#want

Help Jake out on Kickstarter!

I can't wait for this summer!

Learn how to fold and wrap items like the Japanese with these neat instructional. <3

Here's a link to the original image.

Photo credit: lululemon athletica/flickr

Authentic Hatha yoga is already pretty minimalist. Spotted in The New York Times style section, a small group of yogins is taking it further--opting to sun salute on straight up floor rather than on their sticky mat.

... They argue that yoga mats are over commercialized, bad for the environment and less hygienic.

Their reasons are for the most part valid and to a certain extent, I agree. Sure, I get psyched that there are yoga mats set at price points for every aspiring yogin out there making it accessible to all-- but I also get ill over the saturation of conventionally-made mats spotted in supermarkets, book stores, beauty supply stores, etc. They're everywhere and riddled with toxic PVC as Pablo points out.

So I say, yes, if it works for you, forgo the mat altogether. But don't do it simply to join the trend and know that it doesn't need to be all or nothing. There happen to be some great green mat brands like Manduka and Jade out there. The Times article fails to mention this.

If ditching the mat will dampen your enthusiasm to hit class--or the floor--isn't it worth thinking twice? I'm not sure if there's anything sustainable about slacking in a practice that helps keep us healthy in both body and mind, if it's instructed and practiced safely and sincerely.

For now, unless I'm in the grass, I prefer rocking my asanas on my eco-mat. What about you?

via treehugger.com   

I am so excited about theFuture™.

Yikes!

 

We’ve boasted the merits of the coconut before, but we forgot to mention that this delicious fruit is also provides for an incredible renewable material! Designed by Bambu, these colorful bowls come in a set of four and have been carved out of leftover coconut shells and coated in a food safe lacquer. But don’t think of them as your everyday bland bowl. Since each piece is formed from its very own coconut, each bowl has a shape as unique as the coconut from which it came. Both fun and eco-friendly, this best bet arrives in four equally delectable colors: mango, cayenne, spearmint blue, and basil green!

Kind of makes you feel like you're eating at the beach. Now the only thing you need is some surf and sand! :D

If this is the future, I can't wait for it!

No more toothpaste, ftw. :)

READER TIP: Birdhouses Upcycled from Discarded Shipping Pallets

by Alexa Parmisano, 03/09/10

 

Olson Lewis Dioli & Doktor Architects recently shared their appreciation of upcycling with youngsters at the Brookwood School Sustainability Fair by teaching them how to turn trash into treasure. The firm taught children at the elementary school how to save simple wooden pallets from the incinerator and craft their very own bird abodes!

 

 

The children were provided with a premade kit made from the wooden pallets, and had help from architects on the scene to piece the parts together. The result of their efforts was a batch of adorable, hand made birdhouses perfect for encouraging birds’ own form of upcycling – nest building. The Sustainability Fair, which was open to the public, successfully gathered students, parents, community members, and organizations, in order to promote the use of sustainable practices, like upcyling, “a life-long habit”.

Thanks for the tip Henry Louis Miller!

+ Olson Lewis Dioli & Doktor Architects

There is nothing that makes me happier than recycling... or in this case 'up'cycling! <3! :D

REVERSE GRAFFITI: South African Artists Tag Walls By Scrubbing Them Clean

by Yuka Yoneda, 03/10/10

Graffiti is one of the most controversial art forms out there since it defaces public property – but what if graffiti artists actually cleaned up the walls they tagged up by etching their sketches into the grime that already exists on them? The delightful process, called reverse graffiti or “scrubbing” isn’t new – we’ve written about it here and here before – but awesome examples of it keep popping up. Case in point: one band of students in Durban, South Africa who’ve been gracing spaces with works of the subversive street art form in their area.

 

 

Inspired by the works of Paul Curtis (a reverse graffiti pioneer), South African student Martin Pace decided to “scrub” the walls of his own town. While others have used giant stencils and high-pressure water hoses to “wash” reverse images onto, or technically off of their canvases, Pace decided to use a metal scrubbing brush on his first project – a filthy freeway wall. The result was a charming pictorial timeline of Westville’s (the town where the wall is) architecture.

Pace eventually formed a gang of reverse taggers with his friends Stathi Kongianos, JP Jordaan and Nick Ferreira called Dutch Ink. The bands triumphs include a beautiful mural of trees on a Durban North wall as well as a giant “Sardine Run” (featuring a school of stencilled fish) swimming across a city bridge.

The best thing about reverse graffiti is that it’s not illegal! Think about it – you can’t really arrest someone for cleaning up city surfaces. Of this fact, Pace said, “That’s the beauty of the whole project. We have had council guys in police cars stop us in the middle of the day while we are working and asking us if we have been commissioned to do this and when we answered no, they gave us thumbs up and said keep doing what you are doing.”

Via Neil Coppen and Wooster Collective