Inspiration: White Rot Sideboard

What if you found an amazing piece of wood, one so beautiful it looked like the surface had been painted by the tree itself? I filed this one away because I've been liking the wood-framed-by-thin-white look, and the angles on this piece caught my eye. I kept returning to the image because the wood is so strong, like a work of art on its own. Then Scottish designer Derek Welsh, got hold of it, and made it even better by turning it into this.

Image from Dwell (from the Product of the Day series)

Finger pointing: Wooden pear box from Zansia

Zanisa seems to be on a pear kick, which coincides with our jewelry box project, so here we are. Sweet pear-shaped boxes, made from sustainable wood scraps. Zanisa is a charming shop, with a focus on sustainable products. The website includes icons by each product (recycled, organic, etc.) to explain why they picked each item.

Thanks to Re-Nest for the tip.

Images from Zanisa

Heat Shrink Series by Daniel Rawlings

Super-cool upcycling of broken ceramics by adding brightly colored heat-shrink sleeves.
Similar to this, which made the blog rounds a while back.

Images from Daniel Rawlings. Thanks to Dezeen for the tip.

Inspiration: Pluunk bunks

Sustainable bunk beds, including an "urban salvaged hardware" option. Pricey, but pretty....
Available at Inquisitive Kid.

Images from Inquisitive Kid. Thanks to ohdeedoh for the tip.

Jess Brown heirloom dolls

Check out these details: the wonderful strange eyes, the 1920's hats, and most interesting, the fabric is dyed with persian black tea to get the variations in skin tone. Salvaged fabrics and corn fiber stuffing make for a very sustainable heirloom doll. Petaluma-based designer/artist/seamstress Jess Brown is responsible for all this goodness. From her website:

Jess has always been inspired by beautiful textiles. She began making dolls for her daughter, Stella 9 years ago using old cashmere sweaters and antique remnants. As committed flea market goers, they would search together for amazing antique pieces, trims, buttons and findings.This has now all come together as a small line of one of a kind and hand made rag dolls.

Each doll is hand dyed in persian black teas to create variations in skin tones. They are all made of cotton muslin and linen, and primarily recycled and antique fabrics and findings. Each doll is stuffed with a sustainable corn fiber stuffing.

There is something truly beautiful about a threadbare, worn, and well loved doll that has been created with the finest materials. Jess lives in Petaluma, California with her children Stella and Tiger and her husband Erio. She owns a small shop in town called maude with her good friend Stacy.

The dolls are available at boutiques all over the bay area, including local favorite Atomic Garden. For more photos of her work, check out her blog.

Images from Jess Brown. Thanks to Inhabitots/Cookie for the tip.

Esty love: Book safes from Pommes Frites

There are a lot of cheesy book safes out there for squirreling away your valuables, but few with a sense of humor. Kristen Pumphrey's work is a clever twist on this paranoid craft project. Where else would you store your jewels than in a gem-shaped cutout version of Danielle Steele's classic? And I don't know what herbal remedies you might keep inside All About House Plants, but I'm sure you'll think of something. My personal favorite is the flask hidden in a copy of Inside Russia Today (sold, but she has several other flask safes in stock).

Images from pommesfrites

Donna Walker: Furniture from salvaged stuff

To kick of our newest Process 376 scavenger project, I thought I'd share Donna Walker's fantastic work. She repurposed an old ironing board and some leather cut-offs into this chair, and it looks surprisingly comfortable. Called "Irony," this is one piece of her Re-Design project, the goal of which is to make stylish furnishing exclusively from materials found discarded on the streets of Leeds.

She has a good eye, and it's worth checking out her other projects, like this knitted chair (my personal favorite).
Images from Donna Walker. Thanks to NotCot for the tip.

Chinese take-out

Ryan Horsman and Jason Dembski created the Chopstick/Steamer Stool as part of their summer abroad program at B.A.S.E. Beijing. The stool is made completely of chopsticks and bamboo steamers, which can be found in every household in China.

Note there's a hidden cushion in the middle to give the seat enough give to be comfortable. It's that kind of thoughtful design detail that makes all the difference.

Images from Jason Dembski. Thanks to NotCot for the tip.

Half baked: Mix tapes

These lamps by Ooomydesign have been making the green blog rounds lately. Each time we update the platform (vinyl, 8-track*, cassette, CD, mp3, next?), we make the old format obsolete. I don't see cassettes getting the same kind of retro love that DJs bestow on vinyl, so what happened to all those cassettes? Most have been tossed, but some are finding a second life.

What would you design with a pile of vintage cassettes? Would it make a difference if they were special in some way, like a mix tape obsessively put together by one of your teen-aged friends? Process 376 gang, what do you think of maybe looking at this for our next project? Here's some inspiration to get you spinning:

Cassette iPod cases from Etsy seller Hello Earthling


Tape and yarn necklace from Etsy seller esea


Artwork made from cassette tape. Part of iri5's "Ghost in the Machine" project

And finally, my absolute favorite, by SF design group, Transparent House. These are made from answering machine tapes. Note how all the tapes are set up at the same point in the recording. The designers varied this from lamp to lamp.

Transparent House's End of Message lamp

* The 8-track may not be quite dead yet: In a blast of retro glory (a.k.a. shameless PR stunt), Cheap Trick just released their latest album on 8-track.

Images from Ooomydesign (via Inhabitat), Esty sellers hellow Earthling and esea, artist iri5 (via Gizmodo), and Transparent House (via Apartment Therapy),

Fashion Friday: Luna Bike Gear

OK, this isn't really a "fashion" post, but with the weather so lovely and the outdoors calling, it's worth mentioning. The women's sport advocates behind Luna Bars have expanded into bike clothing, including jerseys, bike shorts, and accessories. Luna Sport Gear is striving to make their products as eco-friendly as possible. The designs use recycled materials (many of the jerseys are over 90% recycled polyester) and the company keeps their supply chain short by manufacturing locally in the Bay Area. There's nothing flashy here--the colors are feminine without being all pink, and the subtle use of vintage Japanese block prints pushes this a step above.

Available at bike shops throughout the Bay Area. We'll be back to a more traditional fashion post next week. Have a great weekend!

Images from Luna Sport. Thanks to TreeHugger for the tip.

Flat-packed fancies from down under

Australia-based Zaishu makes exquisite kids furniture from the off-cuts of their studio work. Scraps never looked so stylish. Just like their larger cousins, the Baby Zaishu seats/tables ship flat-packed and slot together without any tools. Each panel features a different lovingly hand printed design. I like the vintage kimono graphics, but I love the Australian Bushland seat.
There are photo images on each surface, like these trees from the Alpine National Park in Victoria.
Images from xx. Thanks to Inhabitots for the tip.

woodia la piccolo swing

I'm not sure which I love more, this amazing swing or the dreamy photographs that grace the manufacturer's website.

I like our porch swing, but it's really the embarrassed dumpy cousin to this sleek version. Made of reclaimed teak, stainless steel, and with strong modern proportions, the Woodia la Piccolo swing is what my swing wants to be when it grows up and moves to Manhattan.

Images from Woodia La Piccolo. Thanks to Re-Nest for the tip.