Our good friend Isa Brito is the herbalist behind Isa's Restoratives, a line of wildcrafted, organic concoctions that we fully endorse (hot tip: try the Blue Chamomile Face Cream ). In this episode of Gardens NYC, we explore the Williamsburg garden where the lives of Isa's tinctures begin. But healing plants aren't the garden's only residents; Isa is down with weeds as well.......read more
The curvy, donut-shaped humidifier from Japanese design house +-0 efficiently solves dry winter air, and looks damn good while it does it. The Naoto Fukasawa design features a removable water tank with convenient foldable handle. You can also put few drops of your favorite aromatic oil and aroma will spread with the steam. Once the water is gone, the PlusMinusZero humidifier shuts automatically......read more
"A well-made object can be passed down, and shouldn't have to be replaced, so there's one less thing in the landfills." So goes the product philosophy behind Kaufmann Mercantile, an online purveyor of the type of high-quality, high-function stuff that lasts generations. The shop has a nicely honed selection of offerings that includes these Reclaimed Mahogany Coasters, which make clever......read more
Like all the best things in life, gardening takes work. This Patio Garden Kit, from Los Angeles design house Scout Regalia, gets you prepped for the work ahead, providing you with everything you need, less wood, to build a patio-friendly garden of whatever size you like. Your job is to source your own reclaimed wood, then tack it all together with the included heavy gauge steel brackets (locally......read more
London's Eco Age is a store, showroom and consultancy that acts as a hub for all things green. Founder Nicola Giuggioli doesn't think "sustainable design" should infer any particular aesthetic. Neither do we. Here, Giuggioli discusses the concept....read more
We could get used to working here. Designed by FLOAT architecture, 'Watershed' is a 100 square foot writer's studio that reveals the complex ecology around it. Little tunnels under the structure bring reptiles and amphibians into view through the floor-level window. A water collection basin, doubling as the front step, attracts birds and deer. All of the structure's parts are......read more
As part of its footprint reduction project, Puma commissioned Yves Behar of fuseproject to create a new packaging system for Puma shoes. The result is a revolution in showbox design. Using 65% less paper than a traditional shoebox, the "Clever Little Bag" is a cardboard stock frame wrapped in reusable shoe bag. The packaging has no laminated printing, no tissue paper, requies less space......read more
Ocean Green is a small Britsh surfboard company with a staunch focus on sustainability. Avoiding the negative ecological impacts of conventional board shaping, the shapers use hollow balsa cores (sourced from sustainably managed forests) instead of non-biodegradable polyurethane or polystyrene, and organic hemp or cotton cloth instead of fiberglass. At 6'4", the Golondrina is Ocean......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
There have been plenty of attempts to build with recycled wooden pallets, but none have quite pulled it off like the Pallet Project at the offices of Brandbase in Amsterdam. When the creative agency approached MOST Architecture to design the temporary space for their new studio, their only requirement was that it had to be furnished by recycled materials. The Dutch firm went all out with the......read more