Archive for the ‘Design’ Category

Christmas in July!

Friday, August 19th, 2011

We have been super busy here at Biome over the past few weeks preparing for Christmas. Yes Christmas in summer, you read that correct!

So whilst the sun has been shining (sometimes!) outside, we have been preparing new wreaths, Christmas stockings, crackers and lots of other goodies for the Festive Season.

The highlight of the past few weeks was our attendance at Modus Publicity‘s Christmas Press Day. The event was held at The Westbury Gallery in London to showcase Modus’ usual clients and a few small, up & coming brands like Biome! We had a great day and met lots of lovely people who seemed to love some of Biome’s new range. There were lots of fantastic companies exhibiting from Calvin Klein Jeans to Toast and also one of my favourite beauty brands, the wonderful Liz Earle!

It was a long but fun day and during the chattering to journalists and other suppliers I managed to snap a few pics of the day.


At the end of the event it was time for a quick glass of champagne before bundling everything into boxes & heading home for a long & much-deserved soak in the bath!

Beautiful gift wrap & note books!

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Yesterday I came across this lovely range of eco notebooks and giftwrap. They are offset printed with vegetable-based inks on 100% recycled white paper. Perfect! And even better they are coming soon to Biome Lifestyle! I just love the simple & bold designs. What do you think?

minemegminemeg2

The Recycled Paint Chip Light!

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

You’ll either love it or hate it… but the one thing you can say is it’s original!

This light has been made from paint cards which are brought out every season by manufacturers displaying the choice of paint colours. Architects and designers store them in bundles, but now thanks to the innovative Emocja Studio in Poland, this waste is now being put to good use!

Held together by plastic rivets, the light can be moulded into almost any shape you want, making it extremely unique and versatile.

I have to say, I am pretty fond of it and the love the fact it is so malleable. I wonder what other original eco designs there will be in 2010…

lampshade-chips

My Organic Cotton Jeans…

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

I decided I was in need of a new pair of jeans for work and after receiving the Howie’s catalogue (and loving it!), I thought a trip down Carnaby Street to the Howie’s store was in order… The Howie’s store is a lovely little place, full of their great ethical designs. One pair of organic cotton jeans happily purchased.

Fella Jeans - Howies

Fella Jeans - Howies

The jeans label proves very interesting reading about organic cotton, which I thought I would share with you…

- The average cotton T-shirt contains only 73% cotton. The rest is made up of resins and chemicals that were used to grow and make it.
- In America last year, farmers applied 53 million pounds of toxic pesticides to cotton fields.
- Cotton is the most sprayed crop – using over a quarter of all insecticides used today.
- This is obviously not good for the farmer’s health, the water table’s health, the factory workers health, the sea’s health…

Howie’s organic cotton costs about 30% more than normal cotton however as it’s worn close to your skin, for many hours at a time, it seems to me that it is clearly worth the difference in price.

Fascinating stuff! Thank you Howie’s for the lovely jeans and the very interesting reading!

Fella jeans - Howies

Fella jeans - Howies

This week’s green news – The Recessionista iPhone cover, Urban Agri-tecture, LFW couture recycling…

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

 This quirky Recession iPhone Case is proving to be a popular recession beating accessory! Made from recycled cardboard the Recession iPhone Case aims to take a more light-hearted approach to these serious and somewhat depressing times.

iphone

It has been another great year for sustainability at London’s 100% Design, the UK’s leading architecture and design event. Some of the finds from this year’s event included flooring made from old belts, deer horns turned into mosaic tiles and beautiful basins made from coconut shells…  coconut

Sustainability and ethical fashion was prevalent at this year’s London Fashion Week, with a dedicated area to eco and fair-trade clothing. We particularly like Jasper Garvida recycled couture. The designer styled Asahi bottle tops in to embellishments on dresses in his collections creating an exciting ‘Couture Recycling’ collaboration between the two brands.

Jasper1

I have recently read about MetaboliCity – who aims for London and other cities to “metabolize its resources and waste to supply its inhabitants with all the nourishment they need and more.” MetaboliCity is a design research project by Loop.pH , aiming to re-integrate nature into our cities to combat key issues ranging from pollution to obesity and sustainable food production. Through creating food growing networks and Grow Labs, they want to establish “large-scale awareness about the importance of localised food production”. To find out more or to even develop your own Grow Lab, click here. 

urban agrictecture

Finishing on some good news, it seems that Brighton and Hove City Council is planning to become the first area in the UK (outside of London) to install electric car charging points.  By the end of 2009 there will be ten charging points placed across Brighton and Hove Brighton and City County Council

This week’s eco design!

Friday, September 25th, 2009

I just love this beautiful cabinet…  Each piece is built from sustainably sourced timbers and is carefully made from start to finish by just one craftsmen. The finished product is stamped with the maker’s mark, numbered and signed upon completion. Every piece is built to last and made to be enjoyed for generations. 001

This week’s eco design!

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

swinging chairI just love this swinging chair! When I was younger I loved swings and could day dream for hours slowly swinging along… However, I am a bit too big for a kids swing these days so this looks like a great ‘grown up’ alternative!

The swing is made by Raw Studio from a single sheet of FSC wood. There is no waste in the production and the only materials used are wood and rope. The chairs are made to order in Kent.

This weeks eco design!

Friday, August 14th, 2009

cardboard-furniturejpegI am a big fan of Giles Miller’s products – they are ultra stylish, modern and eco. What more could you want?! Giles is an award-winning designer who uses a unique technique to flute cardboard; creating some really beautiful designs. One of my particular favourites is this corrugated cardboard book shelf. It’s amazing how cardboard can look so good?!

This weeks eco design!

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

This August, Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge will be transformed by a new eco installation called Spirit of the Forest.

blog

UK designer and wood-bender extraordinaire Charlie Whinney has brought his individual vision to Harvey Nichols in a giant 50 metre long steam-bent Oak and Ash sculpture, incorporating real branches, roots and tree-stumps. The sculpture runs the entire length of the store and forms the window display as it flows through 11 windows and over the main entrance. This is a unique creation of Oak and Ash, and it takes the pioneering art of steam-bending further than ever before.  So if you are passing the store soon, take a look at their new eco sculpture and let me know what you think!

This weeks eco design!

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

This week I have come across this fantastic eco chair made from a reclaimed jungle gym slide that the chair’s maker, Evan Dublin, found at the Build It Green salvage yard in Astoria, Queens.

I love this design as although it is very cool and stylish, it isn’t an obvious ‘eco piece’ at first glance… I would definitely give it the Thumbs Up!

eco chair made from a jungle slide!