Studiomama's Pallet Chair Download

11 July 08 update: The link to download this chair is no longer active. But, check out Ms. Tolstrup's very cool other designs here!)

Nina Tolstrup, also known as Studiomama, is a Danish designer living in the UK. Recently profiled in Dwell magazine, she has that European design aesthetic that is so popular. I love it. I hate it. Its too good for its own good. Its brilliant. In the end, I usually end up loving it... who am I kidding, those Europeans are just too cool.

She designed a chair in 2006 for an exhibition called Ten, 10, X, which the premise was to design something that could be had for 10 pounds (I don't know how to or want to take the time to figure out how to make the "pound" sign, sorry.) Anyway, she came up with designs for furniture that could be assembled out of pallets. Pretty smart. The instructions for a really cool chair could (can) be downloaded from her web site and built by the "Downloader" from locally sourced materials... wood pallets. Its interesting on a few levels, but mainly because pallets start out spare and utilitarian, but she managed to make them into this beautiful lounge chair, which is spare, and utilitarian, but beautiful on a whole different level than a pallet. You look at the chair and say, "that is vaguely familiar", then it hits you... a pallet! Cool.

I like this idea of being able to have high design, or a piece of art available for anyone smart enough to find it and motivated enough to recreate it. Check out Studiomama's Pallet Chair.













Check out Studiomama
Download the chair design here (11 july 08. Sorry, no longer an active link)
Check out Dwell magazine

Pallet and chair photos copyright of their respective photographers.

Dekor? Grudgingly Interested

As a rule, I have an automatic elevated annoyance level for anyone, or company, or product that replaces a letter in a normal word with a different but similar sounding letter in an attempt at being KOOL... (see what I did with "cool" there?), so, when I decided to visit the site of designer, painter, illustrator "Dekor", I was skeptical that I would be interested at all. It just seems that things that are hip, are sometimes too hip, and as a result not hip at all. Know what I mean? Ignorant hip in spite of itself, is way better than "hip because I know how to be hip".

I admit it might be a French cultural thing I'm missing here in his spelling of Dekor, but I doubt it. Poor guy. Regardless, my point is, I ended up liking his work. Shame on me for having preconceived ideas about this designer based on the nickname they decide to go by. (Queue background music for the lesson), "So Michelle, you should never judge a book by its cover."

Anyway, back to Dekor and his work. Good stuff. My gripe with his choice of nickname aside. Gary Baseman-esque with a little dirty Chris Ware mixed in. He's reminiscent of someone else too, but I can't place it at the moment. Regardless, I enjoyed looking at the stuff on this site. Check out Nicolas Tual... otherwise known as "Dekor", [do finger quotes as you say it!] French designer to French stars [who?] and soon... the world! Mu-ah-ha-ha-ha.

Wind Power Without the Drawbacks: Aeroturbines

Wind energy is clean and green, but has its critics and its drawbacks, including noise pollution, and the possibility to harm wildlife (birds fly into the turning blades). But, a company from Illinois has come up with a design that seems to have revolutionized the wind turbine industry. Aerotecture International.

From their site: "Aeroturbines are wind turbines designed for urban settings. Invented by University of Illinois industrial design professor, Bil Becker, Aeroturbines are a new development in wind turbine technology. Aeroturbines can be installed on existing rooftops or built into the architecture of new buildings to provide clean renewable electricity at its site of consumption. Aeroturbines are uniquely suited to urban environments because they are:

• Noise and vibration-free
• Safe for birds
• Able to utilize multi-directional and gusting winds
• Self-regulating (no overspeed protection required)
• Low maintenance
• Made from low-cost and readily available materials

The structural features of the Aeroturbine allow for its easy integration into new or existing buildings: the modular/stackable cages are additive and can be mounted in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal orientation."

These urban wind turbines basically look like a huge helix. They are apparently quiet, can be made safe for the birds, and it seems they are on track to be acceptable for zoning in many major cities due to their unobtrusive design. Check out Aerotecture International. It is the future of wind power.

Nice Bunny Paper Dolls Updated!

A quick note: Nice Bunny has updated their site and added an obvious link to their very awesome Paper Dolls Artist's Series. Its art for the rest of us. Collect them all! Buy other stuff from these amazing artists!

Image credit to Matt Hawkins and Nice Bunny.

Dutch Playgrounds Cage Kids!

Those crazy Dutch designers are at it again... good design is so common in the land of wooden shoes that they need to lock their kids into it to appreciate it! The photo is of playground equipment designed by Carve, a Dutch firm that is rethinking the playground.

One might have a niche if they moved in on the Dutch designers and started designing bad stuff, or just churned out completely "un"designed designs. Carve turns out crazy looking playground furniture, while our "non-designer" could design a pole... stuck in the ground... for kids to run around. BRILLIANT! Bad design becomes good because it is not!

Just kidding. Obviously those Dutch have a culture of looking at solving design problems differently than a lot of the rest of the world.

Anyway, check out Carve, they sincerely have revolutionized the playground. Can't wait for the U.S. playground equipment manufacturers to catch on and start copying these ideas in old growth redwood!

A nod to the Cool Hunter for doing the hard work and bringing this to our attention. Thanks Cool Hunter! You are so cool... cool!

Photo credit to Carve or the Cool Hunter.

Green Resolutions for 2008

Welcome to 2008! I'm going to go the predictable route and make some resolutions for the new year... green resolutions. We'll look back at the end of 2008 and see how I did. I figure if it is a matter of written record, I almost have to stick to some of these!

1. Take shorter showers. Showers usually save more water than a bath, but to add some additional water savings, if I can simply cut the average length of my shower down by 1 minute, it adds up to a savings of approximately $100 over the course of a year! (I heard that on T.V. a bit ago.)
2. Probably the most cliche, over used, over invoked resolution of all... I want to get into better shape. How is this green? I could walk or bike to the store. Save gas. I'll watch less T.V., saving a bit of power. And, best of all, being healthier, saves money for us all because I'll spend less time at the Doctor's office over the course of my life. You don't even want to get me started on the cost of medical treatment in this country!
3. I'll try and catch my car pool more often. Overall, I've been doing a better job of catching my car pool this year, just because gas prices have been so high, (that's right, if it comes to money, I'm all about it.) but I need to hit it 100% of the time. Plain and simple. Save gas.
4. I'd like to start composting table scraps. I have a garden, we throw away a ton of food. Could just as well be fertilizer for my garden and landscape. Less waste in the landfill.
5. My ultimate resolution is to put together a rain water catch system to use for irrigation of my landscaping and garden. Its a bit nerdy, but I'll save more water, and save some cash too... all in the name of saving the planet.
6. I'm going to switch out all the light bulbs in my house with compact fluorescents. Duh!

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

Merry Christmas! I've really got the spirit this holiday season, and what better way to pass on the mood than to find some ways to make your Christmas just a bit greener.
1. Ask for gift cards so you can go buy compact fluorescent bulbs for all your lights. I read that if a household replaced all the fixtures in the home with compact fluorescent, they could save from $440 to $1100 over the life of the bulbs. An awesome gift that gives for years!
2. Don't wrap EVERY stinkin' present! But if you absolutely have to, use recycled newspapers (the comics section is great for this), or gift bags that can be reused, or use one part of the gift, like a T-Shirt to "wrap" another part of the gift. Get creative, throw away less wrapping paper and kill fewer trees, a win all around.
3. Use LED Christmas lights, they use 80% less energy than regular lights and last ten years or more! On top of it all, get yourself one of those timers that turn the lights on and off at certain times, like at 3 am when no one is looking at them anyway.
4. The Christmas Tree, what is better real or fake? Real is, but living, in a pot, that you can plant in the spring. (In the interest of full disclosure, I have a fake tree... I know, I'm bad!)
5. Buy your Christmas gifts from local sources... No, I don't mean stores in your town, but rather, from vendors that use locally sourced raw materials. Saves the planet by saving petroleum on reduced shipping costs.

Easy stuff. Easy to do. No compromises. Save the world!