Design^Sprout | Your Guide to Green Design

D^S Contest – Win a Flip n' Tumble Reusable Bag!

 

    So, you're not perfect. You buy bottled water from time to time, occasionally mow down on a little Mickey D's (gulp) and don't have the foggiest idea how to compost last night's dinner (nor do you really want to learn). Trust me, you are not alone. The designers at Flip and Tumble realized that despite our best "green" intentions, forgetting to bring a reusable grocery bag to the store was a common problem. As a solution, they've designed this teeny, tiny, sock ball that happily sits at the bottom of your bag waiting to be filled with goodies. Maybe you're not perfect...but no one has to know.

                                     WIN THIS BAG!

    Ooooh yeah, you too can avoid the oh s*%t moments at the checkout stand and look ever-so-designy while doing it. Just drop me a comment saying anything at all. Any 'ol thing will qualify you to win. I'll announce the winner on Wednesday. Good Luck!

Steal This Look! The Design Stylings of Suzy Hoodless.

    London superstar Suzy Hoodless is rising fast among the design elite - as you can see by these pics - for good reason! Her fearless use of recycled finds, clean lines and local sourcing of materials makes her someone we can feel good about emulating! I scoured her site for inspiration that I can bring into my own home without paying her hefty (ahem..clearly, deserved) price!

   These shadow boxes are actually a cinch to make and an be pretty affordable. Grouped together they have such an impact! Check out directions here.

     Using an easy-to-find lamp kit - you can turn anything your little heart desires into the light of your life. Lowe's has some pretty simple instructions here.

   For only a couple hundred bucks you can turn your precious photos into museum worthy attractions. There are a ton of spots on the web that do it - I like Artisico.

Second Time Around

    Who among us doesn't have a baggy T (or six) lying around? Designer Mari Santos of Urban Renewal takes all those ugly 'ol shirts that you wouldn't be caught dead in and transforms them into adorable pieces you'd actually love to wear.  She embodies such a creative (and green) spirit that I had to share her with you!

Yup, Even The Techies Are Green

   So you work in a cubicle and have less access to sunshine than prisoners (hey, they get two hours a day)? Bring a bit of nature inside via these inspired pieces of eco-technology. Studio OOOms carves each one of these USB keys individually. A tad pricey at $100 but manageable if you convince yourself that they are tiny works of artistic philanthropy.

   
  ASUS' commitment to green computing has resulted in the research of alternative materials for use in their products. With such innovative technologies, ASUS has created an image of the future for computing – showcasing environmentally friendly designs for notebooks, LCDs and Mini PCs made from earth friendly, renewable bamboo. Plus, they look really, really cool.

Hey You! Turn OFF the Lights!

   Lest we forget, light comes from electricity. And, unless your hooked up to a windmill or something, that electricity is most likely brought to you courtesy of the oil industry. Thankfully for us, a few designers are on a mission to remind of us of this fact by way of quirky, hopeful products.
   Martyr (above) from The Play Coalition may just be the world's first suicidal night light and will remind you of our rampant abuse of electricity every time you flick the switch.
  To combat "power vampires," aka the crazy amount of energy being quietly sucked away while our appliances are not in use, designer Paul Oh of Yanko Designs has come up with this simple plan, "Unplug them." Ok, not such an original thought, but this convenient outlet certainly is. The simple addition of a ledge not only reminds you to unplug but keeps your cords all neat and tidy in the process.

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