Series 8. Eco icon no.13

Jean Genius.

Furniture and tableware made from a recycled denim composite by Matteo Fogale and Laetitia de Allegri

 

London based designers Matteo Fogale and Laetitia de Allegri recently launched, at the London Design Festival, a collection of furniture and homewares  that they designed using  an ingenious composite of recycled denim, cotton and paper,called Denimite that actually looks like stone but without the weight that stone designs usually carry.

The ISH Collection is Matteo Fogale and Laetitia de Allegri’s first design collaboration. The range features  a bench, side tables, shelving, a wall-mounted mirror and a selection of homewares.

The collection also featured another upcycled material called Marblus is made from scraps of white cotton and polyester from discarded clothing, and other fabric offcuts. The mixture of different fabrics gives the mostly white material a blue-grey element which resemble the veins in Carrara marble.

“Recycled materials can often look like a ‘second choice’ and not premium enough,” said De Allegri “We both love the look and feel of stone  but we find the weight and fragility a bit limiting in its applications.”

The materials can be worked like wood, and so the entire collection could be fabricated by the designers in-house  in their own studio, working with the manufacturer of Marblus and Denimite,  Iris Industries, to form and  curve slabs of the materials for the first time providing a whole new series of creative options for the use of these innovative recycled materials.

As De Allegri explained in a recent interview with Dezeen “These materials look stunning and are easy to work with, we were able to create pieces that are more accessible and that woould be hard to achieve using real stone. We also like the poetry of something beautiful that mimics a natural material and yet is created from post industrial scrap.”

Organic forms of curves, ovals and circles form a continuos thread throughout the collection which has made wearing your jeans out even more rewarding as their second life, in the talented hands of Matteo Fogale and Laetitia de Allegri will be as exciting as their first.

www.matteofogale.com

Series 8. Eco Icon No.6

‘Pulp Fiction’  Unique organic lighting by Enrico Romero de la Llana

Barcelona based product designer Enrique Romero de la Llana, has created the ‘Pulp Lamp’ collection to ‘give a second life’ to discarded newspapers. Every lamp  in the collection is formed from a 100% recycled paper pulp and made by hand using a selection of inflatable molds. With their textural and organic forms, each one is totally unique.  The collection is contemporised by his brilliant use of the red flex.

With the advent of digital newspaper and the increase in paper waste, this collection addresses the problem of paper waste brilliantly by ‘shining’ a light on the issue and resolving it through a sustainable design solution. The combination of the organic shapes, textural finish and red flex casts a ‘warm glow’ on re-purposed design, in the creation of this iconic , contemporary lighting collection.

Finding Eco particularly likes this elemental, resolved ‘design with purpose’ collection.

http://www.cargocollective.com

Series 8. Eco Icon No.5

‘My Family‘ by Sonia Verguet upcycled furniture collection

20 chairs, one wooden cube that is the concept behind Sonia Verguet’s unique recycled chair collection  The collection of  20 chairs, stools and ottomans is made up of a combination of  of recycled seating, with individual bases, seats  or back rests creating an eclectic yet surprisingly  cohesive collection with each chair either working as a stand alone piece or together as a’ family’ of chairs.

The contemporary art center La Kunsthalle de Mulhouse has commissioned Sonia to create a  production of 20 unique chairs, with the option to also create one -of-a-kind, customised versions available  as individual commissions.

‘My Family’ is the perfect name for this collection as in the same way as a family is made up of a connected but individual people, so Sonia Verguet seats, with a choice of one’s preferred style of backrests and legs have a common design thread while allowing for each chairs unique individuality to shine through.

Whether you choose one to match your personality or your interior, within Sonia Verguet’s ‘Family’ there is a chair for everyone! Looking forward to choosing mine now!

www.soniaverguet.com

by orianna fielding

Eco icon finder, designer, author , curator, broadcaster, retailer …following the principles of Wabi Sabi…learning to love the beauty of imperfection….learning that to ignore the facts doesn’t change the facts and remembering it is never too late to become who you are….and that it is better to be kind than to be right with a personal mission to find out ‘how to feed the soul without starving the planet’.

 

 

Series 8. Eco Icon No. 4

‘It’s a wrap‘ Haute Couture gowns made from recycled packaging  for DHL by Michael Michalsky

DHL is not a name usually associated with fashion other than for the packaging and transporting of it.

However for Fashion Week  DHL commissioned visionary german fashion designer Michael Michalsky to design a couture collection using only the full range of DHL packaging materials. This inspired collaboration  resulted in a beyond stunning collection that is worthy of any ‘green carpet challenge’.

Designed to promote global shipping company DHL at Fashion week and in billboards and print ads, designer Michael Michalsky turned shipping and packaging materials into stunning haute couture. Conceived of by German agency Jung von Matt and photographed by Kristian Schuller, the images were used by DHL as a self-promotion campaign.

These uber eco-chic creations are some great examples of sustainable designs that any fashionista would be proud to wear, while brilliantly showcasing  the glamorous side of sustainable design. Made from discarded bubble wrap, brown paper and packaging tape DHL Haute Couture is the ultimate up cycled couture and is both innovative and very inspiring. These  magnificent gowns made out of discarded packaging will forever change  the way we view  used packaging.

Michael Michalsky is regarded as one of Germany’s most influential fashion designers. He has worked as Design Manager at Levi’s and Global Creative Director at Adidas before founding his own Label “MICHALSKY” 2006 in Berlin. MICHALSKY serves the high fashion segment by fusing classical styles with streetwear influences. Besides his work as fashion designer Michael Michalsky founded his design agency “MICHALSKY designLab” , which realizes design projects in the fields of product, interior design and corporate fashion.

http://www.michalsky.com

Series 8. Eco Icon No.2.

“from Trash to treasure” Munenari Maegawa’s recycled accessory collection.

Artist Munenari Maegawa has created a witty collection made from discarded packaging which would have added to the landfill. She takes packages for items like M&M’s and McDonalds and turns them into pop culture pieces of clothing.

This vibrant  colourful collection includes vests, ties, bibs and ribbons. Munenari Maegawa’s series ‘Package’ has achieved originality and sustainability . The vest in this collection is made from washing detergent boxes- how brilliant to be able to give a second life to the packaging of your washing powder!.  The M&M tie is one of the most original of the collection.

‘Package’ leads the way in highlighting how recycling one person’s trash can definitely create ‘treasure’ for another!

www.munenari–maegawa.com

Series7. Eco Icon no.16

BOXING CLEVER.

‘RE-PLY‘ Re purposed cardboard recliner

by Dan Goldstein

When is a a cardbox box not a cardboard box? When it falls into the hands of Dan Goldstein. In this witty , no wastage, recycled furniture collection names Re-Ply or perhaps it should have  been called ‘re-apply’!!. This  core concept for this project according to designer Dan Goldstein is a rather unique appraoch to  both form and method, using broken-down boxes that would otherwise be discarded  as  garbage to form a reclining lounge chair.

Based in San Francisco,the Re-PLY chair  is inspired by designer seats, with its sleek lines and mid century references it would grace any contemporary interior.

The Re-PLY Chair has  a few features that sets it apart from other cardboard furniture creations available in the recycled market place. It is reclinable for maximum comfort.The metal base is either powdercoated or zing-plated and the overall dimensions are 30” L x 23” D x 25.5” H It is also available with a felt or faux fur  cover and Dan is currently  looking for funding to develop the range via Kickstarter.

www.yankodesign.com

Series 7. Eco Icon no.8

‘Eco PET Chaise‘  by Pawel Grunert

 

 

Pawel Grunert was born in 1965 in Warsaw. He graduated from the Facility of Interior Architecture at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in 1990 with his first ‘eco furniture collection’ called ‘My Private Chairs’. He then went on to take part in several design exhibitions in Poland and internationally, featuring his ever expanding repertoire of furniture objects, sculptures and interior design schemes.

His latest work ‘the ‘ Eco Chaise’ produced for the ‘Eco Trans Pop’ exhibition of ecological design at the Colombari Gallery in Milan, Italy. The  chair is made from PET bottles with a stainless steel frame. The bottles can be easily changed if they show signs of damage.The rhythm of hundreds of PET bottles creates an organic  undulating structure. For those of us still drinking water from plastic bottles Pawel has taken the transforming of the ordinary plastic bottle into an art form ,creating an extraordinary iconic  and unique form ,giving the ubiquitous water bottle a second life to be proud of.

www.grunert.art.pl

Series 6. Eco Icon No.18

Upcycled ‘fast furniture‘ by GODSPEED

Godspeed was formed on Christmas Eve 2008 in Tel Aviv, Israel, by Dutch designer  Joy van Erven and Finn Ahlgren from Sweden.

These Nordic duo established itself rapidly in Tel Aviv, Israel as a visionary contemporary design practice  with a lateral, rather unorthodox approach to design.

Using unconventional materials, their design mission was to innovate and re- create….through recycling and up cycling…but in record time…60 minutes to be precise!

Whenever there was a demand for furniture, Godspeed started assembling tables and chairs from scrap wood, found around the streets of Tel Aviv. All the pieces are made within a one-hour timeframe for optimal refreshing results in the design process and final outcome.

By using decayed scrap wood as the design tools, a new language was created. Through the aspect of the time limit, the sketching phase was eliminated and resulted into live sketching, a very important aspect in the randomness and improvisational items. Created out of necessity, serving a functional purpose and working on the border between art and design, Godspeed got to explore a new form of work ethic.

Eliminating the sketching phase and producing every piece by themselves, Godspeed fast became an unconventional designer’s brand, emphasizing the human aspect and usage of its products and offers a different perspective on daily life.

The usage of raw, scrap materials and the recognition and awareness of decay, on both materials and products, give new life to scrap materials and add a new value  to their re-incarnation.

Humor, straight forwardness, witty comments and solutions are significant to Godspeed’s  style. Take their name….very biblical…GODSPEED and yet look at their website’s name. http://www.weareonlyinitforthemoney.com…  either very tongue in cheek  or witty or perhaps the most honest mission statement you’ll ever find….you decide!!!!

www.weareonlyinitforthemoney.com

Series 6. Eco Icon No.17.

“Fork Light” by Nick Fraser

UK Designer Nick Fraser creates unique furniture, lighting and interior products that bring a playfulness and a touch of humour to product design.

His distinctive designs celebrate everyday objects by transforming their inherent qualities into new products that are both witty and practical.

Subtly subversive yet fully functional, these products are instantly memorable ….a perfect example of the marrying of design and functiom is his now iconic’ Fork Light’.

By simple manipulation, the fork creates an effective stand on which sits a bird-shade created using simple folding techniques. All the materials are re=used or repurposed…creating a collection of covetable eco icons.

www.nickfraser.co.uk

Series 6. Eco Icon No. 15

‘Gretchen Jones‘ post ‘Project Runway’ eco-collection

Gretchen Jones originally from Portland, OR is now looking to lay down roots in New York post her Project Runway highly controversial shock triumph.Jones had held her own as a designer before the celebrity status winning the show gave her. She had her own eco-fashion label ‘Moth Love ( very Nirvana-esque name).

She said of her win'”There haven’t been many bohemian-minded designers on the show. There are many women living an alternative lifestyle. I happen to be that woman — a Marie Claire woman who goes from work to cocktails in a sustainable but beautiful way.”

Her new label will be launched under her own name and was inspired by a disparate gathering of sources spanning Frida Kahlo, Jean Michele Basquiat, Kurt Cobain, and the “experimental town” of Arcosanti in Arizona.

Her approach is both sustainable and fair trade.For materials, Jones sourced locally produced silk, wool, and organic-cotton suiting, as well as alpaca knits from a women’s co-op in Bolivia. But although she considers herself a conscious designer, the last she she wants to be is pigeon-holed as “green.” “I think that limits you and puts too much pressure on a label,” Jones tells us. “To me, supporting myself and my local economy mean more than the materials…I think our local economies are the key to supporting my industry.”

Each piece  of the new collection  is named after a  tarot card .“It’s important to name the collections and items like I do,” Jones explains, “because i feel I get to download each design with a special intimately connected to me. It’s like giving you a part of me.”

For a ‘part’ of Jones’s new collection :-

www.gretchenjones.com

 

Series 6. Eco Icon No.14

 

“Toy story“ recycled lamp by Ryan McElhinney

TOY LAMP

When is a toy not a toy?….When it’s transformed into the uber one-off  objets by visionary designer Ryan McElhinney.

Ryan McElhinney’s career began as a seven-year-old drawing cartoons for customers at his father’s County Kildare pub. Today, the Irish designer’s portfolio displays the same mix of humour and creativity that lead him from Dublin’s European College of Animation to award-winning product and interior design, via stints at Disney and 20th Century Fox.

Working as an animator at the Arizona-based Fox, a chance reading of the first issue of Wallpaper magazine set him on a different path. “Contemporary design was like a breath of fresh air”, explains McElhinney, whose workstation was soon surrounded by style magazines and sketches of cartoon-like sofas and chairs. A career as a product designer blossomed, along with a love of local thrift and house clearance stores. Trawling for materials quickly became an obsession, with Mc Elhinney’s limited budget, natural eye and vivid imagination ensuring he spotted the perfect finds to bring to life his early designs. Full of expression and movement, dollar-a-bag sacks of second-hand plastic toys became the designer’s chosen medium. Telling a story with each manipulation, Mc Elhinney meticulously gloss-painted and fused together each figure in a six week process, creating the first in his series of ‘Toy’ frames and lamp bases.

Each sculpture is one of a kind and hand ceafted at my London Studio. Made of recycled Toys which are bonded toghther and then coated in a High Gloss polyurethane laquer.

Endlessly inventive, designs range from the Knot sofa, winner of the Peugeot Design Awards and finalist in both the BIDA and FX awards, to the Swarowski crystal-encrusted ‘groom and groom’ figures rumored to have topped Elton and David’s wedding cake. Today, recycling is more current than ever and remains at the heart of McElhinney’s work. Fusing old and new, he metamorphoses found objects to covetable sculptural one-offs.. A world away from the dated image of how recycled should look, his avant garde urban projects and hand-made one-of-a-kind sculptures have enjoyed the attention of design aficionados from Philippe Starck to Kanye West, who recently enthused about the designer’s subversively glamorous gold-painted Toy Lamps.

Definitely creating a ‘Buzz’ ….and lighting up ‘Finding Eco”s life…..

 

www.ryanmcelhinney.co.uk

Series 6. Eco Icon No.13

‘Eco Victoriana‘ jewellery collection by Ka/POW/WOW

Central St Martins graduate Mia Morikawa used her personal collection of vintage, discarded and scrapped pieces of fabric to  created her KA/POW/WOW jewellery collection. The dramatic, up scaled statement necklaces are an original melding of recycled unique elemets and references to period costume pieces! A form of organic Victoriana hybrid as jewellery.

Inspired by natural structures and emotional landscapes Mia Morikawa learned the language of organic form while climbing mountains and crossing canyons. a self professed warrior of beauty. She is as she describes “currently living loving & laughing in india.” While continuing to produce  constructed and deconstructed textile pieces which are equisitely organic in both form and essence.

Her collection includes statement pieces made from thick white rope as well as more knitted designs. The looks are boldly designed to make a confident eco-statement, . Eco-poetry in motion….

www.kapowwowobjects.com

Series 6. Eco Icon No.9

‘Just in Case‘ collection of up-cycled furniture by Katie Thompson

 

South African Designer Katie Thompson is the brains behind RECreate. REcreate specializes in taking old pieces of luggage, and a huge variety of other discarded, lost and found in the attic type of objects, and turns them into unique,witty and very covetable  pieces of furniture. Although clearly not an original concept- recycling, Katie Thompson’s collection has her unique handwriting and vision stamped all over her one-off pieces.

Using pieces of abandoned furniture and home ware items, Katie recreates a unique, recycled range of furniture, lighting and interior accessories, each piece still carrying echoes of its previous incarnation  but with a new image and function. As she says “An object is no longer being used for its original purpose in life! That purpose has expired and I have recreated a beautiful ‘something else.” By blending South African craftsmanship, with high end finishes and her own eclectic perfectionist flair, Katie creates an original end product with a new integrity that epitomizes the very best of South African design.

Katie’s style is always innovative and novel. Her trademark choice of colour, texture and finish give her designs an ever present element of surprise, transforming the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Katie never works within established stylistic boundaries. She creates an eclectic combination of styles, materials and finishes; this skill highlights her passion and her ability to find the intrinsic beauty and new, hidden purpose in the old, discarded items she chooses for her pieces.A hoarder of all things useless, impractical, broken, colourful and shiny; Katie’s designs show tell tale signs of her Dadaist leanings. She has definitely made me look at an old suitcase with new eco eyes!

www.recreate.za.net/

Series 6. Eco Icon No.8

Plastic fantastic organic jewellery by Tonya O’Hara

British designer Tonya O’Hara building on the pioneering design formed from pre- and post-consumer recycled plastic by designers such as Patagonia who create  fleece jackets, to  Melissa who metamorphose it into avant garde shoes,  has created an iconic jewellery collection from discarded plastic . O’Hara takes salvaged PET plastic bottles and slices and shapes each piece by hand. The result- contemporary, elegant  wearable art …that is a lyrical as it is covetable.

Each piece in  O’ Hara’s PET : cell  collection is handmade using a unique heat-forming method that  doesn’t  affect the inherent qualities of the material and allows the plastic to stay transparent.

O’Hara’s love for jewellery making surfaced during her studies at Loughborough University and the School of Jewellery in Birmingham. O’Hara’s vision for her own collection was firmly in place as she graduated but  first she had to raise the money to be able to make the pieces.. After eight years of teaching at secondary schools, unwavering focus and dedicated saving O’Hara finally  founded PET:cell in 2010.

Her first collection features natural organic forms -inspired rings, earrings and bangles—all made from recycled PET plastic. She explains her vision “It has very much been an amalgamation of the many things in life that excite me, I have had for many years a fascination with transparency and microscopic organisms but also a desire to create something very precious out of something very ordinary.”

O’Hara is already developing concepts and ideas for her next collection. “I’m developing a new range which will focus further on transparency and texture; necklaces and headpieces will also be introduced,” she says.

Finding Eco loves her vision, her delicate organic forms and the fact that thanks to O’Hara’s vision we can wear PET plastic with pride knowing that every piece of the collection means there is one less plastic bottle in a landfill.

Definitely feeding the soul without starving our planet….an eco icon to wear with pride!

www.petcelljewellery.co.uk

Series 6. Eco Icon No.3

Architectonic ‘eco jewellery’ by Lisa Linhardt

Eco fashion and bespoke jewellery designer, Lisa Linhardt, of  Linhardt Design ,New York ,says “lots of bling seekers have no idea what environmental impact their fashion choices have until they find her.” As a designer she is totally focused on making “beautiful, sculptural pieces” but without compromising the planet’s resources as she is  a ‘green gold jeweller.

Linhardt buys 100% recycled gold from casting houses and refineries that extract it from post consumer material as opposed to being newly-mined. She can also melt the jewellery you never wear to form something new in her studio that is constructed with reclaimed barn wood . Whether the jewellery was hand-fabricated or cast, Linhardt jewellery is made with recycled precious metals. Whenever possible, Linhardt explores the boundaries of traditional jewellery materials by incorporating organic matter, such as bone, wood, and more.

Linhardt’s designs are totally unique and embody an enviable fearlessness ,exploring standard practices of jewellery design and pushing them beyond the norm. The result is an artistic statement piece that communicates a sense of the individual without saying a word. Linhardt expands standard design limitations,viewing her pieces as sculpture and architecture on a small scale.

The ring ( featured above) was a commissioned piece inspired by another Lindgardt piece- a two finger ring. It is made of recycled gold with  a milky smooth vintage ivory cabachon that was custom cut specifically . This ring has the ability to flip on to itself and can be worn either as a one-finger ring…and is as beautiful as it is sustainable.

Linhardt is constantly inspired by artisans around the world and has often participated in projects that give back to the artisans and their communities. One project Linhardt continues to take a great interest in is a her affiliation with the Kenya Education Fund – where a portion of proceeds sold in the NYC Gallery sends an African girl to college in her home country.

This is the best of ‘no compromise’ design…. definitely  all beauty and no beast….iconic ,sustainable design at its very best.

www.linhardtdesign.com

Series 5. Eco Icon No.19

Recycled Rubber Couture necklaces by ‘My Sister’s Art’

 

Eco-artist Kathleen Nowak Tucci of   sister duo, My Sister’s Art recycles discarded rubber bicycle  inner tubing  into unique couture jewellery pieces.. Her recycled creations made the cover of  Italian Vogue  September 2010 issue and were featured in the oil-spill editorial featuring Kristen McMenamy .

Tucci  repurposed rubber pieces have been given a new life as statement  wearable  gallery worthy art  pieces. Tucci, who minored in biology in college, is an artist by trade (watercolor, ceramics, polymer clay, precious metals) and an environmentalist at heart. After noticing the inner rubber tubing that her local bike shops threw away on a regular basis, Tucci gathered an armful and began experimenting.

Although Tucci’s jewellery goes hand-in-hand with the current trend of statement pieces and layered necklaces, she said she has never looked to fashion for inspiration.”My sister Margaret was always my muse because she wears avant-garde clothing and likes dramatic jewellery,” she said.

“I have always been interested in design,” she said. “I use the medium of rubber for my inspiration. It is black, flexible and lightweight. I have used my previous experience in many other mediums, to construct and design the jewellery line, which has been driven by the medium.”

While Tucci’s hand-crafted necklaces, lariats, and bracelets are iconic creations and fast becoming collector pieces, they are also addressing a very unresolved land fill issue. Approximately 290 million scrap tires are generated each year in the United States alone, according to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. As tires don’t biodegrade easily and they’re rarely recycled and consequently they usually end up in landfills for perpetuity.

Though small in scope, My Sister’s Art is doing its bit to turn a potential environmental hazard into gorgeous accessories—better adorning us then destroying our world.

Tucci is already focusing on her next collection …for men! She said she has even more ideas than she can create, as she has been extra busy keeping up with the orders for the current line. Her new men’s line that will debut in November 2010.

www.mysistersart.com

Series 5. Eco Icon No.18

‘Paper Tea House’ by Shigeru Ban

Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has designed the Paper Tea House .The house is made entirely from recycled cardboard rectangular tubes, as is the table and four stools in the main room and the customary bench in the waiting area. By including details such as the waiting area, Ban is keeping the design of the house in line with traditional tea ceremony practice, yet has created an almost circuit board  like, avant garde interpretation of  one of the most classic cornerstones of Japanese culture.

Shigeru Ban is a visionary contemporary architect revisiting Western concepts of Modernism and traditional Japanese architecture responsible for the design of some of the most inspirational buildings across the globe. Dedicated to the exploration of basic geometric elements and innovative use of materials, Shigeru Ban has created unique structural solutions that employ a vision of rational and practical space while  respecting  the people that will inhabit these spaces . His works are formed around a nucleus of  reconciling the natural with the constructed while incorporating a third dimension of the life that will be lived within his structures.  Wabi -Sabi for the 21st Century.

>www.shigerubanarchitects.com

Series 5. Eco icon No.16

Delicious up- cycled tea cup ‘cake stands‘ by Esther Coombs

Southampton based UK creative ceramic artist Esther Coombs  has launched her unique collection of up-cycled ceramic cake stands,

Each piece made from a combination of wine glasses and tea cups are as delicious as the cakes they were designed to hold. With the growing trend for highly decorated cup cakes and a return to having ‘ afternoon tea’…Esther’s cake stands are the perfect way to display a host of edible goodies.

This pretty floral cake stand has three tiers and is a lovely mixture of china and glass, with wine glasses dividing up the layers.It is made from found and unloved glass and china found in every place from charity shops.Most of her items are made with some items purchased in a charity shop, so with each piece the purchaser has made a contribution to charity via her charity shop purchase.

When making a cake stand Esther selects a group of china she think will sit well together and wait for a drawing that fits. The city drawings contrast nicely with the flowers on the china. All her cake stands are up-cycled by hand by her and are not suitable for dishwashers or boiling hand washes.

In addition she doesn’t use transfers or prints as all the drawings are done by hand with a ceramic ink pen.

If anyone needed a nudge to consume a bit of Battenburg and a couple of cup cakes…..with one of Esther’s cake stands watch that willpower fly out of the window….

www.esthercoombs.com

Series 5. Eco icon No.14

‘Second life‘ couture necklaces by Charlotte Hosten

Montreal based Charlotte Hosten is a jewellery and accessories designer . Her unique iconic  fabric necklaces have become the axis upon which her clients base their outfits,  creating their look around the necklace.

Charlotte a self-taught designer, was born and raised in Belgium, but is now based in Montreal. At the age of 15 she instinctively learned to create jewellery . Her u.s.p  of creating fabric based necklaces was born of a happy accident when one day she couldn’t find  a suitable clasp for her creations. She then started to embroider beads onto fabric and ever since, her necklaces have become luxurious sculptures; sometimes made of one of a kind antique jewelry pieces or, for the custom made pieces, with the treasures her clients bring her. Charlotte Hosten’s work is now much featured in the international fashion press and as she states ” are proudly created in Montreal.”

Charlotte has a main focus for her design collections in addition to her creative direction …she is commited to ‘REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE.’She says’ In order to minimize our negative impact on the environment, we make sure we recycle everything we can. We also try to stay away from the printer. Most of the trimming waste is kept to be reused and some of the necklaces (the sari collection for example) have been elaborated using almost only trimming waste. We use a lot of vintage beads, brooches and necklaces to which Charlotte Hosten gives a second life.”

Each of her unique couture pieces are completely original one off’s….and can be customised to include pieces of your own jewellery and fabrics….like a fashion forward living sculpture with echoes of the past…want one now!!

 

www.charlottehosten.com

Series 5.Eco Icon No.12

‘Light reading‘ chandelier by  Lucy Norman

British designer Lucy Norman has launched her latest design- the wittily titled ‘Light Reading’ which uses repurposed books to form the cylindrical shade,via her London based design studio Lula Lot.

According to Norman there are an enormous amount of  books that are printed each year to be read and then discarded. Although many are taken to charity shops, they mostly end up unsold and charities must then pay for books to be sent to landfill. As  there is currently no infrastructure in place to recycle paper books because the grade of paper is low and the removal of the  glue on the spine is very labour intensive…Lucy Norman has repurposed these books and has created an iconic retro inspired  chandelier.

Each individual page is folded in half, producing a circular arrangement that hangs around a dome. I love the idea that each shade contains a thousand stories…..that have been given a new life…literally lighting up our lives!

www.lucynorman.co.uk