Less is more. Case in point: Apartment Therapy’s 3rd Annual Smallest Coolest Apartment 2007 contest. Over 100 entries showcased the art of living large in a small space. The votes have been tallied, but you can still catch the full gallery of designs, floor plans, and how-to descriptions. Great design inspiration for your cozy lil’ crib.
Gone postal with all the junk mail flooding your mailbox? Me too. Almost missed a postcard for a fabulous idea called Stamp Out Hunger. Here’s a chance to bring fabulous food to families in need in your area. Who’s in?
Tomorrow, Saturday May 12, we can help. Leave a bag of non-perishable food next to your mailbox. Your friendly letter carrier will pick it up while making the rounds. So easy a caveman can do it (ok, I needed a little Friday Geico humor).
Of course any non-perishable food is welcomed. But if you happen to be near a local Trader Joes, Whole Foods, or supermarket that offers organic options, wouldn’t it be nice to indulge a family with a few extra healthy, sustainable options in the mix?
What going in my Fabulously Green bag tomorrow:
* Boxes of Pacific Organic Creamy Tomato soup, Trader Joe’s Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup. I always have a few in the pantry for easy meal making.
* Cans of Westbrae Natural Pinto Beans, Whole Kernel Golden Corn, Great Northern Beans
* Kashi’s Strawberry Fields cereal — hard for me to part with, it’s SO good.
* Organic Cream of Wheat, Polenta by Bob’s Red Mill. I knew there was a reason why I had bought a whole case this month.
* Dried fruits from Trader Joes: golden raisins, cranberries, currents, apricots
* Bags of pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans for snacking or cooking
For urbanites: check with your letter carrier or bring food to your nearest post office.
Thanks to the U.S. National Association of Letter Carriers for sponsoring Stamp out Hunger. You all rock!
Zanisa is an online boutique well-stocked with green and gorgeous gifts for him, her, baby–even for your pet. Founder Susan Lawrence launched Zanisa as “a labor of love” and it shows. A beautifully drawn symbol legend helps shoppers understand the degree of “green” characteristics in each product. There’s a broad range of green style gifts to suit economical and extravagant budgets.
Who: Zanisa, a derivative Shona word meaning “to restore harmony and be in balance”
What: Online, one-stop source for high style, socially conscious gifts presented in drop-dead-gorgeous packages.
Best Bets:
Luxurious, handmade, organic soaps and spa kits
Restyled wallets, bags, totes
Organic, fair trade chocolates
Green gifts under $25
Extra: Catch the stories of artists/designers behind the goods in the Profiles section.
Know Before You Go: If you want to search products by green category (i.e. see what is “fair trade” or “recyclable”) you need to rollover the “Show” button to pop up the menu. Zanisa also stocks some “handmade only” items so not everything on the site is considered “green.”
FAB GREEN PICKS
Bottlecap Bracelet by Laura Beamer, $159
Made from recycled Oopp juice bottle caps
Chocolate Wafers, Kathy Moskai, $15
Organic, fair trade chocolate from sustainably grown and harvested beans in the Ecuadoran rainforest. Topped with crushed espresso, pink peppercorns, or chipotle-roasted organic pumpkin seeds. A daring delight!
The Steelcase Think Chair is about as close to perfection as it gets in an office chair. From now until May 15, Fab Green readers can get a 10% discount.
Praised for its sleek design, cutting edge ergonomics, and environmentally conscious materials, the Think chair is so comfortable it just might give you the extra boost you need to get through the workday.
Awarded the 2006 Business Week Gold Industrial Design Excellence Award, Steelcase partnered with William McDonough’s design group MBDC to create one of the first “cradle-to-cradle” chairs in the business (meaning eco-friendly from birth to rebirth). It’s beautifully crafted from 44% recycled materials, 99% recyclable, and produced with no PVCs, lead, mercury and other known toxins. Designers and architects will be happy to know the Think Chair qualifies for LEED credits as well.
I “test-sat” the Think Chair last year on one of my visits to the Steelcase showroom, and dare I say my back was so happy I think it smiled. The chair conformed perfectly to my body and gave me firm yet forgiving support unparalleled in any other chair I’ve tried. Now that I’ve reached that age where I find myself regrettably complaining about lower back pain and overload of computer work, I recently came to the conclusion that it’s worth swapping my $30 Office Depot chair for something healthier. It’s not cheap, but pretty reasonable as far as high-tech chairs go.
If you want one for yourself or your business, e-mail the Steelcase Store and ask for the Fabulously Green 10% off Think coupon code. The chair lists regularly from $649-959 depending on custom features.
Thanks to Matt Lindstrom for contacting us with this offer.
Remember these? We’ve declared our love for SIGG last September for these sleek, customizable bottles designed for style-conscious, earth-friendly people on-the-go. With over 144 designs to select from, coffee lovers everywhere could find a fun, expressive alternative to the impersonal, disposable paper cup.
Now your chance to design your own SIGG has arrived. SIGG is calling all creatives to design a new bottle expressing your eco-values with style of course. The winner will receive 100 printed bottles to share with family and friends, limited edition bottles sold exclusively through Patagonia. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the Surfrider Foundation, a not-for-profit organization committed to protecting our oceans and beaches.
If voting for the winner is more your thing you can rate the entries here. Submission deadline is June 1. For full contest details check out SIGG Art. Good luck!
Taxes. Work deadlines. Press deadlines. You get the picture…I’ve been trapped under something heavy.
So as to not leave you empty-handed for too long, I’m passing on a tip I just discovered over the weekend. It will make your vintage, second-hand shopping much, much easier. And the reuse of pre-loved pieces is one of the best ways to express your personal style and go fabulously green. Are you ready?
Listpic.com – This is a real-time image browser of everything sold on Craigslist. Enter your location to whittle down the options. Choose your favored category like “furniture” and CLICK.
Drumroll please…
An instant feast of photos of sofas, chairs, sideboards, lamps each listed with a price and location. Mouse-over that Eames-period plywood chair and the actual text listing will pop up like a Pop Tart from a toaster.
This works everywhere…as an experiment I typed in “Israel” and in the Art category were some paintings.
You’ll never have to click through each little listing again. It’s like–magic.
Enjoy!
Fab Friday got lost in the shuffle of a frantic work week and pending move into my apartment. Lots off books, magazines, electronics, and clothing to donate, sell, or recycle. Thanks to the following folks for making it all easier on me:
CraigsList - Online emporium meets local shopping. They make it so easy to buy and sell second-hand furnishings without the need for shipping. Hoping to sell my surplus computers, TVs, books and CD’s; hoping to find a promising rug, lounge chair, or console.
Freecycle – Love their premise: change the world one gift at a time. It’s an online community you can join in your area to post donations and people who need or want what you have will contact you. I’ve given away Yoga videos, books, magazine subscriptions. You can find a freecycle community in your part of the world here.
Dress for Success – All my beautiful, former corporate world suits will be donated here. Since 1997, Dress for Success has served almost 300,000 underserved women around the world by providing professional clothing and coaching for job interviews.
Crossroads Trading Company, and Wasteland – great destinations to buy, sell, trade vintage clothing and shoes.
See you all on Tuesday! Until then, have a happy and healthy holiday weekend!
Fabulously green finds from around the web…
STYLISH SECONDS
Series 3 Chair by Project 99
Tea Lantern by Molo Design
PaperSeat by Molo Design
Inner Tube pendant by Sylvain Willenz
As wedding season approaches I thought it would be fun to share some tips and resources I’ve found to help eco-curious brides and grooms go green. Why not add some good green karma to your union?
MUST-READS
Portovert Magazine: a style-forward eco-wedding magazine that would dazzle the most discriminating Martha Stewart fans. Packed with ideas for glamorously green gowns, flowers, food, and more.
StyleMePretty: an inspiring and resource-rich blog entry about green weddings, featuring handpicked recommendations for flowers, fashion, sweet confections and invitations.
Organic Wedding: the Resource Directory is worth a visit if you want to find a green caterer, makeup artist, florist etc. in your part of the U.S. The rest is useful introductory info for those new to green living.
We also covered wedding rings back in February. You can check it out here.
The film Blood Diamond may have been shut out at the Oscars this year, but it’s a winner in our eyes for bringing awareness to the dark side of of the diamond industry. Fortunately jewelry companies such as Brilliant Earth, Green Karat, and vintage jewelers like Isadora’s and Wanna Buy A Watch? offer gorgeous, conflict-free gems for your engagement or wedding. Yes you can be romantic and responsible–isn’t that what an ideal marriage should be?
TIMELESS & TRADITIONAL
Princess Cut Garland Ring Set, Brilliant Earth
Perhaps the brilliant idea behind Brilliant Earth is their Create Your Own Ring option. You choose the diamond (caret, cut, and clarity) and setting to create a customized ring for your honey. Their diamonds are ethically mined in Canada.
My favorite vintage jewelry store is a well-known boutique on Melrose strip in L.A. called Wanna Buy a Watch? Yes, the store does indeed offer an amazing array of time pieces by Rolex, Movada and the like, but half of their store is actually devoted to vintage wedding and engagement rings ranging from the 20’s to the 50’s. The bands above are a sampling of what styles you can buy online, they carry beautiful earrings and necklaces too. Prices range from $400s to $10,000s.
IN LOVING COLOR
colored gemstone such as canary diamonds, blue or even pink sapphires (popular gem of choice in the early 20th century).
Pink Tourmaline Ring, Isadora’s
Circa 1920’s this ring is an Art Deco original set into a platinum band. I tried on a similar ring recently — and was surprised to see how complimentary the stone is set against your skin.
Victorian Sapphire Ring, Isadora’s
Circa 1900’s. This 18KT rose gold ring is centered by a beautiful blue sapphire and accented by sparkling diamonds. Love the elegant simplicity.
Canary Uncaged, GreenKarat
Stunning yellow diamond set in recycled 18K yellow or white gold, or 90% recycled platinum.
Sapphire Engagement Ring, Brilliant Earth
Brilliant Earth offers a full collection of fairly traded sapphire rings.
Secret Love
Binary Ring, $950 by GreenKarat
Designed and hand carved by artist Gideon Weisz, these custom rings give couples a way to share a secret bond. Your desired message is translated and engraved into binary code (the ring shown says “a marriage of values”). Available in recycled yellow or white gold, or platinum. Want an extra karmic boost? Offer to pay a voluntary carbon offset tax with your purchase.
