URL: Z-Grade
RELATED LINKS: Eco-Monster Puppets

New Z-Grade creations!
We attended the holiday boutique sale event at TBWA/Chiat/Day again this year.

URL: El&Abe

Cool post found at QBN on El&Abe's first collaborative project of Eco Graffiti called Mossenger.

URL: Replate.org
RELATED LINKS: People's Design Award | GOOD Magazine

v. (re • plate): To place unwanted leftovers, typically in a doggie bag, on top of the nearest trash can so that they don't go to waste.

URL: Hafsteinn Juliusson

Hahaha :D This is very funny!!!
I question how useful this jewelry would be in real life, but I appreciate the idea... and it definitely tingled my inner heart :D

URL: Growing Wild | Scentiments Flowers

Beautiful surprise!!
Every year, my husband has been sending me living flowers for our wedding anniversary :-) I just can't describe enough about how special it makes me feel!! And the flowers he's been sending me have been just unbelievably beautiful and very special... It definitely brightens my mood and our home!

URL: ANIMAVI | AltBuild Expo

Animavi introduced their newly launched high-end sustainable furniture line at the Alternative Building Expo in Santa Monica with Venare! AltBuild Expo offers over 150 exhibits featuring manufacturers of green building materials, landscape and water conservation products, retailers, interior design products and furnishings... etc etc...

URL: ANIMAVI

Animavi: animate; give/bring life; refresh; rouse; inspire

I just finished designing and uploading the first initial launch of Animavi's website on Friday :) Animavi designs and manufactures contemporary-styled premium quality, eco-intelligent products. The very first product they are introducing is a Chair and Ottoman. It comes with several different choices of e-leather and vegetable stained leather.

URL: Vessel

candeloo® tooli: 2-lamp set $39
How cute!! Candeloo makes a great bedside friend and interior decoration. It is safe to hold them by hand, so you can take one of them with you in the middle of the night without having to turn on any lights in the room :)

URL: OFFI | Eric Pfeiffe
RELATED LINKS: Design Public | Amazon

OFFI W Magazine Stand by designer Eric Pfeiffe: $99 - $119
Another cool magazine rack! I love the simple, sophisticated, and stylish W shaped design. It comes in 3 different colors (materials), Birch, Oak, Walnut. It's hard to tell by the small pictures, but I definitely like the rich color and the texture of Oak and Walnut more than the Birch (right).

URL: Tres Terra Electric Bikes | Electric Bikes Northwest

Cool Electric Bikes for $1,495! It runs up to 20 mph top speed! Perhaps a great way to commute if you don't live too far away from work :) Save gasoline, no CO2 emissions, get some exercise every day, enjoy the outdoor breeze, and you can ride on the bike path!

URL: Natureza Viva

Amazing interactive Flash Website!! Must See!!
Stitch away and save animals and the tree! When you log on th site, you can start stitching! That's right, stitching onto an online fabric :)

URL: Loomstate
RELATED LINKS: Treehugger
SHOP@: Whole Foods | Revolve Clothing | Greenloop | Tobi

100% Organic Cotton clothing :)
The design, their philosophy, and their finished products - Simple yet high-end and good quality.

URL: Silicon Solar Inc.

So, I ended up looking for other solar goods that are available. And I thought these garden lights were super cool! They charge during the daylight and self generate the light at night! And these lights are very much affordable! For example, the product picture above is $21.95!

URL: Reware
RELATED LINKS: BPM magazine

I read about this portable water proof solar powered "Thin-Film" product called "Power Pockets" by Reware in BPM magazine. This flexible sheet can be folded to compact wallet size, and you can lay it out outside and carry everywhere with you to charge cell phone, digital camera, and more!

URL: Woodland Home (UK)
RELATED LINKS: Low Impact Homes (UK)

This house is so inspiring, eco-friendly, romantic, and so beautiful!
The website explains how this guy (without much architectural experience) built his eco-home with the help of just a few people in only 4 months.

URL: Planet Earth
RELATED LINKS: Wikipedia | Google Earth Tour

Recent purchase from Costco for $51.99 "Planet Earth: The Complete Series". The set comes with 5 discs and features 10 minute behind the scenes footage at the end of each episode. Very powerful series. It's amazing to discover about the many interesting animals and creatures that have interesting behavior and living patterns... and at the same time, this series make you deeply think about the many issues the earth encounters today.

URL: Modern Twist | PJ Pocket Pillow

Cute Pillows from Modern Twist, inspired by a Japanese anemone box :) The idea is to store and hide the clutter (ex. stuffed animals, blankets) in your house and also to be able to have second usage from it.

URL: 100 Mile Diet | How To Get Started

I heard about the 100 Mile Diet a little while ago, but I was thinking... it would just be too tough and impossible for me since there are certain things I have to have that are impossible to find locally. For example, my daily morning Green Tea. I buy it when I travel back to Japan or I ask my family or friends to bring me some when they come over here to visit. But, I would have to buy the Japanese import if I ran out. There are some other things like that as well...

Photo found on Flickr
- toasted bagel + avocado in a CD container "bagel to go" by Rodrigo Piwonka

What a brilliant packaging idea! Why didn't I think of this before?!
Those CD spindles finally gives us a good purpose to keep around and recycle!

URL: BreathingEarth | Earth Day Footprint Quiz

Interesting and scary to visually see this.
I don't know how accurate this is, but the statistic rates were taken from the current data at wikipedia.org.

ARBOR (MAP)
102 Washington Blvd,
Venice, CA 90292
URL: ARBOR

"Using environmentally friendly, natural elements to improve style and performance."
Hip Eco-Friendly Skateboard / Snowboard / Apparel shop in Venice California. The store is located right by the beach.

URL: RugMark Foundation
FIND BEAUTIFUL RUGS: aMY HeLfanD | Carini Lang | BEV HISEY | angela adams

Are you looking for carpeting or a rug for your home enhancement? Then, I think you need to check all the links above and explore! I was amazed to find so many beautifully designed rugs (yummy juicy!)... and they are RugMark certified which means "child-labor-free".

URL: The Oscars | NRDC

We really enjoyed watching Academy Awards this year!
Ellen was an awesome host, the intermission choreography performances by Pilobolus were amazing (I would love to go see their show!), and I was very happy to see so much effort put into running the event as Eco-Friendly as possible and encouraging people to be Green!

URL: JUNK MAIL GEMS

Fun and intriguing products... made by junk mail and other trash :D
The artist, Gretchen Fleener is running her business alone from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She explains on her website that she got fed up with throwing away unwanted junk mail, so she decided to create something useful with it instead.

URL: KTA | treehugger | Architectural Record

Very cool Green House!
This month WIRED magazine covered an article on Green Home.

URL: KWYTZA KRAFT
RELATED LINKS: inhabitat | EcoSherpa

Kwytza Kraft collect "post-use, single-use chopsticks from restaurants in China, thoroughly clean them, sanitize them at extremely high temperature and pressure" and recycle to make a broad range of home accessories, bags, and Jewelry.

URL: Z-GRADE
RELATED LINKS: Z-Grade Eco-Monster Puppets

New additions to the Z-Grade Eco-Monster family :)

URL: ecoist

Innovative cool eco-friendly fashion accessories!
These cute purses/handbags are made out of recycled candy wrappers!! They are all handmade, waterproof, and price ranges from around $32 to $198 depending on the size of the bag. There are colorful bags using various different wrappers as well as bags that have more of a classy look using monotone wrappers. They look very fun!

URL: Z-GRADE

We've been working really hard on getting our Z-Grade Eco-Monster Puppets ready for the TBWA/Chiat/Day holiday boutique sales event :) We decided to participate 2 weeks ago, so there was not much time to prepare many of them... but these puppets will be available on our online website when we launch in December 2006.

LiViTY Outernational
Topanga, CA
URL: LiViTY Outernational
RELATED LINKS: Giant Peach | Natural Rasta
SHOP@: Whole Foods

Livity Outernational is a cool eco-friendly clothing (fashion) company from Topanga, CA. Their philosophy on the environment has influenced their entire line of merchandise, and the company is operated by multicultural artists, travelers, musicians, teachers, activists, and athletes.

I've come across many of their hats, t-shirts, bags, and accessories at Whole Foods, and I've been pretty impressed with all of their merchandise. One of my favorite lines is their hats!! It's difficult to find cool hats that fit my head right even though they look cool. I've tried many of their hats at the store, and they all fit my head right and look the way I would imagine on!! And the quality of their hats are unquestionable - very professional.

RELATED LINKS: Sainsbury's and Arts Council bags | TreeHugger

Yesterday, I wrote a post on grocery bags at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. Then today, I find these cute recycled grocery bags used at supermarkets in England (pic above)!! These artistic bags are almost stylish enough to wear to any place, and they cost only about $1 and the profit goes to charity :O These are just really cool both ways!! What a beautiful idea...

SHOP@: Whole Foods | Trader Joe's

By bringing your own bags to either Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, save 5 cents per bag at Whole Foods every time you shop and/or win groceries at Trader Joe's!

I'm always happy when I discover places where they take a step to try and make difference to encourage people to become ecologically friendly without being forceful! So, I bought a bag from Whole Foods ($1.99) and a bag from Trader Joe's ($2.99) to support them, but you don't even have to buy their bags to participate for the savings as long as you bring your own bags (any bags)!!

URL: Endangered Species Chocolate
SHOP @: Whole Foods | Bristol Farms

Especially since it is Halloween, and the kids are probably already getting many of their favorite candies around town anyway... I thought about getting something healthier, ecologically better for the world, and candies we enjoy eating!

URL: GREEN FORTUNE
RELATED LINKS: Hugg | Design Spotter | Green Thinkers

I love this world!!
What an incredible and beautiful idea for a wall space!! No floor space needed to enjoy lots of greenery, and this wall system self waters and also fertilizes itself. How? I guess the plants are planted onto layers of special textile and works with integrated drip irrigation system. "Besides the impression of beauty, plants also provides oxygen and humidity to improve the air quality. Some plants even have air cleaning properties."

URL: Million Trees L.A. Planting
RELATED LINKS: Blog 302

We volunteered to plant trees at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in San Pedro with the Tree People over this weekend. We got there around 8:45am and followed the signs for the Tree People event. We parked, signed in, and checked out the area. Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park is pretty cool park/campground, and they have a pretty big lake called "Lake Machado" in the middle of the park. I guess this lake is where the alligator Reggie is living at. (We didn't see Reggie today though.)

Vivavi, Inc. sells eco-friendly contemporary furniture and more! "Founded upon the firm belief that environmentally smart products and services can enhance our lifestyles."

URL: Million Trees L.A. Planting
DATE: October 14th, 2006 (SAT)
TIME: 9:00am - 1:00pm
PLACE: Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park, San Pedro (MAP)
JOIN THEM: call (818) 623-4879 or email volunteer@treepeople.org
RELATED LINKS: Historical Photos of KMHRP Million Trees Events

What a wonderful exciting eco-friendly project to help save our planet!! And thanks
to Tree People for the opportunity to volunteer!!!

URL: Simple: Green Toe Shoes
SHOP@: Whole Foods | REI |Online

We like Green Toe shoes by Simple, yet another cool eco-friendly product!!
"Simple" has their product line called "Green Toe". Basically, Green Toe makes an effort to stop hurting the planet. Their shoes are made by all natural ingredients which means "No chemical, no leather, no plastic". If you bury Green Toe shoes after wearing them out, they will be recycled into the earth and disappear!

Recycline, Inc.
Waltham, MA
URL: http://www.recycline.com
SHOP @: Trader Jose's | Whole Foods | Online
RELATED LINKS: Treehugger | Happy mundane

I came across the Preserve Toothbrush by Recycline at the beginning of this summer when I was looking through the personal hygiene section at Whole Foods to see what eco-friendly products I could find... after watching "An Inconvenient Truth". (By the way, if you haven't had a chance to see this movie, please do!!)

Branch // Sustainable Design for Living //
URL: Branch | Designer : Martí Guixé
RELATED LINK: Green Thinkers | Hortikids

What a cute vegetable monster (pet)!! There are 3 different pets available at BRANCH!! The picture above is the TOMATO, and there is MELON & PUMPKIN as well. What I love about this product/toy is... you can not only appreciate playing with this cute monster, but also plant her/him into dirt when you are ready to say goodbye!!! Everything is biodegradable, and you will enjoy harvesting wonderful vegetables :)

URL: Ditty Bops | Bicycle Tour Blog
GENRE: POP | JAZZ | SWING | THEATER | ECLECTIC | YORE
RELATED LINKS: C.I.C.L.E | LA Weekly | Paste

LA based band "Ditty Bops" have a completely different approach of touring to support their new "Moon Over the Freeway" album. They are going on a 3 month cross-country tour entirely on their bicycles (they started on May 25th)!! That's right! On BICYCLE! I've been listening to their music for a while now. I first caught one of their songs played on KCRW, and I immediately loved their style of music. Nice harmony with the duo of Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald. All of their songs have an interesting mixture of western swing, jazz, and musical theater flavors. It puts your mood into the days of yore, back in the time, and a retro groovy lounge feel. Very cool band and highly recommended :) And they have a good sense of humor as well!

Mission Playground
Solana Beach, CA
URL: http://www.missionplayground.com
SHOP@: Whole Foods / Online

I first came across their products at WHOLE FOODS. Yea... a place where you’re probably not looking for fashionable goods. But, I keep seeing more and more cool products there and something you just wouldn't find at a regular store.

Since most of the products that Whole Foods carries are eco-friendly or simply have a healthier approach, I feel good about spending a little extra to support their business. (Oh, by the way, did you know that you get 5 cents back when you bring either your own grocery bags or bring back and recycle the paper bags when you shop there?)

Of course, when you are shopping for something you wear, the products have to be visually appealing. And I think Mission Playground does a very good job designing their product line and producing something that supports what they believe in.