Smart Design

A limited edition of shoulder-strap clutch bag designed by a Fendi made of recycled venetian blinds. That last part got my attention, yes the bags are made of thin strips of aluminum that were once used to make Venetian blinds in “seven brilliant shades” (no pun intended) with interiors that are personalized with various vintage fabrics. Designer Ilaria Venturini Fendi has created these bags for Carmina Campus which are hand made by Italian craftspeople. The collection is being previewed on Yoox.com, in an exclusive preview for YOOXYGEN a new “eco” subsection of its main site.

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“Invitrum base units are the utmost expression of eco-sustainable design.” Phrases like this one normally make me numb, chock full of correctness and corporate speak. But as I read the press release and dug deeper I realized that these kitchen base units were more than a little special. For one, they actually appealed to me at an aesthetic level first, it’s mostly see-through glass, and though cleaning might be a problem, or scratching, it is nice to be able to see all your utensils and kitchen paraphernalia. But in glass you also have a material that is fully recyclable, inert (no toxic emissions) and able to resist water, steam and heat. Glass in the kitchen works, I have a set of 20 year old Corning Glass Visions Cookware that’s still going strong to this day.

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First there was the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) movement for those who wanted to save money and make things themselves for their home. Now there’s a new movement afoot, Grow-It-Yourself (GIY), for those who want to grow their own food. It’s hard to farm in the city, but it is possible to grow your own vegetables in your condo. Here’s a group of appliances that can help you GIY.

The Lightpot by Shulab Studio is a planter that has a lamp overhead, growing from the centre of the plant. The light highlights the greenery, so it is an ideal accessory for any dark corner.

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Spotted this over at swissmiss. It’s an intriguing graphic from GOOD magazine showing how much water each of us use in our daily activities. It’s the first I’ve read of water footprints (vs. the more common carbon footprint) the amount of water an individual uses.

“Water footprints can be hard to calculate, depending on how far up the chain of production you go,

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The Scrap Lab chair is made out of denim scraps left on the factory floor. The designer, Yongyut Chanapron, is part of Design Team Scrap Lab, a team created out of the Building Innovation and Technology Department of Kasetsart University in Thailand. A lab with a mission to make new products out of leftover materials, scraps, from various manufacturing processes.

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If you’ve ever owned a swimming pool you know it’s a chore, all the cleaning and maintenance, and you know the chlorine can’t be good for you nor the planet. So what to do? Convert your pool to a natural pond. If you have an existing in-ground swimming pool you can now transform it into a natural swimming pond. More on conversion in a bit. And if you’re considering getting a pool, consider getting a pond, you can eliminate expensive heating and maintenance bills, harmful chemicals, those weekly chores and allergic reactions. There is no need to fear infestations of mosquitoes or an invasion of frogs, a natural swimming pond is nature perfected, all the small creatures live in the plant zone while you relax in the swimming zone. So instead of killing every living thing that comes into contact with your pool, you can now save and encourage wildlife in your pond.

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Could you live without straight lines?

Think about it: The only perfectly straight lines that a caveman would ever see were sunbeams. In short, straight lines are rarely seen in nature, yet our homes and our cities are filled with them.

The maverick Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser called straight lines “the devil’s tools,” and felt that straight lines “make people sick because, not occurring in nature, they incessantly subject people to an irritation for which the organism is unprepared.”

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Some of us city dwellers are lucky enough to have access to Farmer’s Markets, where fresh produce is widely available. But all of those crops are brought into the city on trucks. Imagine, then, if we could take the subway or even cross the street to get to a farm.

The urban farm, or more accurately the vertical farm, may one day become a widespread reality, out of necessity. According to the Vertical Farm Project,

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The RKS Laundry Pod is a prototype handwash helper that helps cut down on energy use and makes washing by hand much easier. Put dirty items into Pod, add soap and water, soak and then spin by pumping the hand lever. Drain out soapy water, refill and spin to rinse then drain and spin to damp dry. This is perfect for those who hate to deal with their delicates or get hand cramps wringing out.

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In my last post I gave you my reasons for packing my own water and shunning the plastic bottle variety. But then today at TheDieline I spotted Boxed Water is Better – a boxed water company. “Part sustainable water company, part art project, part philanthropic project, and completely curious.” It started with the simple idea of creating a new bottled water brand sans bottle that is kinder to the environment and gives back. Interestingly designer and founder Benjamin Edgar looked to the past for inspiration for the container, the box is actually a century old beverage container.
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