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Category Archives: Eco Events
Earth Hour 2013: How are you showing your support?
Where will you be this Saturday night on 23rd March at 8.30pm to celebrate Earth Hour? Sitting by the glow of candlelight at home, or at one of Earth Hour’s events occurring across the globe?
Natural Beeswax Eco Bulb by Queen B
Launched in Sydney by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) just 5 years ago, it is truly amazing how this event has exploded in gaining international support. Last year alone, over 150 nations and territories voluntarily supported Earth Hour by pulling the power plug at major monuments and attractions, in doing so, raising awareness for the future of our planet. From humble beginnings turning the lights off on the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, the event has influenced the Queen to
decree non essential lights be turned off at the Palace, the glitzy glow encasing the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumour and Burj Khalifa have been switched off AND the Colosseum and Great Wall of China has plunged into darkness just to name a handful!
Celebrating Earth Hour on the Great Wall of China (Image: 2012)
Fancy celebrating Earth Hour in Abu Dhabi or at Brandenburger Gate? (Image: 2012)
As we all know, Earth Hour doesn’t stop at the end of this 60 minute celebration. Communities, businesses, organisations and governments world wide are being encouraged to introduce measures that make a positive contribution to improving and protecting our planet. If you would like to organise your own Earth Hour Event, Earth Hour can give you lots of great ideas. pop on over to their site to learn more, and have fun!
~~ EARTH HOUR 2013: Uniting People to protect the planet ~~
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Sustainable Design at Design Made Trade 2012 wrapped up
What a bevy of talent we have in Australia. Last Friday I popped into the Design Made Trade event in Melbourne, and was struck by the wide range of beautiful sustainable designs that were interspersed amongst a very attractive collection of savvy design products. Today I share with you a little look at who caught my eye, and we hope to share more with you over the coming months ……
TOP: Surface BOTTOM: Dharma Door
Brand new on the design block is Surface by Belinda Christie who is creating a sustainable homeware range which includes organic cotton cushions with PET infill, in addition to a 100% silk scarf range. Our friends at Dharma Door continued to inspire ~ supporting fair trade artisans in Bangladesh, we were smitten by quite a few of their new bamboo and hand woven products which will appear instore over the next few months (stay tuned)!
I have a “thing” for refurbished furniture, and although the lighting in the images above isn’t the best, these chairs sure did hit the mark! Mixing fabric offcuts and remnants with a swatch of screen printed wallpaper, these chairs have gained a new life.
Infused with nature – Panda Bean
Panda Bean is a range we need to explore further ~ using natural plant dyes and imprints of nature, they are creating a very unique textile range suitable for all sorts of applications.
Tubert Yule Furniture
You could tell the The Ida side tables were made with love – Tubert Yule Furniture individually hand turn blocks of Tasmanian Oak to create each slender table ~ and you there are six colours you can choose from!
We only came across Ruby Allen recently, and her stand was a stand out! All sorts of old bottles have been repurposed into functional new items including tumblers, carafes and jugs. The fun part was trying to recognise the original bottle (some easier than others!).
It was great to see so many designers incorporating sustainable design practices into their products. With more design events in Melbourne coming up over the next few weeks, we hope to share with you even more new innovative and savvy sustainable designers.
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Design Made Trade: Melbourne 19-22 July 2012
Melbourne is abuzz this time of year with late July marking the start of various design events showcasing the latest in furniture, fashion, textiles, graphics and industrial design. One event I particularly look forward to is Design:Made:Trade, which alternates each year between Melbourne and Sydney. I missed it last year when in Sydney, but this year it’s Melbourne’s turn. Hooray! It’s a great opportunity to see what is new in Australian design, have a casual chat to the designers, and view their work up close and personal. Here’s a sneak peek at just some of the fab products this year …
TOP: Pillow Poet BOTTOM: Sustainable Stubbies by Ruth Allen
Adding a quirky and 100% organic cotton touch to the bedroom is Pillow Poet, who prints quirky and heartfelt messages onto pillowcases. Her “owl” range will also be worth look (if not just for the laugh!). I LOVE Sustainable Stubbies by glass sculptor Ruth Allen. She re-forms old glass bottles into stylish vases, tumblers and jugs. It is little wonder her Sambucca Set (above) has just been shortlisted in the Melbourne Design Awards!
Klag by Dale Hardiman
Design:Made:Trade is the place where you find designers who are really pushing the boundaries and exploring what can be achieved in design. Dale Hardiman’s Klag is case in point. Not only does the 3 leg Klag chair feature amazing design ergonomics, it is made from a new resin based product that uses a coal combustion waste by-product called Fly Ash ~ putting good use to the incredible 1,100,000 tonne of this waste product produced in southwest Queensland.
Based in Victoria, Sands Made passion is all about food, which is reflected in their sleek timber kitchen and table products. I particularly love their large cheeseboard/cutting board paddles!
Design:Made:Trade is open to trade on 19/20 July 2012, then throws it doors open to the design savvy public on Saturday and Sunday 21/22 July 2012. Mark it down in your diary – See you there?
Design Made Trade: Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, 19 – 22 July, 2012.
Supercycle Our Souls (SOS) Exhibition
On the back of showcasing supercycled sustainable design objects created from waste materials at the Milan Salone del Mobile last month, curator and design whiz Sarah K is now bringing the exhibition back home to Sydney – and boy are you in for a visual sustainable design treat. Starting THIS weekend, the Supercycle Our Souls (SOS) Exhibition is showcasing an international collection of stunning design objects that not only tick all the boxes in the design department, but also provoke thought and contemplation on how we treat our waste and use earth’s limited resources.
Sarak K has given us a sneak peak below:
Supercyclers: Plastic Fantastic Transparent Collection (Sarah K + Liane Rossler, Sydney Australia)
The Plastic Fantastic Transparent Collection brings a ghostly quality to the table – and refers to possibilities of disappearance and transience. Made from single use plastic bags, these pieces are ethereal artworks – functional to a point – but more concerned with experimentation and proposing concepts of sustainability. ~ there is no ‘away’ – supercyclers.
Postfossil: Juri Cutlery (by Thomas Walde, Zurich, Switzerland)
Beautifully hand crafted cutlery – takes you progressively from a meat eating diet to a vegetarian one.
Swiss collective Postfossil embody notions of a slow and sustainable lifestyle into the products they create. They have evolved an ethic to live by which they practice and which informs all their practice. The Postfossil world is a quiet one – where oil is no longer the central protagonist – and taking shortcuts is no longer a necessity.
Quilt Light finished by Tamara Maynes (Sydney, Australia)
Tamara Maynes is craft’s undisputed queen – she has been resurrecting age-old crafting techniques for the past decade and reinvigorating them with her own meticulous aesthetic to a new audience. With several book titles and over 100 projects published in print and online, she democratises design so that others can take advantage of her skill and enjoy the process themselves. This democratic approach along with her tendency to re-use and ability to see beauty in the discarded is what makes her a supercycler. The quilt light template is downloadable from http://quiltlighttemplate.bigcartel.com/ it can be placed on any flat, stiff material, discarded or otherwise and traced out and folded up following the instructions to create your own version of Tamara’s light. ~ it is important to see the recurring value of an object or material – tamara maynes
Ontwerplabel Vij5: with rENs Newspaper Wood Jewellery (Eindhoven, Netherlands)
Newspaper Wood is a collaboration between Eindhoven designers Mieke Meijer and Ontwerplabel Vij5. Layers of newspaper are compressed with a bio-glue to form a hard product that when cut through bears a striking resemblance to the natural grain of wood. ~ be aware of what we create and how, be mindful of how we live our lives, and make considered choices about what we eat, buy, waste – ontwerplabel vij5
Ett la Benn: Kami Spin light 100% biodegradable cellulose (Germany)
Ett la Benn presented their Kami range at Ventura Lambrate in Milan 2011- these handmade lights and vessels are composed of a material they have developed themselves – 100% biodegradable cellulose. Over the past year, the Berlin based duo have developed a home-made roto-moulding machine to take this material into production – the resulting work is the extraordinarily beautiful Kami Spin Light, with its raised dot texture it’s concrete-like appearance belies a super lightweight. ~ wouldn’t it be good to leave no imprints – ett la benn
The above images are a just small taste of the wide range of design objects that will be on show during the SOS Exhibition. Do pop by if you are in Sydney, and on Saturday you can even walk + talk with the designers themselves - Your invite is below!
Posted in Australian Design, eco design, Eco Events
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Get your haggle on at the national Garage Sale Trail
Listen up hoarders! Your chance to create some much needed space in your shed, cupboard, spare room, or under your bed is just a few weeks away. Listen up collectors! Your chance to snag a bargain or undiscovered treasure is also just around the corner (perhaps literally), as the National Garage Sale Trail is being held on May 5, 2012.
In just its second year, the Australian based national Garage Sale Trail has attracted a HUGE following – and for good reason. On just one day of the year, households, groups, and communities are being encouraged to put their unwanted goods up for sale ~ creating a fun community buzz as sellers and buyers get together and haggle their hearts out! Money raised either goes in your own pocket, toward your school/community group (there’s car boot sales too!) or to your preferred charity.
Over 1500 sales currently registered - Look at Melbourne!
To get involved, you just need to head on over to the National Garage Sale Trail website, where you can register your garage sale. If you have nothing to sell but want to cast your eagle eye over goods on offer and go on a garage sale crawl, maps for your locale are available at your fingertips, showing you exactly where all the sales are! There are already over 1500 garage sales registered, and you can even view and buy some items online. And if you are a first timer to the garage sale game, the site will even teach you how to get your haggle on!
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Sustainable Living Festival Melbourne 2012
Listen Up All – The Sustainable Living Festival is on in Melbourne, with “The Big Weekend” Celebrations being held THIS WEEKEND! Themed “Australia – The Lucky Country”, the festival is focussed on harnessing the attributes for which our country is known best – the sun and the wind (okay the latter may be lesser known), and how we can use it to create renewable energy opportunities.
This weekend there are all sorts of fun events on offer – You can have a laugh at The Climate Quiz where comedian Adam Hills and others will analyse the eco impact of “knocking back a tinny”. Alternatively, take the kids to the DirtGirl stage show, check out the long list of biking exhibits for both young and old, learn how to “green” your office or dance the night away at the solar powered Off The Grid Gig!. There are also numerous free talks and seminars exploring sustainable living, including a very special opportunity to speed date a renowned sustainable architect for 10 minutes and pick their brain for great ideas. AND continuing on from last year, FIX-IT is on again – this year it will be divided into three themed areas: Stitches (textiles) Switches (appliances) and Splinters (woodworking) – so reach deep into the back of the cupboard and resurrect your broken bits and pieces, and get them fixed or re-create them into something new!
If the list provided above is not enough to whet your sustainable living appetite – it has only just scratched the surface of the huge amount of events that are on offer. DO pop on over to the Sustainable Living Festival website to read their complete guide of all the fab happenings – and have a great weekend!
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Australian made sustainable design on show at Pure Pod’s Pop Up Shop
For those of you living in Northern New South Wales, you are in for a treat! Leading Australian eco fashion brand Pure Pod have just opened a “Pop-Up” concept store in Lennox Head bringing to you not only their beautiful classic fashion range, but also a collection of other quality Australian eco brands – Perfect timing for picking up a bevy of sustainable design treats!
Inside PurePod's Pop Up store in Lennox Head, NSW. Image: PurePod
Kelli Donovan and Sean Watson are the designers behind Pure Pod, who have already made their mark in the eco fashion industry both at home and internationally – not bad for a brand that is just four years old! Their Australian made garments made from bamboo, organic cotton, pure merino wool, hemp, soy, silk and linen have been exhibited at the Paris Eco Fashion Week, been listed as a finalist in the FGI Sustainable Business awards (twice) and were selected by the Australian Government to take part in the “G’Day USA” annual Trade mission in New York earlier this year.
Classic Sustainable fashion by Pure Pod Image: PurePod
The PurePod pop-up shop presents a marvellous opportunity to support local Australian businesses who are really doing their bit to produce well made products, that tread lightly on the environment. Other brands on show include ONE Organic Kids Clothing, Bird Textiles, Namaste Natural Bath/Beauty products, Wheel of Life Ceramics, Dark Horse Jewellery & Anne Leon Natural Dyed Silks – something for kids, mum, dad, Grandma, Grandpa and friends!
Treats in store ... Image: Pure Pod
Don’t despair if you can’t make it to the pop-up shop in person – Pure Pod is also online, so your new Xmas outfit could be on its way to your letterbox sooner than you think (pssst – they have free shipping until Xmas eve!).
17th Nov – 5th Feb, 2012
68 Ballina Street
Lennox Head
NSW Australia
Posted in Eco Events, eco living, gifts, sustainable fashion
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Eco Xmas Gift Ideas for kids under $30
Oh my goodness – Where has the year gone?. We are only 6 weeks away from Xmas – Yikes! About two weeks ago the Xmas wrapping requests started rolling in at State of Green’s online store. We have been busy wrapping gifts and posting them off to some incredibly organised customers, who are hiding them away until the big reveal on December 25. As you put your mind towards thinking about presents, we have put together a list of gifts for kids under $30 that are planet friendly, useful AND fun!
Eco Kids Gifts under $35
1. Calico Bags – Use for kinder, library visits & trips to the grandparents – $4.95
2. Bamboo E-Racer – Come on – we’ll race you! – $19.90 (On Sale)
3. Reusable Lunch & Snack bags (no more plastic wrap!!) – $12.95 – $14.95
4. Stainless Steel Drink Bottles (BPA free) – $21.95-$28.95
5. The World is Wonder Full (BPA free) plate – $18.95
6. Reusable Coffee/Hot Chocolate/Babycino Cups!(one for all ages!) – $10.95-$16.95
7. Recycled cardboard Totem Butterfly Model – $26.95
9. Recycled cardboard Dragonrock castle with 12 non toxic Textas $19.95
10. Va Va Vroom Race car coloured with vegetable based dyes $24.95 (on sale!)
We hope we have given you a few ideas! Over the coming weeks we will put together a few more Xmas gift suggestions posts, as we have some fab new products instore. Enjoy the lead up to the silly season!
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