furniture

If you missed New York's International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), then let me know if you want to hear more of what I'll quickly post tonight.

Everything is more individualized on my blog, http://www.greenmodernkits.com/casa-ti1.htm, and honeychile', I have days to go of posting everything I found. This is just the initial mixed bag, in no particular order.

Material ConneXion

http://www.materialconnexion.com

The Be-All, End-All of Green Material Sourcing. "Material ConneXion is the world's leading knowledge base for information about new and innovative materials. Through our comprehensive innovative materials libraries located on three continents and our project-specific custom materials research group - the Advanced Material Solutions Team - Material ConneXion provides all disciplines of design development: product, packaging, architectural, interior, apparel and more, with both a creative and competitive edge."

Design Glut

http://designglut.com/

Design GlutDesign Glut's cigarette holders, shaped like guns, when used visually convey that when smoking you are killing yourself! I have several people in mind to whom I'd love to send these!

"SLOW FOOD TRAY

The Slow Food Tray reclaims a fast food tray and encourages healthy, high-quality, sustainable meals.

SMOKING GUN

For the die-hard smoker, this accessory will underscore just how bad-ass you are. For those who would like to quit, perhaps this metaphor will help supress your cravings."

Ango World: Chrysalis lamps

Grrrrr. I get so frustrated when my practical mom-sense collides with... beauty.

Fine, just tell me how to dust it. I love it. It glows.

http://www.angoworld.com/ http://www.angoworld.com/product/floor.htm

It's a lamp that evokes cocoons.

Pictures don't do it justice.

It made me glow.

Black Valley Design Collective http://www.bvdcollective.com

"Black Valley Design Collective is a group of former industrial design students and their professor, that has a common goal, create something amazing. Although we borrow our name and image from Black Mountain College, we do so with reverence. Starting in the fall of 2007 at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, we came together to do some unique designs. Even now we work as individuals, but come together to gain insight and understanding from each other. We approach projects with an innovative thinking and insight that comes from seven different personalities and backgrounds, allowing for amazing results."

I might horrify them when I say this, but when I looked at their recycled fork and knives lamps they really reminded me of chandeliers with antlers... except, dude, they were made with repurposed utencils.

Strangely, there is something earthy about their plastic pieces... beautiful.

MOD West Furniture

http://www.modwestfurniture.com/

I spoke to Holly about her system, and was impressed by how her product can turn into so many things, without tools, that really could benefit people with a fast, mass need for furniture.

I also loved her enthusiasm for allowing the consumer to choose whether they would finish in high-end, or as lo- as having people make their own (inflatable) cushion covers.

"The components can be made out a variety of materials, ideally molded out of lightweight, inexpensive, renewable, and recyclable materials. These components could be easily flat-packed with all needed materials to configure beds and/or tables.

The lightweight, durable materials, combined with economical packaging, save enormous energy and resources. The sizes of readily available materials played a key part in the design. For example, the sizes of all hard and soft surface materials (cushion foam, plywood, recycled plastics, and composite resins) are generally available in 24-48" widths. The interior of the design's standard triangle was scaled to conform to those standard sizes in order to conserve materials and reduce waste. The system contains hard-surface triangles (i.e., a table) and soft-surface triangles (i.e., a cushion). An inflatable cushion, now in development, will provide multi-functionality with even fewer components.

The Mod West Furniture System can be produced as a high-end product or a low-end product, an indoor or outdoor product; think chrome/leather vs. plastic/inflatable. The design is aesthetically pleasing and its functionality can transform indefinitely in both residential and commercial settings. The system can grow and evolve with its users as demand grows. There are dozens of additional modules which seamlessly add on to these base components."

Maruja Fuentes's Leaning-Molds

Wall systems made for public spaces, Maruja Fuentes's Leaning-molds are made of recycled plastic. They were quite comfortable and I thought the green was particularly nice. The pieces fit together, but it's not really practical to stack them in height rather than length.

Artecnica's Design With A Conscience Project

http://www.artecnicainc.com/

First I saw these stunning women running around in black, slinky, witchy apron dresses.

I coveted one; and I wanted to be them.

I saw their Witches' Kitchen, by Studio Tord Boontje.

But was it modern? Regardless, I walked by, admiring. (It really is beautiful, and yes, I would love it in my own home.) Then I backtracked, and discovered their Design With A Conscience project.

"Artecnica’s Design With Conscience campaign infuses social and environmental responsibility into design. Artecnica promotes, directs, and sponsors collaborative exchanges between leading designers and artisan communities to create meaningful design that challenges people to adopt a deeper, more sensitive way of thinking about objects."

The Anemone lamp is great, I liked the way it could be configured in many ways and rolled around...

(Note: They really seemed to have a wonderful company culture and genuinely having a great time. It was a discernable difference from dwe-ACHOO - excuse me!- um, another place I had just left that wouldn't even hand me a post card when I admired their curtain designs: "Are you a retailer?" No, I just sell affordable modern house kits and furniture. Does that make me a retailer? They looked at me like I was an idiot. I guess I am... )

In honor of my friend Justin who I'm sure knows allllllllllllllllll about this already, I am still going to upload my pictures of one of the sylphs showing off their fantastic WirePod by Joris Laarman!

The WirePod is "art" that uncoils to stretch into a power pod- with four "arms" available to plug into electrical products as needed. Geez my office seriously needs this...

A Quick Note On Parties...

Hands down, Hard Core Design (Hardcoredesign.net) was the best. Do you think I'm biased towards the Finns? ; )

I couldn't understand why Design Within Reach was packed to the gills with tumultuous crowds yelling over each other... when they could have been across the street contemplating art.

I walked into Hard Core Design... and saw "Pentagon Design: Touching, Tactile Surfaces (Tikkurila), The Animal Farm... Touching, Tactile Surfaces (2006) is composed of live sized animals. Painted with new, innovative paint products, the installation intends to emphasize the touch and feel of the painted object. The “animal farm” invites the visitors to pet the animals and experience the different structures and surfaces of the paints. The aim is to show that today’s paints are much more than just colors, they can be functional and interactive: they may be magnetic, they may be used as blackboards, or the paints may resemble a rough concrete surface."

And Janne Kyttanen's Palm Chandelier, Mikko Laakkonen's Latva Coatrack, Janne Kttanen's Onisuka Tiger Shoe...

...Let me know if you want more... you can find more on my blog and even then I've only uploaded about 30% of it! : )

Latva Coatrack: Latva Coatrack

ICFF 2008: ICFF / Meatpacking partiesMeatpacking Design Week: Meatpacking Design Week

Want more? Part 2 is here...

Thanks to Ecofabulous for unearthing this splendid stainless steel bar cart from Fusion Furniture Gallery. As novel as it looks, it also comes with an interesting story to share over cocktails. According to Zem: "originally used in Virginia hospitals to store medical charts, these gems have remained untouched 150 feet underground in the Atchinson Caves (former limestone mines of Kansas), where they were stashed when the mines were converted into military storage during World War II."

If you love the look but gulp at the $1500 price tag, you can do what Kevin did when furninshing his closets, and take yourself on down to Home Depot, where you can pick up a stainless steel Husky 8 drawer tool cabinet for about the same as it would cost to ship the Fusion bar cart to your home.

Vintage office furniture can add some retro industrial chic to your home, and you can either find a retailer that specializes in refurbishment, or better yet, hunt down your own pieces in the wild, on craigslist or ebay, or better yet, at a thrift store that's owned and operated by a worthy charity.

Antique furniture is a shining example of green living because no new resources are used to make them since they are, well, already made. Unfortunately, past owners have often painted and varnished these sustainable pieces to their own liking.

Not looking for a yellow china hutch or a purple dining set? Go on - buy that tacky piece and a bottle of Franmar Chemical's Soy Gel Paint and Urethane Remover, available in the company's online store in various sizes.

Want a better way to remove paints, urethanes, acrylics, epoxies, and enamels without the back-breaking work of sanding and chiseling? Made with 100% American Grown Soybeans, SOY Gel does all that and more. Throw out the sand paper and put away the knee pads. Just put some SOYGel on the coating to be removed, allowing you to work on another project. Let SOYGel do the work, not you! Within minutes you can see the power of SOYGel start to lift the coatings, all while you spend time on other tasks.

I know what you're thinking - does it really work? According to London-based owner of an online boutique and mom of a three-year-old, it stripped layers of bright red paint off of her fireplace overnight with little extra effort (i.e. minor scrapping). There are also three other positive reviews on Amazon.com that are worth checking out.

[via Apartment Therpy: Green]

RELATED:

+ Episode Seven: Interior Finishes

+ Soybean building materials

Some may see steel as a cold, emotionless metal, but from an environmental sense, it has a lot of style and can be easily reused. Southern California's Twenty Gauge furniture is vintage steel from a fargone American era which has been fully restored to its former glory.

Available online, through select international stores, as well as the infamous Sundance Catalog, Twenty Gauge carries an unheard of variety of home and office pieces. Have a specific color palate in mind? All Twenty Gauge pieces can be custom-finished with your choice of colors and fabrics.

J.C. Hryb, owner and founder of Twenty Gauge and having emmigrated from France over two decades ago, has been a leader in the hand crafted, collector quality vintage furniture industry for over a decade. Twenty Gauge has been the first and only company to specialize in conserving, customizing, and making vintage steel furniture available to the public.

Just like other antique and vintage purchases, Twenty Gauge pieces are to be seen as heirlooms - objects of beauty and quailty to be handed down from generation to generation.

RELATED:

+ Keetsa Introduces ... The Keetsa Mattress (made with 100% recycled steel springs)

+ GreenBuildings News :: August 9, 2007 (Company Opts For Recycled Steel Frame Panels Over Wood)

A worker-owned cooperative operating in San Francisco since 1997, Woodshanti constructs impeccable custom furniture, cabinetry, and built-ins of all kinds. Using responsbily harviested and reclaimed woods, they create lasting pieces that could easily become family heirlooms for generations to come.

Shanti (shän-tee) is the Sanskrit word for peace and symbolizes this effort towards harmony. This includes everything that we interact with or influence, from the materials we use, to the companies we support, and everything in between. Our concerns fall into three main categories: economic, ecological, and social.

Not only is the wood sustainable, but so are the finishes that are applied to it. Using nothing but natural oils nurishes the wood the way nature intended it to, as well as reducing the environmental impact of the pieces themselves and the company as a whole.

This five-person crew has featured their work at three past Green Festivals, and will again be showing at the San Francisco Green Festival this November. If you are headed to the upcoming West Coast Green event next month (Sept. 20-22), make sure to stop by their booth - they'll be displaying their pieces there also.

When browsing their online portfolio, each piece is specific whether it is made from FSC, SmartWood, reposonsibly harvested, or reclaimed/rediscovered lumber. Their custom kitchens and built-ins are deliciously impressive and inspire creativity just looking at them - my personal favorite is the kitchen and living combination.