Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Film Festival: Kodachrome-tastic

We couldn't leave this out of our film festival series: Flickr user yarnzombie put together this curtain made of vintage slides and a few metal rings. She kindly includes more photos and details of how she did it. The curtains even open!

This is also a teaser for our next Process 376 challenge. Details coming soon….

Images from Flickr user yarnzombie. Via MAKE. Thanks to Eric for the tip.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Film festival: ismism filmstrip lamps

As photography and film-making go digital, fewer and fewer people are spending time in the darkroom, and all those boxes of vintage slides and family Super 8 reels are fading into oblivion. My father was a photographer, and I spent many hours of my childhood in our basement darkroom, helping him with his latest round of photos. For me, there's a romance and sweetness to tiny strips of black and white images or a family's blurry vacation footage. But this post isn't about holding onto the past. This is about what you can do with all the waste generated by a switch from one medium to another.

Over the next couple of week, we're going to do a whole series on fantastic things made of film.

To kick off our SF Green Labs Film Festival, check out these lamps from Jamie Panzer. The lampshades are woven from vintage filmstrips. Of course, you could do this as a DIY, but the craftsmanship here is really nice, and the prices are reasonable. The lamps are for sale through the ismism website, where you can also admire Jamie's larger installation pieces.




Images from ismism designs. Via Apartment Therapy.

Friday, February 19, 2010

There's nothing like a little vintage farm machinery to make you feel pretty

I'm loving this necklace made from little chunks of reclaimed farm machinery. There's something almost perfect about it. Simple, modern, industrial, and even a bit romantic, but not something any DIY maven could easily reproduce. The Steel Fork has more necklaces and earrings, too. A portion of their jewelry sales goes to support sustainable agriculture. If you want larger ornamentation, they also sell furniture made from vintage tractor parts.
Images from The Steel Fork.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

"New and Improved" by Chromoly


These are stunning refurbishments, where the missing pieces of abandoned and broken furniture are replaced with bronze castings. Lovely.

Via Apartment Therapy.

Monday, February 15, 2010

What to do with all those old lightbulbs?

As everyone makes the switch from incandescent to CFL bulbs, I've been wondering what becomes of all those old light bulbs and thinking that the glass is so pretty, it could be re-imagined. I had these designs percolating in my head and sketchbook, and it’s great to see that someone actually built them. Actually, two someones, and they did a beautiful job!
Up first, the What Watt light by Tim Fishlock. The artist calls it a "memorial to the incandescent lightbulb." The metal caps carry more visual weight than I thought they would, but it’s very interesting. There’s a fantastic video of it being put together here.

Next, these stunning urchin-esque fixtures by designer Helen Gifford of HelenBilt. These are made of reclaimed candelabra bulbs from chandeliers, and you see nothing but the glowing glass. Lovely.

Both projects save me the trouble of collecting bulbs, because now I know what they look like, and I don't feel as obligated to build them myself. Of course, if I ever find a place for that urchin fixture, I'll have to find a source for spend chandelier bulbs.

Images from Tim Fishlock and HelenBilt. Via dezeen and eco-chic design.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Eleek lighting

I’ve been lighting obsessed recently, trying to find affordable eco-friendly fixtures for our remodel. My typical approach is to scrounge on Craigslist and at salvage yards for some unloved vintage thing that could be modernized, but if I had the money, I'd be shopping at Eleek.

They make stunning modern, industrial fixtures that don’t take themselves too seriously. The green credentials here are substantial, with the use of 100% recycled aluminum (over 70% post consumer) and most of their materials sourced within 50 miles of their Portland-based factory. I'll stop blabbering now and just let you enjoy the pretty pictures.

Images from Eleek.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Reclaimed vintage rugs

I love finding new ways to use old textiles, and this is genius. ABC Carpet takes damaged rugs, then "neutralizes" the color. Finally, they overdye to create new, highly saturated, modern rugs. I've tried to find out what "neutralizing" is, and how green (or not) it might be. If I learn more, I'll update this post.
The final product costs a fortune, but if you have a place to dye something this large, there's no reason this couldn't be a DIY.
Images from ABC Carpet. Via Apartment Therapy.

Monday, February 8, 2010

It's a fact, Jack

In this era of The Container Store and professional organizers and Real Simple Magazine all telling you that if you just have enough pretty plastic storage containers, your life will be better, it's refreshing to see someone find a way to buy into the storage hype without buying all the plastic. It's Warhol-esque and brilliant (and cheap). I only wish I had the patience (or the liver) to squirrel away JD cases until I had enough to make a visual impact.

Apartment Therapy has a mini house tour showing more of Jack Early's place, and the rest is worth seeing. If you're a Warhol fan, I promise there are enough soup cans to justify clicking over to the tour.

Image from Apartment Therapy.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Table with inlaid branch

Nice concept--it's hard to see in these images, but there's a tree branch running through this table. It drops underneath and finishes inside one of the legs. Student table by Monique Habraken.
Images from Monique Habraken. Via DesignKlub.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Reclaimed school desks. Wow!

I love vintage school things--old chalkboards, old desks. I like the graffiti past, the idea of all those students, bored, wallowing in teenage angst, waiting for the lunch or recess bell, carving their names or doodling on the surfaces. I'm not the only one, and occasionally I'll find an artist who is doing something really interesting with them, like Ben Turnbull. That brings us to today's subject, the Japanese architecture firm Sschemata, who have used epoxy to create a whole series of "Flat Tables." The school desks are by far my favorites.
I just scored a pair of these off Freecycle, and now I'm inspired.

Images from DesignBoom. Via Design Klub.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Look ma, no wires!

Designer Christopher Moulder uses the structure of this shade to serve as the conductors for the series of low-voltage LEDs that ring around the perimeter. The technology and design allow for a clean design, with no wires needed to power the LEDs.

Image from Christopher Moulder. Thanks to NotCot for the tip.