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Written by Frans Prins
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Tuesday, 22 July 2008 |
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In our neighbourhood in Berlin Kreuzberg we just discovered a lovely small shop called Siri na Lata selling a mix of wooden and reclycing jewellery and Brazilian products. The jewels are made by a local designer who works mainly with reclycing and natural materials such as wood and seeds. Quite orginal things. What in example about these Bionade -earrings from recycled Bionade bottle crowns? Very eco-style and with the popularity of the bio-lemonade in Berlin it works almost ironic.
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Written by Frans Prins
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Friday, 04 July 2008 |
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 We all know about turning off our stereo or lamps when we don't use them, but still most people don't believe it when they hear that the internet is already producing more CO2 emissions than the worldwide airplane traffic . Trend: growing rapidly. If you're still believing the internet saves our planet by reducing emissions, think again!
To all people wanting to live a green lifestyle: if you have to decide between using the internet or travelling unlimited around the world, what would you choose? I would definately give up the internet for that ;) And anyway aim to travel emissionfree...
I'm already doing a computerfree sunday for my personal wellbeing, but what about organizing such a thing as a global action? Hey, Adbusters , are you reading?
By the way, are you already doing your green thing ? This month the green thing is to turn off your gadgets and reduce your emissions. There's
a boom of sites helping you living greener with tips and tricks, but
this one is fun and arty. Also check out their videosection, with a nice collection of green issue video's ...
A groovy quite from the Green Thing crew:
"You see, we’ve slowly let machines take over – and not even big,
scary machines like The Terminator or the Daleks. No, the ones that sit
in the corner of our rooms looking all fun and innocent and
labour-saving whilst secretly guzzling electricity like there’s no
tomorrow."
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Written by Frans Prins
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Monday, 23 June 2008 |
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When I think about solar energy, I still see this static blue panels on roofs. Outdated!
 Architect Sheila Kennedy has developed solar textiles
-- membrane-like surfaces that can be draped like curtains or used to
cover walls or roofs -- using 3D modeling software. They work just like
conventional solar cells are made of similar semiconductor materials.
Kennedy recently exhibited her project, called "Soft House", at the Vitra Design Museum in Germany in which she
transformed typical curtains into energy-harvesting surfaces able to
track the sun.
Wrap up
All that solar energy would provide a welcome source of power for a
home's solid state lighting and typical assortment of gadgets/devices
-- tools, phones, laptops, etc. In addition to absorbing sunlight
throughout the day, the curtains can form an insulating air layer for
the building envelope; a central curtain can be lowered to create an
extra room or folded upward to become a suspended chandelier.
Very great for your luxurious sustainable lifestyle home, one could critize, but Sheila
Kennedy is also working on a project to develop this kind techniques
for areas in development countries where people do not have electricity.
Solar textile fashion
It seems there's quite some interest for solar powered fashion
products like bags but also jeans or bikinis, and these solar textiles
might give it a little boost. I don't know about the solar jeans or bikini jet,
but I'm quite hot for a solar backpack to get my laptop going while travelling...
Via  Treehugger
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Written by Frans Prins
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008 |
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 The cultural activist media network Adbusters launches a design contest to design a flag for global citizenship without clichés:
"The time has come for a radical shift in priorities. We are now faced
with some of the most daunting global challenges in human history.
These are real targets, worthy of our problem-solving skills, ripe for
our intervention. Yet those who have the vision to rise above national and political boundaries still have no symbol to rally under. We invite you to create a flag – free from language and well-worn clichés – that embodies the idea of global citizenship.
A symbol that triggers pride and cohesion, whether worn on a backpack,
displayed on a door, or flown on a flagpole. A symbol for anyone to
declare membership in a growing and vital human cooperative. We invite
you to prove that design has a real role to play in the fate of
our world."
Your creative input will be judged by a panel of prominent design
professionals, then featured in Adbusters and supporting design
publications. The winning flag will go into production, ready for
flying by the patriotic citizens of Earth. Deadline for entries is December 1, 2008.
By the way, thank you Adbusters for featuring Pamoyo on the Blackspot blog
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Written by Cecilia Palmer
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Wednesday, 11 June 2008 |
For those of you who had enough of the ordinary virtual livingrooms by swedish interior corporations, here is the The Room For Change! Inspiring designs to set a new green, creative standard to interior designs and sustainable lifestyle.
The Brighton-based communications agency Neo designed this space with eco-friendly products and installations, to give consumers everyday ideas for greener living. The creative team at neo say that they have created a unique combination of comedy, cross-stitch and common sense. Installations include a goat made from hubcaps (to encourage people to consider buying ethical or recycled products) and a toilet full of mobile phones to communicate how recycling your mobile can fund capital projects in the third world (as well as highlighting the dangers of texting on the toilet).
The Room For Change was shown at the green lifestyle event LONDON AWARE 08 in May. We are looking forward to the next initiatives of these neo creatives.
http://www.roomforchange.org
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Written by Frans Prins
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Monday, 12 May 2008 |
When I was in Nairobi last November, I visited the workshop of Unique Eco , a company recycling flipflops. From old flipflops they make all kinds of creative stuff: jewellery, toys, bags, and even sculptures. Like now recently a huge wale made from recycled flip flops !
When I met Unique Eco founder and designer Julie Church, she explained how she came
to the idea by being confronted with a beach full of flip flop waste.
She started organizing the collection of the waste and searched for ways to recycle the
plastic. Well, a lot of cool stuff as you can see on the Unique Eco website !
We discussed the possibilities of the material. It is soft and
bendable, but not all too strong. I asked her if it is possible to make
new flipflops out of old flipflops, but she said the material they created from
it was too soft for that.
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Read more...
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Written by Frans Prins
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Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
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Some people think trash just stinks, others love it. It's incredible what one can find just on the streets, not to speek of all the hidden trash in offices and basements. Actually, trash is the canvas and muse for a lot of artists and designers.
On an event in the SelfHub in Berlin last tuesday I met Anna Lena Schiller, who held a presentation about her project Trashury . In her project she connects the manufacturing industry with designers of all disciplines
to make new products out of reclaimed material.
Trashury is Schillers final exam project as part of the KaosPilot
education in Denmark. The KaosPilots is a university for
business design and social innovation which trains young entrepreneurs
and project leaders with a creative edge.
It seems recycling is on an absolute retour to coolness...
Image: Walking Bike by Max Knight, through the Trashury blog
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