Series 4. Eco Icon No.10

‘Ila beyond organic‘ skincare range

ila is the Sanskrit word for earth and is the name of the Hindu Goddess of truth, who is associated with flow and refreshment.  There is a sacred place in Northern India at the confluence of the Sarasvati and Drishdvati Rivers.  The place is known as Ilayaspada or the place of Ila, and it is called the holiest place on the earth in Vedic texts.  Absolutely everything in Ila skincare products comes from a plant or mineral – and nothing else.  This stems from their faith in the power of nature as the source of real wellbeing.

Founder Denise Leicester has spent a lifetime understanding and exploring the dynamics of healing. She is qualified as a registered nurse, aromatherapist and yoga teacher, and has studied both Eastern and South American healing traditions.

She is passionate about what the ila skincare and spa concepts can offer women, who want an effective and more natural solution to their beauty and health needs, and increasingly men, who also seek help in balancing their lives and rediscovering vitality and true wellbeing. Her skincare range is designed to create a new depth to skin care, nourishing and nurturing beauty in men and women at a deeper and more satisfying level, offering nature’s energy, purity and balance as the timeless solution.

ila’s philosophy is encapsulated in their maxim: Beyond Organic®. ila’s skincare range is completely free from synthetic chemicals and contains a rare level of organic purity which is achieved by sourcing the finest ingredients directly from local producers who cultivate and harvest the raw ingredients in harmony with nature. ila’s artisan skincare products are hand blended in a consciously created environment of peace and purity in the heart of the English countryside, to ensure that the finished holistic products contain all the exquisitely pure energy from nature. In these ways, our products are truly Beyond Organic®.

Ila’s sustainable philosophy carries through to their  packaging which is fresh ,bright and dynamic like the range itself and is fully recyclable. A perfect product for the 21st C eco aware woman.

www.ila-spa.com

Series 4. Eco icon no.9

‘ Arbre ‘eco electric tree by Wan-jin Joo, and Hyun-Joung

The ever increasing design possibilities of LED lights have been explored to the max with  this ultra modern electric tree from designers Wan-jin Joo, and Hyun-Joung. The Arbre tree is made up of branches made from recycled plastic and featuring white LED lights all throughout each branch. Designed as a totally modular lighting system, each individual light branch piece  can be interlocked with the next to create whatever shape you like .

The Eco electric tree is both recycled -made from recycled plastic and eco through its low energy  consumption and totally modular can be made into virtually any shape or style that the user wants, this can be tall and thin or short and wide. Each twig has an integral LED’s so there is always going to be an even amount of LED’s no matter how it is put together.

Designers Wan-jin Joo, and Hyun-Joung talk about their design philosopy:

“Since the beginning of the 21st century, environmental friendly design in material and shape has been getting increasingly important. So I made lightning that gives us a feeling just like nature is getting into the house literally by using tree-shape. For light, LEDs are used, while recycled plastic is used for the branch part. Arbre utilizes a module method of lighting. To use this light, the user must put the branch shaped pieces into one another. As the human inspires life into the tree, the tree releases the light through its branches.”

Organic in concept and realisation…..low on energy high on design…a definite ‘finding eco’  icon.

www.yankodesign.com

Series 4. Eco Icon No.8

‘Seat belt’ couture by Greta Constantine

Designers Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill,are the creators of  the Canadian fashion label Greta Constantine .Kirk, a stylist by trade based in Milan, Italy, has worked for international designers such as Dsquared2 and Neil Barrett. He’s a guest teacher at the renowned ISTITUTO MARANGONI in Milan.Stephen began his career as a costume designer in Toronto for Susan Dicks & Co. and has made clothing for several films such as THE LAST DAY OF DISCO, AMERICAN PSYCHO, GLITTER, CHICAGO and currently HAIRSPRAY, starring John Travolta.

Stephen’s draping and design expertise, paired with Kirk’s knowledge of fashion forecasting resulted in a business partnership and the establishment of GRETA CONSTANTINE in 2005. Incredibly they  live on opposite sides of an ocean and manage to run their business in cyberspace daily via Windows® Messenger™ meetings.

Their designs are a directional as they are inspirational…they revel in using textiles that Pickersgill describes as “foreign yet functional.” They enjoy the challenge of taking materials out of their original context, and loved the possibilities upcycling seat belts by draping  them around the female form.

“When you think the process of building a seat belt,” says Pickersgill “it’s to save our lives. It’s a type of armor.” The results of their creative experiments, which were launched  for Autumn/Winter 2009, are spectacular, featuring futuristic, graphic, origami-like ruching , as well as a deeply dark draped metallics . If you like to blend with the crowd….this is not the collection for you…as each piece is a stand alone, statement…….worthy of the highest eco icon status.

www.gretaconstantine.com

Series 4. Eco Icon No.7

The ‘cabbage chair ‘by Nendo

The Cabbage Chair is a design concept by Japanese designers Nendo, and is made entirely  of waste paper from the pleated fabric industry. Nendo designed the chair for the 21st century man exhibition curated by Issey Miyake, which was launched in 2008 to coincide with the exhibition and now forms part of the collection at MOMA in New York,

“Miyake asked us to make furniture out of the pleated paper that is produced in bulk  during the process of making pleated fabric and usually abandoned as an unwanted by-product.Our solution to his challenge transformed a roll of pleated paper into a small chair that appears naturally as you peel away its outside layers, one layer at a time.Resins added during the original paper production process add strength and the ability to remember forms, and the pleats themselves give the chair elasticity and a springy resilience, for an overall effect that looks almost rough, but gives the user a soft, comfortable seating experience.”

Since the production process is so simple, Nendo’s concept explored the possibility that eventually the chair could be shipped as one compact roll for the user to cut open and peel back at home.The chair has no internal structure. It is not finished and it is assembled without nails or screws. The primitive design responds gently to fabrication and distribution costs and environmental concerns.

The inherent intelligence and sincerity of Nendo’s design concept is reflected in their design philosophy:

“Giving people a small ” ! ” moment. There are so many small ” ! ” moments hidden in our everyday. But we don’t recognize them.

and even when we do recognize them,we tend to unconsciously reset our
minds and forget what we’ve seen.

But we believe these small ” ! ” moments are what make our days so
interesting, so rich.

That’s why we want to reconstitute the everyday by collecting and
reshaping them into something that’s easy to understand.

We’d like the people who’ve encountered nendo’s designs to feel these
small ” ! ” moments intuitively.

That’s nendo’s job.”

Definitely a case of less is more….Nendo are feeding our souls without starving the planet…finding eco’s very own philosopy….

www.nendo.jp

Series 4. Eco Icon No.6

Upcycled’ Mac ‘Jewellery by Lauren AnabelaBeaudoin

Designer Lauren Anabela Beaudoin, founder of Creative Dexterity has created this collection  of upcycled jewellery using upcycled keys from disused Macs, a must for any self confessed Mac addict…or for that matter anyone with great taste and a sense of humour. With messages that can be gifted with a touch of irony….Beaudoin’s Computer Key collection features Mac laptop keys, with or without semiprecious jewels. The range includes cuff links, tie pins, earrings, necklaces and rings, all featuring the iconic Mac keys like the power, eject, option, and command buttons.

She now also makes to orders and can create pieces with any of the keys—like the letter keys for an initials or one of the function keys. Most of Beaudoin’s line of jewellery uses found objects or upcycled items, as well as refined recycled sterling silver.

No wastage in the design or execution of a briliant concept  ….I adore the simplicity of the design where the Mac key is really the hero….a definite eco icon in the making…..now where’s that escape key????

www.creativedexterity.com