One of my favorite organizations, Architecture for Humanity, and one of my favorite fabric companies, Lulan, have teamed up to promote sustainable, dignified, livelihoods for thousands of families in South East Asia.

American Express is currently offering $2.5 million dollars in funding to support exciting and innovative ideas that make a difference in the world. They will be selecting 5 ‘Members Projects’ for funding. AFH and Lulan are trying to be one of those projects, but they need our help!

Please click on the link below to nominate them. Time is running out!

Linsi, my Assistant Designer extraordinaire, recently came across a great new organic cotton fabric design house called Rubie Green. I instantly fell in love with this print named Marilyn, after the designer’s grandma. Just the fabric I need for my kitchen curtains…

I am always amazed at the increasing number of beautiful designs available in organic cotton. For instance, here are some really fun prints available in little throw blankets by design house Jenna Rose…

And of course, I couldn’t write about cool prints in organic cotton without mentioning one of the first textile designers to really embrace the fabric and give it life - my friend Harmony Susalla! She is one of the most talented and amazingly humble people I know, and the driving force behind my advocating for organic cotton whenever anyone is foolish enough to give me a soapbox to stand on!

Fields of Honey

Space Cowboy

One of my favorite things to do is get the public excited about Green interior design. So, despite the fact that I am naturally a shy person, I love opportunities to get in front of a bunch of people and talk about all the great Green materials available, and how easy it is to make big differences with small changes.

I had such an opportunity on Wednesday night, at the Environmental Nature Center’s (ENC) new building. This amazing structure is on track to become Orange County’s first LEED Platinum certified building!

Here I am discussing some of my favorite materials to work with, and what makes them so great.

If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend a little “hike” through this lovely place.

My friend Spencer is a force of nature, and one of the most passionate, inventive people I have met yet in the world of sustainability. Check out the “Poopy Palette”!

The next time you have a party and need instant seating for 16! And all from recycled materials…

This morning I got a call from one of my favorite artisan furniture makers - Brandon Morrison of Whyr’hymer. Although I’ve only known him and his lovely wife Sundeep for a little over a year, they have become such valued friends that it seems like a far longer time must have passed. Brandon is a talent to reckon with. Self taught, his designs are inspired and his talent so integral to his nature as to make it seem easy. I know that there will come a day when his pieces are in museums.

I would give my eyeteeth for this chair!

One of many amazing lamps he makes.

My dream bed…

On my families recent vacation to the Chicago area, we went to a terrific exhibit at the Morton Arboretum.

Gigantic bugs!

Now what does this have to do with sustainable design? Well, each of the twelve bugs scattered around the lake and visitor center was created by artist David Rogers from reclaimed wood, and fit so beautifully into the natural setting they were in, I simply couldn’t resist sharing a few with you.

My son the ham.

I recently attended a talk introducing the new SMaRT certification system, and I have to say, I’m truly impressed! One of the things that is almost a guaranteed question for me when I speak is, “How can we tell the difference between Green and Greenwashing? I usually try to describe the differences between self-certification and third party certification, why transparency matters, etc. etc.. I hold FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) up as an example of a very good third party certification system. Well, now I have an even more comprehensive system to talk about, and I couldn’t be more excited! SMaRT is, well, smart. Essentially, they have taken all the best aspects of LEED certification and applied it to products. It’s accessible, comprehensive (including all products other than cars and airplanes) and transparent.

Although only a few products have been put through the certification process at this point, I think it won’t be long before this becomes an industry standard.

A month or so ago, during a lull at a “Design Bar Saturday” event, Mario Vellandi, a recent Green Drinks acquaintance of mine, stopped by and asked if I would mind terribly if he did a little video recording of me talking about the Green design products I had out on display. Not thinking too much of it, I agreed and proceeded, in a single take, to walk and talk around the table about what the different items were and why they were “Green”. What I didn’t realize until later is the amazing power of the internet. While I am no web star, that darn video is everywhere now!

I saw these in an interior design trade magazine I get, called - imaginatively enough - “Interior Design”.

I immediately thought of several clients I have who are very involved in the electric car movement, and were all in “Who Killed the Electric Car”. Since crankshafts are an integral part of gas engines, but unnecessary for electric, I thought these lamps were a pretty poetic statement, even if the designer didn’t intend them that way. And hey, they’re fun and functional too!