Green Products Innovation Institute

I wish the Green Products Innovation Institute was a real place where I could go and study... but I guess it is in its own way... Basically, its seemingly the next step in Cradle-to-Cradle in the creation of a more holistic design economy. It is seemingly being implemented in California in order to create a 'sustainable economy' (sorry for the quotation marks, but I had to - I believe everything to do with sustainability needs to come with quotation marks). Pretty awesome, and I can't wait until the toxicity database is ready to be perused....

Emeline & Annabelle

So there is new store that has opened up in Montreal by my dearest Emeline of Cochonet Rouge and Annabelle of A Day in the Week. Named after them (Emeline & Annabelle), its a Sewing Lounge - so you can learn how to sew with one of the awesome classes, or if you already know how you can come in and hang out, drink coffee and sew. I'm working with them in the afternoons - so come in and say hi, or stay awhile and sew a bit with me, or sign up for a class on how to make some lovely projects. Do Check out their website here...

The problems of packaging...

I was wandering down the street the other day and I came across this bit of mess on the sidewalk. The bags lasted for about 2 blocks, and were blowing even further. For those of you who haven't worked in a retail store - each garment comes packaged in a plastic bag, just like men's shirts, then are grouped in usually 6's, and then put in another bag, and then put in a box (sometimes a reusable plastic box that goes back to the warehouse, sometimes not). Every day, when the new stock comes in, it is all taken out if its bags, security tagged, and put on the shelves, and when sold, put in a different plastic bag.

Hundreds of these bags are thrown in the garbage - as there is no daily recycling for this type of waste, and number 5 plastic (polypropylene) is not easily recycled in most places. This is a significant design challenge - is there a way to collect and reuse these bags? Can we find a better way to package things for shipping? Can we package things so that these bags can be used as a final bag at the cash? We all think we are doing 'good' for the environment when we bring our own bags to the store, but that's only the half of it it seems... so to the packaging designers and fashion companies out there - I'm calling you out in order find a better solution to this waste.

I was away...

Sorry... I've been away in oh so many senses it seems. I was on the West Coast for the OLYMPICS and to be around for the birth of my nephew (whom I love and adore). While I was gone, I spent lots of time making things, but strangely I forgot to take pictures... or maybe not so strangely (how very much like me to forget to document). I did take a lovely little day trip to Salt Spring Island and was truly enthralled with the beautiful textures of the forest. The pictures below are a few I managed to eek out of my little camera.

cute...

things to learn from Matt Edgar on Vimeo.

I'm working on the doing nothing part... maybe some good ideas will come out of it. Thanks SwissMiss for the link to this very sweet video by Christian Borstlap for Kinderpostzegels.

The Art of Telling a Story...

I have been taught that spinning a tale is one of the most important things we can do within design. What I have learned, is that I don't feel as if I am particularly good at that - and therefore I've decided to become the listener - as I hope I'm good at listening. I'm working my way through some of the TED talks, and looking how the stories of others are constructed, and that being an audience is as important as being a presenter.

A particularly beautiful story that I was listening earlier today can be found here, Devdutt Pattanaik's TED talk on "East vs. West - The Myths that Mystify".

A New Year for New things

so this is a list of my New Year's Resolutions... Now you all know them, so you can hold me more accountable.
1. Answer my emails more quickly as opposed to letting them sit in my inbox
2. Do more yoga and RELAX
3. Work on my creative practice - clients or no clients (remembering all things take time)
4. Create my own little bioplastic library (I'm well on my way to that one already)