involve wild, native plants that are outside the realm......read more